Federico Fellini Fiddles: Rome Burns
The making of the contentious La Dolce Vita, featuring the last recorded interview with Fellini before his death.
La Dolce Vita (1960) examines the Rome of the jet setting starlets and decadent high society, which came to be known as La Dolce Vita or the Sweet Life.
His controversial masterpiece is about seven debauched nights and seven sober mornings, and a sweet life on the verge of turning sour.
Fellini was infamously reluctant to give interviews and it seems that even at the beginning he is hesitant in discussing anything but the seating arrangements, and the fact he hasn't seen La Dolce Vita since it's release over 30 years ago.
"This is a nice seat," he says at the beginning of the programme. "Did you bring it back from England? In our agreement I had asked for a throne. Well done!" And then a grimace and "I must have been crazy to agree to do this interview".
Despite his initial reluctance to talk about his work, the programme succeeds in giving a picture of the man and the film that has never been done before.
In addition to rare footage and the exclusive interview with Fellini, there are interviews with his friends and colleagues, from Tullio Pinelli, his co-writer and friend, Anita Ekberg who played Sylvia in the movie.
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