Despite its blatant thematic and stylistic connections, Paolo Sorrentino‘s The Great Beauty is, in fact, not a direct remake of La Dolce Vita, but an official one will be arriving soon. Federico Fellini‘s Oscar-winning 1960 classic tracks an episodic, week-long journey of a journalist (Marcello Mastroianni) through Rome and it’s often considered one of his finest works. Recently made available in a gorgeous restoration on The Criterion Collection, the film is now getting the remake treatment.
Announced today in a press release, the AMBI Group and producer Daniele Di Lorenzo, in cooperation with the Fellini family, will produce an “homage” to the drama. “We’ve been approached countless times and asked to consider everything from remakes and re-imaginings to prequels and sequels,” Francesca Fellini, niece of Federico Fellini, says. “We knew it would take very special producers and compelling circumstances to motivate the family to allow rights to be optioned. Daniele, Andrea and Monika have a beautiful vision of a modern film, and considering their Italian heritage and deep appreciation and understanding of my uncle’s works, there couldn’t be a better alignment for this project.”
“All of the elements that made ‘La Dolce Vita’ an instant classic will be ingredients in this new film,” AMBI’s Andrea Iervolino adds. “Our vision is of a contemporary story every bit as commercial, iconic and award-worthy as the original. These are big aspirations of course, but we have to be bold if we want to match the imprint of the original film and have the utmost confidence this vision will play out beautifully. We’re thankful to the Fellini family and eager to begin collaborating with Daniele, who shares our passion and has been so amazing in bringing this to us.”
While it’s easy to cry blasphemy at such news, if those behind the remake can secure a talented enough creative team (no director, writer, or cast is attached yet), with the backing of Fellini’s family, we might be at the very least curious at the prospects. Let’s just pray it’s not another Nine. In the meantime, check out an hour-long discussion from Criterion below, along with A.O. Scott‘s video review, another Criterion video, and the trailer.
What do you think of the Fellini classic getting remade? Who should direct?