La Dolce Vita critic and co-founder of "Cahiers du cinéma", felt that "The New York Times" film critic Bosley Crowther praised Fellini’s Roger Ebert considered "La Dolce Vita" as Fellini’s best film, as well as his favorite film of all time and listed it consistently in his top ten films for the "Sight & Sound" Greatest Films poll every ten years. Ebert's first review for the film, written on October 4, 1961, was the first film review he wrote, before he started his career as a film critic in 1967. The film was also a touchstone for Ebert, in how his perspective of
La Dolce Vita dawn. Also employed as an ordering device is the image of a downward spiral that Marcello sets in motion when descending the first of several staircases (including ladders) that open and close episodes. The upshot is that the film's aesthetic form, rather than its content, embodies the theme of Rome as a moral wasteland. Writing for "L'Espresso", the Italian novelist Alberto Moravia highlighted the film's variations in tone, In "Filmcritica XI", Italian poet and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini argued that ""La Dolce Vita" was too important to be discussed as one would normally discuss a film. Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, film