The movie's status as a cult classic definitely makes sense to me now. It's a very satirical and thorough look at the italian elite of intellectuals and artists, all of them very narcissistic, pretentious, self-pitying, emotionally unstable, in a constant internal state of decay, brandishing political theory without actually applying it, fighting unsuccessfully against the world of the 80s and capitalism and profit. All the main characters are tragic, and their awareness of their own pathetic nature makes them even more unhappy. They're all men who use women or demand their attention and their love, they try to find happiness where it doesn't belong. The theme of the movie is the humorous existential loneliness of the self-aware bourgeoisie. I have some complaints, like the fact that the movie is a bit long for my taste, and some of the 5 episodes really drag. The actors are almost all pretty good, the final raging monologue of Mario is amazing. The humor holds up pretty well, and it's always interesting to see how an older generation of creatives saw themselves. Overall, not very digestible, but fine as an intellectual and thought provoking portrait of the 80s artlife.

Commedia all'Italiana had pretty well run its course by the time Ettore Scola made this film but its dark humour, scathing social satire and colourful characters certainly qualify it as typical of that particular genre. One is hardly surprised as the award-winning script is by the redoubtable duo of Age and Scarpelli whilst the cast is headed by three of the greatest male practitioners of Italian comedy, namely Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman and Ugo Tognazzi. The absent Alberto Sordi gets a mention! As a bonus there are beautifully observed portraits of a deranged writer by Jean Louis Trintignant and a depressed pen-pusher by Serge Reggiani. On the distaff side Stefania Sandrelli proves once again that she is more than just a pretty face by picking up a Nastro d'Argento for her performance as Gassman's lover and as Mastroianni's ex-wife the elegant Carla Gravina was recognised at Cannes.

Although not Scola's greatest this is still the work of a master film-maker, is eminently watchable and fully justifies its length. The inexorable passing of time with its painful regrets, the fragility of relationships and the frailties of humankind as depicted here cannot fail to strike a chord and we are furthermore treated to a level of artistry from the principals that belongs to a vanished era.

Ettore Scola has made at least two great films, C'eravamo tanto amati and Une giornata particolare. But this time he got carried away. It's not enough to put 20 great actors in a room to end up with a masterpiece. Call it self- indulgent, call it intellectual masturbation, I call it boring. Sorry, Ettore.