La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Federico Fellini

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DVD details

Actor: Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aim?e, Magali No?l, Marcello Mastroianni, Yvonne Furneaux
Director: Federico Fellini
Brand: Koch International
Writer: Federico Fellini
Producer: Angelo Rizzoli
Producer: Franco Magli
Writer: Brunello Rondi
Writer: Ennio Flaiano
Writer: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Writer: Tullio Pinelli
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Collector's Edition, DVD-Video, Enhanced, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Restored, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 174 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-09-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Koch Lorber Films

DVD Reviews of La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

DVD Review: Legendary Film; Severely Disappointing Features
Summary: 3 Stars

I won't attempt to outdo the first rate reviews of "La Vita Dolce" that are already posted here (except to say that a film about shallow, meaningless lives in 1960s Italian society sounded like the last thing I wanted to watch until I bore witness to it and was in tears by the end), but I feel it necessary to comment upon the unusual and disappointing choice of features attached to this 2 Disc Collector's edition.

One would imagine that a two disc set (one of them entirely devoted to supplemental materials) would contain everything you ever wanted to know about this staggering, bewildering monument of a film. I had so many questions when the film ended, as well as so many mental notes to compare against the authoritative opinions of a supplemental documentary, but none were to be found. While the second disc contains a number of features that wax nostalgic for the film's actors and (most prominently) it's director, there is absolutely no supplemental information about the film itself, aside from an insultingly light introduction to the film given by a man who outright admits to know very little about Fellini. Even the optional audio commentary to the film was frustratingly deficient, failing to apply any insight beyond the obvious at too many critical points in the film.

A film like this one deserves more -- even just an audio track of a critical essay written on the film while stills are displayed on the screen. A 2 Disc Collector's Edition suggests a full and well rounded collection of supplemental features, but I doubt anyone other than completest Fellini fanatics will find much value in the supplemental features here. Where's Criterion when you need them?

DVD Review: True Classic
Summary: 5 Stars

After reading the reviews from this site and other sites I didn't have high expectations. I had read some negative reviews but after receiving this edition of the movie it was FANTASTIC. Again no one can beat the AMAZON.COM price. The quality was good and they even have the original filming and the enhanced refurbished version. They spilt screen it so you can see the difference. Once again a very satisfied customer.....

DVD Review: Outstanding Film.
Summary: 5 Stars

I am a bit of a film buff, but by no means am I an expert. However, I have sat through more than one art film deemed to be brillant, that I have found to be nothing but pretentious, overrated, boring twaddle. Recognizing the huge gapping hole left in my knowledge of film history by never having seen "La Dolce Vita", I purchased this film on DVD. After I had paid my money and the DVD was on its way to my home, I had the chance to read some of the Amazon reviews of this film and I second guessed my sanity in having so blythly forked over my hard-earned funds for this film. Many Amazon reviewers called this film things like "inflated", "boring" and "overrated". "Uh-oh", I thought, "Am I in for three hours of being bored out of my tree? Fie on my need to be culturally literate!" Perhaps I would better served by watching re-runs of "Ugly Betty" than another boring, artsy film.

Upon viewing this film my biggest disappointment is that I waited this long to actually see it. My goodness, this film is simply wonderful. The opening sequence was worth the price of admission. I laughed out loud. What wit, what genius, what delicious irony, what marvelous social commentary! I know it is considered by film critics to be one of the greatest openings sequences in the history of film, but until I saw it for myself I really couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. This is where film moves away from being entertainment to art. I am still somewhat speechless as to what this movie is about -- if I could tell you, you wouldn't need to see the movie -- and you need to see this movie. Fellini's use of old Italy contrasted with new Italy is superb. His casting is absolutely flawless. This film is nihilistic and life affirming all at the same time. We are the sea monster that washes ashore with its eyes wide open. Fellini's world is tragic, and meaningless, yet there is a peculiar beauty in the human need to survive and experience all of it.

This is a spectacular film.

DVD Review: Unauthorized payments on Amazon
Summary: 1 Stars

I was charged a month later for "Amazon Prime" which I did not sign up for, nor did I authorize the charge, which will cause overdrafts in my bank account. I am very displeased that Amazon would not ask me to authorize this charge or even send me an e-mail informing me of it. I have cancelled this "membership" as soon as I discovered the charge, but as it will not process for 1-2 business days, my bank account will still be overdrawn, leaving me with over $100 in NSF fees. I was told by customer service that Amazon would cover these fees if the charge could not be promptly reversed. Thank you.

DVD Review: Fellini's voice
Summary: 5 Stars

La Dolce Vita is a travelogue of one man's singular and unique experience. Fellini spares us the familiar arc and keeps the journey in a steady rhythm. There has never been a film before it that has captured tragedy, comedy, music, philosophy, romance, and social commentary in such a naturalistic style, yet it could not have been done without flawless preparation. Every scene has been one way or another an influence in cinema ever since.

Description of La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)

Studio: Koch International Release Date: 09/21/2004 Run time: 167 minutes Rating: Nr

At three brief hours, La Dolce Vita, a piece of cynical, engrossing social commentary, stands as Federico Fellini's timeless masterpiece. A rich, detailed panorama of Rome's modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, the film is episodic in structure but held tightly in focus by the wandering protagonist through whom we witness the sordid action. Marcello Rubini (extraordinarily played by Marcello Mastroianni) is a tabloid reporter trapped in a shallow high-society existence. A man of paradoxical emotional juxtapositions (cool but tortured, sexy but impotent), he dreams about writing something important but remains seduced by the money and prestige that accompany his shallow position. He romanticizes finding true love but acts unfazed upon finding that his girlfriend has taken an overdose of sleeping pills. Instead, he engages in an m?nage ? trois, then frolics in a fountain with a giggling American starlet (bombshell Anita Ekberg), and in the film's unforgettably inspired finale, attends a wild orgy that ends, symbolically, with its participants finding a rotting sea animal while wandering the beach at dawn. Fellini saw his film as life affirming (thus its title, The Sweet Life), but it's impossible to take him seriously. While Mastroianni drifts from one worldly pleasure to another, be it sex, drink, glamorous parties, or rich foods, they are presented, through his detached eyes, are merely momentary distractions. His existence, an endless series of wild evenings and lonely mornings, is ultimately soulless and facile. Because he lacks the courage to change, Mastroianni is left with no alternative but to wearily accept and enjoy this "sweet" life. --Dave McCoy

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