Details

Release year: 1960

Storyline

A series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.

Top credits

Directors

Federico Fellini

Writers

Cast

Marcello Mastroianni — Marcello Rubini
Anita Ekberg — Sylvia
Anouk Aimée — Maddalena
Yvonne Furneaux — Emma

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Awards

1 win & 3 nominations

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Did you know

• The famous scene in the Trevi Fountain was shot over a week in March, when nights were still cold. According to Federico Fellini (in an interview with Costanzo Costantini), Anita Ekberg stood in the cold water in her dress for hours with no trouble. Marcello Mastroianni, on the other hand, had to wear a wet suit beneath his clothes, and even that wasn't enough. Still freezing, he downed an entire bottle of vodka, and was completely drunk while shooting the scene.

• The film contributed the term "paparazzo" to the language. The term derives from Marcello's photographer friend Paparazzo. Federico Fellini took the name "Paparazzo", as he explained in a later interview, from the name of someone he met in Calabria (Southern Italy) where Greek names are still common. "Paparazzi" is the plural.

• The film, and especially the final beach scene, were inspired by the infamous 1953 Wilma Montesi murder case. Montesi was an ordinary Italian woman from a proper family. Her body was found on a beach near Rome. The investigation exposed the drugs and sex orgies of Roman high society at the time. The murder remains unsolved.