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Product Description
Jep Gambardella, a 65-year-old journalist and once promising novelist, spends his easy life among Rome s high society in a swirl of rooftop parties and late-night soirees. But when he learns of the death of his friend s wife a woman he loved as an 18-year-old his life is thrown into perspective and he begins to see the world through new eyes. A dazzling, dizzying, mesmerising and hypnotic cinematic tour-de-force that has drawn comparisons with Italian greats such as La Dolce Vita and La Notte.
A triumphant return to form for world-renowned visionary director Paulo Sorrentino (Il Divo, This Must Be The Place).
Starring the multi award-winning Toni Servillo (Il Divo, Gomorrah).
A triumphant return to form for world-renowned visionary director Paulo Sorrentino (Il Divo, This Must Be The Place).
Starring the multi award-winning Toni Servillo (Il Divo, Gomorrah).
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Antenna
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
The "Great Beauty" is the Rome that tourists too often miss, with sunlight playing on fountains and ancient intricate carvings, the haunting voices of choirs floating from balconies, children playing tag with white-robed nuns in lush green gardens glimpsed through stone archways.
Wealthy writer Jep Gambardella knows Rome well, but his appreciation of its beauty is heightened when, in the middle of his extravagant 65th birthday party he is struck by the decadence and vacuity of his life. Later, in post-dinner balcony drinks, the shallowness and empty pretentiousness of so-called close friends becomes almost intolerable. The death of a long-lost girl friend who apparently always loved him from a distance may also remind him of what might have been.
Made sharply aware that time is running out on his dilettante life, Jep does not do much about it, apart from take up with an ageing stripper with a heart, mocked by his snobbish friends for her name Ramona and choice of a see-through dress on her first outing with him. Great beauty seems inseparable from moments of soft porn. Apart from making a visually stunning film, full of people with striking features, often reduced to "living works of art" in their designer costumes, I am unsure what the director Sorrentino is trying to achieve. I would have liked more of a plot, and although I do not mind a film that is largely about visual design combined with music and a few witty comments, at nearly two-and-a-half hours, this is not quite enough to sustain one's interest, plus the frenetic partying became oppressive. Watching all this began to seem perhaps more questionable than the privileged self-delusion and emptiness of the existences lived out in the film. Read more ›
Wealthy writer Jep Gambardella knows Rome well, but his appreciation of its beauty is heightened when, in the middle of his extravagant 65th birthday party he is struck by the decadence and vacuity of his life. Later, in post-dinner balcony drinks, the shallowness and empty pretentiousness of so-called close friends becomes almost intolerable. The death of a long-lost girl friend who apparently always loved him from a distance may also remind him of what might have been.
Made sharply aware that time is running out on his dilettante life, Jep does not do much about it, apart from take up with an ageing stripper with a heart, mocked by his snobbish friends for her name Ramona and choice of a see-through dress on her first outing with him. Great beauty seems inseparable from moments of soft porn. Apart from making a visually stunning film, full of people with striking features, often reduced to "living works of art" in their designer costumes, I am unsure what the director Sorrentino is trying to achieve. I would have liked more of a plot, and although I do not mind a film that is largely about visual design combined with music and a few witty comments, at nearly two-and-a-half hours, this is not quite enough to sustain one's interest, plus the frenetic partying became oppressive. Watching all this began to seem perhaps more questionable than the privileged self-delusion and emptiness of the existences lived out in the film. Read more ›
51 of 57 people found the following review helpful
By Carmelo
Format:DVD
Totally disagree with the previous review. thought the movie was incredibly engrossing and enjoyed every minute of the 2hr30min duration. For starters, it's a feast for the eyes. Rome itself and the way it is portrayed through the director's beautiful camera work would be enough of a spectacle even without the otherwise beautiful thought-provoking lines the film is punctuated with. I must disagree about the presumed missing depiction of the beauty of ordinary peoples' lives too. In fact it is admirably represented by the likes of Ramona who is a genuine woman devoid of all pretension and yet capable of deep thoughts, such as when she says to a jaded Jep after a night spent together: 'It was great not having sex, it's great being fond of one another', leaving him stunned. Other 'ordinary' people who are juxtaposed to the vacuous partying multitude are Jep's friend, the playwright, who eventually decides to leave that empty world behind and go back to his home village. The theme of going back to one's roots being elegantly represented with a food metaphor through the words of yet another ordinary-extraordinary person who couldn't be further away from the Roman jet set, the saint-nun, who claims she only eats 40 grams of roots a day, because 'roots are important'. I could go on and on, because I was totally mesmerized by this movie, not to mention its soundtrack. I derived absolute pleasure from watching the movie til the end of the credits. Hopefully you will be too.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Thomas Beale
Format:DVD
A poignant meditation on life undertaken via a voyeuristic tour through Rome, and the lives of some of its most stylish denizens, arguably also the most spiritually lost. The photography is simply beautiful. Although there is no real story, the thread of reflection of the main character provides the logic of the film. Some of the dialogues are laugh out loud hilarious, other situations leave a taste of emptiness and regret. The real subject is the problem of purpose. Of course there are no answers, but it's hard to imagine a more wonderful way to contemplate the question.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Words - so little to describe so much. I don't mean to sound pretentious or even coy, just gobsmacked at the beauty and variety and depth and shallowness and joy and I loved it. I walked home and the stars seemed brighter and I felt glad to be here on this planet.
