Name: La Dolce Vita
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Duration: 174 min
Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée

Oscar · 1Cannes · 1

Spoiler-free premise

Gossip journalist Marcello moves through Rome's nightlife, celebrities, aristocrats, religious spectacle, and affairs while drifting from serious purpose.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Roman columnist Marcello Rubini circulates among movie stars, aristocrats, intellectuals, religious crowds, and wealthy revelers while pursuing stories and fleeting intimacy. His fiancée Emma, visiting star Sylvia, and friend Steiner represent different lives he approaches without choosing.

Why it belongs

La Dolce Vita makes modern Rome a procession of sacred and profane spectacle, with Mastroianni's elegant Marcello both observer and willing participant.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Marcello Mastroianni's weary charm makes drift look seductive and spiritually costly. Helicopters, paparazzi flashes, fountains, nightclubs, dawn streets, beach creatures, and Nino Rota's music link episodic encounters through recurring spectacle.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

Academy Awards1 win1962 · official ceremony record ↗

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

Cannes1 win1960 · official festival record ↗

Palme d'or (Remis à l'unanimité)1960 · Federico FELLINIofficial festival record ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for

Film Club

Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

La Dolce Vita

Double Feature