The Great Beauty

Name: The Great Beauty
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: November 15, 2013
Duration: 142 min
Rating: 86

2013

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Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 208 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 208 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Janus Films | Release Date: November 15, 2013 | Not Rated

Summary: Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 142 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Daniel Green

Jan 5, 2016

Drunk on the visual majesty of Rome, just as Fellini once was, this is arthouse cinema at its most effortlessly entrancing, with life and art blending into one magnificent whole. Read full review

100

Michael Atkinson

Nov 12, 2013

There's little sense in trying to resist the film's relentless boogie-woogie party vibe, its tumultuous visual banquet, its unpredictable sense of switchblade satire, its fools' parade of modern grotesques, or its river of startling melancholy, turning from a wary trickle to a flash flood by film's end. Sorrentino's vision is the size of Rome itself, and his confidence is dazzling. Read full review

Steve Persall

Jan 30, 2014

The pointlessness of Jep's journey is Sorrentino's point, richly made. Read full review

Geoff Pevere

Jan 31, 2014

An utterly ravishing portrait of listless luxuriance, a fantasy of decadent wealth and beauty. Read full review

Barbara VanDenburgh

Dec 13, 2013

It’s a Fellini-esque carnival of humanity on display, a more debauched phantasmagoria reminiscent of “La Dolce Vita.” But “La Dolce Vita” created the paparazzi; The Great Beauty takes place in a world where the paparazzi have existed for decades. Read full review

Deborah Young

May 26, 2013

Though Sorrentino’s vision of moral chaos and disorder, spiritual and emotional emptiness at this moment in time is even darker than Fellini’s...he describes it all in a pleasingly creative way that pulls audiences in through humor and excess. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Nov 22, 2013

The melancholy in this film is just as trumped up as the frenzy. Read full review

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User Reviews

amboy

Mar 6, 2014

This is in every way reminiscent of Fellini--the camera is always finding beauty in nature, in the city, in people, even in the grotesque. And its themes are equally familiar: the sweet life (la dolce vita) is also often bitter (la vita amara), and the transitory never satisfies but it isThis is in every way reminiscent of Fellini--the camera is always finding beauty in nature, in the city, in people, even in the grotesque. And its themes are equally familiar: the sweet life (la dolce vita) is also often bitter (la vita amara), and the transitory never satisfies but it is all we have. The film is beautiful and in its implications moving… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RuggedEmu

Jan 3, 2014

Vivacious, sexual, vibrant, and enlightening. This is the best film I have seen in years. It is a mixture of Fellini, Antonioni, and Michel Gondry. A visual masterpiece and a directorial triumph. Even better than Inside Llewyn Davis this year.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Abel2121

Dec 21, 2013

This is not a film of Fellini. perhaps only the Italians can understand it. is closer to a malick's film. nature is replaced by the beauty of the city and the great beauty.beauty wakes up at dawn, in the light of the sun. and the beauty is not in the decadence of fashion but in the gardenThis is not a film of Fellini. perhaps only the Italians can understand it. is closer to a malick's film. nature is replaced by the beauty of the city and the great beauty.beauty wakes up at dawn, in the light of the sun. and the beauty is not in the decadence of fashion but in the garden with the children in the trials of a choir, in memory of a love. the beauty that is also salvation is at hand for all. this is the message, but you have to know how to get out of the cynical bunch and take it.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

JLuis_001

Sep 7, 2017

The Oscar winner for best foreign film in 2014, this is one of the best works of Sorrentino but there is still some displeasure within this work that makes it feel like an arrogant film.
Beyond that, The Great Beauty is an excellent film and that is why I recommend it.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

AJ_13

Nov 20, 2021

First of all, this was absolutely nothing as I expected it would be. I do think it's a good movie, although I felt lost and overwhelmed while watching it for the first time, due to its purposefully wandering narrative. Ultimately, everything starts clicking and acquires a "poetic" aura thatFirst of all, this was absolutely nothing as I expected it would be. I do think it's a good movie, although I felt lost and overwhelmed while watching it for the first time, due to its purposefully wandering narrative. Ultimately, everything starts clicking and acquires a "poetic" aura that brings the movie to another level. Loved camera movement and Servillo's performance.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AkumaJack

Apr 27, 2018

This film has almost no purpose. There's no clear meaning at the end of the day and it doesn't talk about anything. I think that was the idea of Sorrentino because he also says something along those lines with Jep as a mouthspeaker. But the fact is that this film is quite boring and slow,This film has almost no purpose. There's no clear meaning at the end of the day and it doesn't talk about anything. I think that was the idea of Sorrentino because he also says something along those lines with Jep as a mouthspeaker. But the fact is that this film is quite boring and slow, with a lot of meaningless shots that are typical of Sorrentino's works. Great aesthetics but overall pointless.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Rhey

Oct 20, 2017

This is one of the worst movie ever made. It's not matter of age, I'm 37. Philosophically has no meaning, everyone gives a different explanation for this crap, this is the proof that everyone is wrong. Everyone is trying to catch a reason to support the given oscar. Nobody will buy theThis is one of the worst movie ever made. It's not matter of age, I'm 37. Philosophically has no meaning, everyone gives a different explanation for this crap, this is the proof that everyone is wrong. Everyone is trying to catch a reason to support the given oscar. Nobody will buy the blueray for this, nobody will watch two times this thing. If someone says yes, he's lying.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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