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I Vitelloni Details

1953 Certificate PG
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 795 members

Italian maestro Federico Fellini's first international success is a nakedly autobiographical film that bears many of the formal and thematic concerns that recur throughout his work. Set in the director's hometown of Rimini, I Vitelloni follows the lives of five young vitelloni, or layabouts, who while away their listless days .. Read more

Starring Franco Interlenghi, Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopoldo Trieste
Director Federico Fellini
Genres Drama, World Cinema

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I Vitelloni

Italian maestro Federico Fellini's first international success is a nakedly autobiographical film that bears many of the formal and thematic concerns that recur throughout his work. Set in the director's hometown of Rimini, I Vitelloni follows the lives of five young vitelloni, or layabouts, who while away their listless days in their small seaside village. Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), the leader of the pack, marries his sweetheart, but finds himself constantly distracted by other women. Meanwhile, would-be playwright Leopoldo (Leopoldo Trieste) continues work on his dreary plays, dreaming of staging them one day. Clownish Alberto (Alberto Sordi) still lives at home with his mother and sister, Olga (Claude Farell), while boasting of preserving the family honor by watching over her. While the movie seems to pay little attention to Riccardo (Riccardo Fellini) and Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), the latter eventually emerges as its key character, plainly serving as Fellini's alter ego. Stuck in adolescence, the five friends stumble into various misadventures, as they seek to spice up their uneventful provincial lives. Ultimately, one of them breaks free from their self-imposed paralysis and moves on, leading to one of the most poignant farewell sequences in film history. A hit in Italy upon its release, I Vitelloni secured Fellini's reputation as an up-and-coming talent, while also introducing its title into Italian vernacular.~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

Starring Franco Interlenghi, Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopoldo Trieste, Riccardo Fellini, Elenora Ruffo
Director Federico Fellini
Studio NOUVEAUX PICTURES
Run time DVD: 1 hr 43 mins
Certificate Certificate PG
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language DVD: Italian
Subtitles DVD: English
Released DVD: 15 Aug 2005
Production year: 1953
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (5) of I Vitelloni

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  • 4 stars out of 5

    Federico Fellini was trying to greenlight La Strada when he devised this telling portrait of the reckless vitelloni (literally “overgrown calves”) he'd known during his youth in Rimini. Sketched with satirical insight, this tale focuses on five wild boys who are gradually forced to confront their worthlessness and bleak futures. At the centre of the action is a carnival, in which the buddies' costumes, masks and grotesque pranks are symbolically linked to the alienation and sexual frustration rife in early 1950s Italy. Fellini claimed that in these themes, coupled with the national tendency towards farcical anarchy and psychological anguish, one could see how Fascism had taken such a grip in the 1930s.

    • Radio Times
  • Interesting in its realistic detail, this sharply observed slice of life is long enough for its basic purposelessness to become apparent.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of I Vitelloni

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  • 6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    The Italian Picture Show?

    Fellini's story of small time life in a small village in Northern Italy. Natural stories and characters give a real sense of the mindset not just of the people, but the town as it and its people undergo change. Direction and acting are excellent even if some of the characters are a bit annoying. The most accessible of his films that I've seen.

      • McClennan from St Helens
  • Most recent members' review of I Vitelloni

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    lovely simple film

    This is an evocative picture of the boredom of small-town life in 1950s Italy. Great, natural performances and some wonderful cinematography make this one of Fellini's best films for me.

      • A customer from Saffron Walden, England
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Rating breakdown

795 Member ratings
  • 100
108
  • 90
101
  • 80
193
  • 70
170
  • 60
113
  • 50
47
  • 40
26
  • 30
16
  • 20
12
  • 10
9

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    • Italian maestro Federico Fellini's first international success is a nakedly autobiographical film that bears many of the formal and thematic concerns that recur throughout his work. Set in the ...