The Great Beauty

The Great Beauty

Criterion Collection Edition #702

For decades, journalist Jep Gambardella has charmed and seduced his way through the glittering nightlife of Rome. Since the legendary success of his only novel, he has been a permanent fixture in the city’s literary and elite social circles. But on his sixty-fifth birthday, Jep unexpectedly finds himself taking stock of his life, turning his cutting wit on himself and his contemporaries, and looking past the lavish nightclubs, parties, and cafés to find Rome itself, in all its monumental glory: a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty. Featuring sensuous cinematography, a lush score, and an award-winning central performance by the great Toni Servillo, this transporting experience by the brilliant Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is a breathtaking Felliniesque tale of decadence and lost love.

The Great Beauty
  • The Great Beauty

    Directed by Paolo Sorrentino • 2013 • Italy
    Starring Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli

    For decades, journalist Jep Gambardella has charmed and seduced his way through the glittering nightlife of Rome. Since the legendary success of his only novel, he has been a permanent fixture in t...

Extras

  • Paolo Sorrentino on THE GREAT BEAUTY

    In this conversation, recorded in October 2013, director Paolo Sorrentino talks to Italian film scholar Antonio Monda about his early career and the genesis and making of THE GREAT BEAUTY.

  • Toni Servillo on THE GREAT BEAUTY

    Primarily a stage actor until he starred in Paolo Sorrentino’s 2001 film ONE MAN UP, Toni Servillo has since collaborated with the director several more times. In this interview, conducted in November 2013, Servillo discusses his work with Sorrentino, especially in THE GREAT BEAUTY.

  • Umberto Contarello on THE GREAT BEAUTY

    Screenwriter Umberto Contarello has written for numerous directors, including Paolo Sorrentino, Carlo Mazzacurati, and Bernardo Bertolucci. In this interview, conducted in November 2013, he discusses working with Sorrentino and the inspiration for the character of Jep Gambardella in THE GREAT BEA...

  • Maestro Cinema

    Presented here is a scene from THE GREAT BEAUTY in which Jep Gambardella visits an aging film director.

  • Montage

    Presented here is a montage of various imagery cut from THE GREAT BEAUTY.