Music - La dolce vita - Nino Rota's iconic score remastered with unheard tracks available October 21 2022

By Mulder, 11 october 2022

La Dolce Vita is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcello Mastroianni as Marcello Rubini, a tabloid journalist who, over seven days and nights, journeys through the "sweet life" of Rome in a fruitless search for love and happiness. The screenplay, written by Fellini and three other screenwriters, can be divided into a prologue, seven major episodes interrupted by an intermezzo, and an epilogue, according to the most common interpretation. Released in Italy on 5 February 1960, La Dolce Vita was both a critical success and worldwide commercial hit, despite censorship in some regions. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Costumes. It was nominated for three more Oscars, including Best Director for Federico Fellini, and Best Original Screenplay. Its success proved a watershed moment for Italian cinema and European cinema-at-large and it has come to be regarded as a masterpiece of Italian cinema and one of the greatest films of all time.

CAM Sugar presents newly remastered album of Nino Rota’s timeless score for La Dolce Vita 14 tracks released on vinyl and digital for the first time : 
- 25-track album released on 2LP vinyl, CD and all digital platforms by CAM Sugar, including 14 tracks previously unreleased on vinyl/digital  
- Includes previously unreleased vocal version of the main theme performed by Katyna Ranieri 
- Soundtrack fully restored and remastered from the original master tapes

Nino Rota’s timeless score for Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning masterpiece La Dolce Vita is presented by CAM Sugar in a newly remastered version of the original album with 14 tracks previously unreleased on vinyl and digital. Frequently regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, La Dolce Vita was a watershed moment for Italian cinema globally and this release presents a unique opportunity to hear its iconic score as never before. 
La Dolce Vita’s instantly recognisable score has been fully restored and remastered from the original master tapes. A highlight includes a previously unreleased vocal version of the main theme performed by Katyna Ranieri – currently being used as the soundtrack to the latest international FIAT 500 advert starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Blending jazz, rock and roll, Latin rhythms and circus music, the score perfectly captures the glamorous, jet-setting Roman nightlife as well as the solitude and dissatisfaction depicted in Fellini’s opus.    

Rota was a prolific composer for film, scoring over 150 during his lifetime and dozens for Fellini’s films - their artistic partnership is one of the most iconic in the history of cinema. Alongside La Dolce Vita, Rota is also known for composing the music for the first two films of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy, the second of which earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

The previously unreleased vocal version of the main theme features Academy Award nominee Katyna Ranieri (who also performed Grammy-winning song “More / Modelle in Blu” from Mondo Cane) singing Dino Verde’s exceptional lyrics which evoke the elegance and frenzy of the Roman cafes and nightclubs on Via Veneto during the Dolce Vita years.

CAM Sugar is the most extensive and representative catalogue of Italian original soundtracks, with over 2000 original scores from over 400 composers. Soundtracks from the archive have won over 500 international awards, including an Oscar for “Best Original Score” for Il Postino. The CAM Sugar team undertakes extensive research to revive and remaster tracks from the archive, 70% of which is currently unreleased. They undertake specialized work to restore original master tapes, reinforcing the legacy of the soundtracks for current and future listeners to enjoy. This release marks a new installment of CAM Sugar’s Heritage series, the label’s collection dedicated to the scores that made the history of Italian cinema.

Tracklist : 
LP Side A
1. Titoli di testa / Canzonetta / Notturno II
2. Cadillac / Arrivederci Roma* / Caracalla's
3. La Dolce Vita (Theme) / In Via Veneto
4. Patricia* / Canzonetta / Entrata dei gladiatori** / Valzer (Parlami di me)***
5. Lola (Yes Sir, That's My Baby)* / Valzer (Parlami di me)** / Stormy Weather***
LP Side B
1. Via Veneto e i nobili
2. Blues / La Dolce Vita dei nobili
3. Notturno e mattutino
4. La Dolce Vita (Theme) / La bella melanconica
5. La Dolce Vita nella villa di Fregene / Can Can / Jingle Bells / Blues / La Dolce Vita (Theme) / Why Wait*
6. La Dolce Vita (Finale)
LP Side C
1. La Dolce Vita (Titoli di testa - Film Version)
2. La Dolce Vita (Original Vocal Version)
3. La Dolce Vita (Mamma Sergio)
4. La Dolce Vita dei nobili (Full Version)
5. Club cinese
6. La Dolce Vita (La Dolce Vita a Caracalla)
LP Side D
1. Arrivederci Roma
2. Parlami di me (Vocal)
3. Marcia dei gladiatori
4. La Dolce Vita (Orgia)
5. La Dolce Vita (Fontana di Trevi)
6. La Dolce Vita (Piazza del Popolo)
7. La Dolce Vita (Night Club)
8. La Dolce Vita (Film Finale)

Synopsis : 
Marcello Rubini, left his Italian province for Rome in order to become a writer. But he has become a columnist for a sensational newspaper. So he makes the rounds of the places where he is likely to get some scoops to feed his column. One evening, tired of the sickly jealousy of his mistress Emma, he goes out with Maddalena. The next day Sylvia, a great Hollywood star, arrives in Rome.

La Dolce Vita
Directed by Federico Fellini
Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Story by Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli
Produced by Giuseppe Amato, Angelo Rizzoli
Starring  Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux, Alain Cuny, Annibale Ninchi, Magali Noël, Lex Barker, Jacques Sernas, Nadia Gray
Cinematography : Otello Martelli
Edited by Leo Catozzo
Music by Nino Rota
Production companies : Riama Film, Pathé Consortium Cinéma, Gray Films
Distributed by Cineriz (Italy), Pathé (France)
Release dates : 5 February 1960 (Italy), 11 May 1960 (France)
Running time : 174 minutes

(Source : press release)