I Vitelloni

Fellini's early masterpiece.

Federico Fellini's semi­autobiographi­cal buddy film is the story of a group of provincial loafers nearing 30, still living with their mothers, and hanging around street corners and bars in a dreary seaside town (Rimini, Fellini's bir­thplace) talking women and big-city glory.

A major influence on Martin Scorcese's Mean Streets, this unsentimental tale of a group of latino no-hopers revolves around the womanising and morally bankrupt gang leader Fausto; Leopoldo, an aspiring playwright who tries to peddle his scripts to an aging gay actor; and Alberto, too busy dressing in drag to notice his sister eloping with her notorious lover. Fellini, himself only 33 when he made the film, portrays these drunken, carousing men with pathos, but also great warmth and empathy, creating a realistic portrait of frustrated small-town lives. Released the year before his breakout work, La Strada, I Vitelloni stands as Fellini's early masterpiece and one of his most-loved films.

Critic Reviews:

• " Some of Fellini's finest work and can be warmly recommended. " – David Stratton

• " Proof of Fellini's early genius as a storyteller. " – Jamie Russell

• " It was this ineffably poignant semiautobiograp­hical reverie that unleashed fully Fellini's shim­mering, flowing poetic style. " – Kevin Thomas