By R. Bini
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having read the hype about this film ("The best film ever", etc.) I purchased the rather expensive DVD. I am utterly mystified. I found it without a plot, without real characters, without any intended purpose. I am from Rome, the location of this film, and cannot believe that this sort of sub-Fellinesque parody of "The dolce vita" is anything more than the usual 'Emperor's clothes'.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The team of Toni Servillo in the lead role as the sybaritic critic and novelist (having only ever written one successful novel 20 years before) playing out the role of Jep Gambardella, one of the oldest swingers in Rome and directed and co-written by Paolo Sorrentino, have again hit pay-dirt. I hope like the previous "Il Divo" it achieves another Oscar nomination!!
At 135 minutes it is a movie that will either envelop you with its stunning visuals (right up to the end of the closing credits in fact) and intelligent script or leave you thinking it is way too long and over indulgent. Many of Sorrentino's normal trademarks are here - the use of different dance and music to great dramatic effect; beautifully composed visuals, though his continual use of tracking and crane shots can get a tad tiresome; a wide cast of strong supporting actors that serves Servillo's immaculately attired but tired and acerbic persona well; and, the story of a man having lived the high life being woken up to face his demons - but what lifts this film to a higher level is its love affair with Rome.
The use of locations and few studio sets (with some amazing use of animals for key scenes) shows off the beauty of Rome and its architecture to great effect. Top that with a story centered around the Italian wealthy who live and party in Rome has led inevitably to comparisons with La Dolce Vita of Fellini and Antonioni films of that era. But with little reference to the recent politics of Berlusconi and modern Italy this is an exploration of the current vacuousness of living within Rome's elites both in the Arts and interestingly the Church, given the Vatican's presence within Rome.
The script is razor sharp throughout. Read more ›
At 135 minutes it is a movie that will either envelop you with its stunning visuals (right up to the end of the closing credits in fact) and intelligent script or leave you thinking it is way too long and over indulgent. Many of Sorrentino's normal trademarks are here - the use of different dance and music to great dramatic effect; beautifully composed visuals, though his continual use of tracking and crane shots can get a tad tiresome; a wide cast of strong supporting actors that serves Servillo's immaculately attired but tired and acerbic persona well; and, the story of a man having lived the high life being woken up to face his demons - but what lifts this film to a higher level is its love affair with Rome.
The use of locations and few studio sets (with some amazing use of animals for key scenes) shows off the beauty of Rome and its architecture to great effect. Top that with a story centered around the Italian wealthy who live and party in Rome has led inevitably to comparisons with La Dolce Vita of Fellini and Antonioni films of that era. But with little reference to the recent politics of Berlusconi and modern Italy this is an exploration of the current vacuousness of living within Rome's elites both in the Arts and interestingly the Church, given the Vatican's presence within Rome.
The script is razor sharp throughout. Read more ›
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully filmed, great acting, but Oh My, So depressing!
A friend recommended this to me, and I sat down last night to watch it with my wife. After half an hour, I thought 'I can't watch any more of this, it's so depressing'. Read more
Published 22 hours ago by E.M.S
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Wonderful!
This is film that lives up to the title. It references La Dolce Vita but moves on from it. It is not greater than Fellini but parallel to it. A real pleasure.
Published 1 month ago by Massacio1423
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Try and go see this film at the cinema. I went to a free viewing, unsure as to what to expect. I came out reeling! A 142 minute holiday in Rome. Stunning to look at! Read more
Published 1 month ago by I hate to kick a man when he's down but...
4.0 out of 5 stars
21st Century Dolce Vita
I enjoyed this immensely, but could anyone tell me what Ramona dies from. She mentions she is looking for a cure, but to what? She looks pretty healthy to me. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sean
3.0 out of 5 stars
Roma deserta
About twenty years ago I saw a TV programme purporting to be about Bad Taste. It was rendered almost unwatchable by being so grossly tasteless. Read more
Published 4 months ago by GlynLuke
5.0 out of 5 stars
SOPHISTICATEDWHOMMAGE TO FELINNI
ROME IS THE STAR OF THIS FILM A CITY I HAVE VISITED MANY TIMES.HOWEVER THIS IS NOT TOURISTS ROME IT IS THE ROME OF ROMANS WHO DISLIKED THIS FILM INTENSELY. Read more
Published 4 months ago by michael chisholm
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