电影导演圭多（马塞洛·马斯楚安尼 Marcello Mastroianni 饰）在完成了一部影片之后感到筋疲力尽，他来到一处疗养地休息，同时开始构思下一部电影。他受到恶梦的困扰，精神不振，灵感也陷入停滞。他让情妇卡拉（桑德拉·米洛 Sandra Milo 饰）也来到疗养地和他作伴，但卡拉的到来反而增添了他的烦恼。此时，充满朝气的年轻女郎克劳迪娅（克劳迪娅·卡汀娜 Claudia Cardinale 饰）的出现，令圭多压抑的世界乍现出一抹亮色。然而随着圭多妻子路易莎（阿努克·艾梅 Anouk Aimée 饰）以及许多电影圈人士纷纷来到疗养地，圭多不堪忍受个人感情生活的混乱与电影拍摄的双重压力，他的精神危机愈演愈烈，梦境与幻觉不断侵入他的现实生活…… 　　本片荣获1964年奥斯卡最佳外语片和最佳服装设计（黑白片）两项大奖。

　　费里尼拍摄了另一部自传性很强的电影《朱丽叶与魔鬼》，在这部电影里，费里尼过分追求求神秘主义的梦境空间，在影片里极尽详能的描述描写一个资产阶级的女人遭到丈夫的欺骗，精神迷惘，陷于离奇古怪的幻觉，最后终于清醒的故事。虽然费里尼和茱莉埃妲两人携手共度一生，而且费里尼也从来没有传出与其他女人的诽闻，但是我想所有对费里尼非常熟悉的影迷都不相信费里尼从没有出轨的行为。尤其在看了这部电影之后，因为在费里尼的电影中充分的表现出费里尼是一个性欲旺盛且对女人充满遐想的导演，他甚至在他的男人外遇只是把自己的性器官借给别人用一下罢了，并没有出卖自己的灵魂。或者这正是费里尼的迷人之处吧，他永远是神秘的，让人无法捉摸的。

北意大利，纳兹，纳粹占领期间。在远方隆隆的炮声中，几个当地政要开始了他们令人发指的暴虐独裁。他们首先绑架了十六对当地青年和富家女子，由三个风骚老女人带着持枪守卫在一所大别墅中对他们实行严格管理。在几个首脑之间，他们相互娶别人的女儿为妻，以维持他们秩序的纯洁与和谐。他们从众多俘虏而来的男孩、女孩中寻找着各自满意的欲望对象，而这些少男少女却没有一点权力表示反抗或者不满。几个法官、神父为首的权力人物，尽最大可能在这个欲望与权力被滥用的大别墅中实施自己所能制定出的荒唐暴虐的法度。在这个被隔离的世界里，男孩和女孩不仅是他们肉体的施虐对象，而且还要承受他们的精神虐待。这些可怜的孩子要随同这些权贵一起进行毫无廉耻的性行为，他们一起听各种猥琐故事，他们满足权力人物随时而起的欲望，他们被安排举行婚礼，他们一起食用粪便－－甚至要求“自给自足”，他们被迫进行“最美丽臀部”的评选，他们最后还接受所有能够想象的肉体伤害。

　　I saw this film twice on my first trip to Italy (my first European trip, so it already was magical) and loved it, which was high praise, since I'd only been studying Italian for a few months, on my own. As I remember, it's the story of a man in an old actors home who wins a lottery, and runs away with a pretty worker from the home. He is taken advantage of, I remember, but exactly how...? I have looked for this film on video, and I think United Artists may offer it, but perhaps only in Europe. I would love to see it again...Ugo Tognazzi was a wonderful actor, and expressed many things simultaneously, as he did in La Cage Aux Folles. Lucky you if you can see the movie. I was in love with my Primo [Italian] Amore at the time, so perhaps memory has sweetened recollection. But I think it was lots of fun to watch.　　I found this film one of the saddest ones which I've ever seen. Dino Risi is a brilliant director and made a great film which shows the aging. Ugo Tognazzi plays the actor who feels too young to be in an "old actor's house". He just can't stand the rules and the other old people so he escape with a young girl. The sad part comes from here because the girl wants her freedom, doesn't love the man and cheats him with other guys. In fact she never told the man that she loved him.