La Dolce Vita (DVD)

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Perhaps the most surprising thing about "La Dolce Vita" is Fellini's use of children throughout this frankly adult film. The most striking instance occurs when Marcello is to cover an event that could only be described as a media circus, where a brother and sister were said to have witnessed a visitation from the Virgin Mary. People in their sickbeds converge at night under bright lights in hopes of a miracle, but the children, feeling the power that has been handed them by the media, take full advantage. "There she is!" they shout, and all of the photographers and reporters run after them, from place to place. It's a striking counterbalance to scenes where Sylvia and the latest media darling is able to cause a stir and get an entire crowd dancing just because she begins to act flightly. Just as Marcello follows Sylvia into a fountain, this capricious follow-the-leader scene with the two children ends with a dousing, as rain ends the spectacle.

Marcello calls his friend—a photographer who works with him who aggressively competes with other photographers in order to get a celebrity photo—"Paparazzo," the greatest cultural legacy that "La Dolce Vita" has given us is the term, "paparazzi." To see the insane lengths to which these photographers hounded their subjects in 1960 is to anticipate with horror incidents nearly four decades later, including a tunnel scene in the movie which will have viewers thinking about Princess Diana's untimely death.

"La Dolce Vita" is dated, of course, because of the dancing and the music, but Fellini's episodic structure and voyeuristic camerawork (intended, perhaps, to serve as an echo to those paparazzi in the film) stand as an artistic achievement. The acting is solid, especially among the stars, but you walk away from this film remembering not specific performances but specific scenes instead. The black-and-white film stock, combined with Fellini's use of light, creates a Chiaroscuro canvas where blackness gradually all but overtakes the light. And that, too, is what you'll remember.

Video:
The film has been restored and the transfer is excellent. The aspect ratio, as I said, appears to be 2.35:1, enhanced for 16x9 widescreen televisions. The black-and-white picture is extremely clear and free of graininess, and low-lit scenes produce images as sharp as conventionally lit scenes.

Audio:
While "La Dolce Vita" was dubbed for its U.S. theatrical release, the dubbed version is not included here. The options are Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, or Dolby Digital 5.1. Why take an original Mono soundtrack and create two additional versions? I can only guess that because the score was lauded, the 5.1 was an attempt to placate music enthusiasts. But most of the film is dialogue, and the 5.1 has a hollow, unnatural sound for the speaking. The 2.0 stereo also has moments where the separation seems random and distracting. I recommend using the Mono track, which handles both the music and the dialogue with compromise crispness.

Extras:
Koch Lorber puts together a two-disc package as good as what we've come to expect from Criterion, with an audio commentary by film critic and historian Richard Schickel, the intelligent intro by Payne, recent interviews with Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg, a musical montage of Fellini's studio, a collection of never-before-seen Fellini TV shorts, an extensive photo gallery, a restoration demo, bios and filmographies, an interview with Fellini himself, and a slick eight-page collector's booklet.

Schickel's commentary has its moments, but the non-stop monologue too often touches on elements of the film that the average viewer can discern him or herself. Others may disagree, but I would have preferred it if Schickel had spent less time interpreting each scene for the audience and spent more time bringing outside research to the forefront.

The other extras are, as with Criterion releases, a bit random. Somehow the producers of this DVD got a hold of some 35 minutes of commercials which Fellini apparently filmed to be used to break up longer narratives. These range from a pasta commercial for women who want to lose weight (with a woman popping unexpectedly out of a big pot) to an armless old man playing piano BADLY on a TV show with his feet. One creepy clip, given today's headlines, is of an Islamic beheading of a woman followed by a debate on feminism where each of the many participants has only a minute to respond—which, of course, isn't enough time to voice anything intelligent or prolonged. One of the funniest is a clip on "facial aerobics.

The interview with Ekberg and Mastroianni is an odd duck as well. Ekberg's interview is at her home, filmed in 1987, while Mastroianni's portion consists of clips from an awards show and an Italian television interview. Both speak in Italian, with English subtitles—with Ekberg saying how difficult it was for them filming, because then she spoke only English, and he spoke only Italian. Ekberg is by far the better interview, talking about how "La Dolce Vita" actually caused her to work less, because it brought a deluge of similar roles, and she scolds Fellini (who would die just six years later) for not working with her after the film as he did with Mastroianni. Yet, there's footage of her and Mastroianni watching clips of the film, a cheesy pairing that ends abruptly.

The audio-visual restoration demos are useful for seeing how much more contrast was added to the DVD print and also how the flickering and flaws of the original print have been completely eliminated.

Finally, the bios are remarkably extensive, though text-only with no photos. One of the most striking revelations: at the Milan premiere of "La Dolce Vita," with its condemnation of the decadent and debauched lifestyles of the Roman rich, the audience actually booed and spit on Fellini.

Bottom Line:
"La Dolce Vita" was controversial film when it was first released, then heralded as a milestone film, and 25 years later it still holds up amazingly well. The film's sad commentary on the public's fascination with celebrity still rings profoundly true. Some scenes will remind you of "Roman Holiday," but they're only homages, and not a part of Fellini's vision. As romantic as William Wyler's Rome was, Fellini's Rome is as bleak and unromanticized as a Wyoming gas station. With many of the scenes occurring after-hours, you could call it Rome after dark. And it's a dark view of life that Fellini embraces. These too, we come to understand, are a Lost Generation.