#4 - 8 1/2 (1963)
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee, Claudia Cardinale
Directed by: Federico Fellini
'8 1/2' is Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical masterpiece about art, love, life, death, and redemption. The story centers on directer Guido Anselmi (Mastroianni), who, coming off a successful film, is completely blocked nearly halfway into production on his eagerly anticipated follow-up. Day after day, Guido is deluged with an endless stream of questions from actors, producers, agents, and writers (one of which supplies a running commentary of everything wrong in Guido's screenplay), each wanting information about the movie. Time and again, Guido mumbles uncertain replies, or rather abruptly excuses himself from these conversations. It's difficult to supply answers when you have none to give.
What's causing this block? It's the fact that Guido finds himself at forty-three and at a loss for any real meaning in his life. He is uncertain about his troubled marriage to Luisa (Aimee), indifferent toward his overbearing mistress, and always, the shadow of his strict Catholic upbringing hangs overhead like a heavy storm cloud, threatening to wash everything else away in a shower of guilt and regret.
As the movie progresses, and Guido walks this precarious tightrope, we often cut away to flashbacks of his childhood (usually embellished for heightened effect), or to complete fantasy sequences (one such sequence has Guido living in a harem with all the women he has known, who love and serve him, until they realize he doesn't truly care about them, leading to a full-scale revolt), both of which allow us a window into the psyche of this brilliant yet self-indulgent director.
Marcello Mastroianni, playing a version of Fellini, is brilliant as the confused and self-absorbed director, who has simply lost the desire to continue with his latest film. Even playing a man befuddled and directionless, Matroianni imbues Guido with a vital presence, and even though he is selfish and (at times) a liar, we cannot help but be drawn to him.
At one point, the characters all gather at one of the half-completed sets, that of a giant spaceship (whose purpose in his movie Guido cannot say), that towers impossibly high into the night sky. With no script to accompany it, the ship has simply taken on a life of its own, and the set builders keep adding to it. But you have to wonder, what is the point? Why keep building? Perhaps the answer is related to Guido's struggle - that it is easier to simply keep moving blindly ahead than to stop and challenge yourself to find real meaning.
This is not only Fellini's finest film, but also the best movie yet made on the subject of filmmaking. We are allowed a rare glimpse into the artistic struggle that occurs in the mind of a great artist, and the means an incredibly talented director will employ to resolve it.
Directed by: Federico Fellini
'8 1/2' is Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical masterpiece about art, love, life, death, and redemption. The story centers on directer Guido Anselmi (Mastroianni), who, coming off a successful film, is completely blocked nearly halfway into production on his eagerly anticipated follow-up. Day after day, Guido is deluged with an endless stream of questions from actors, producers, agents, and writers (one of which supplies a running commentary of everything wrong in Guido's screenplay), each wanting information about the movie. Time and again, Guido mumbles uncertain replies, or rather abruptly excuses himself from these conversations. It's difficult to supply answers when you have none to give.
What's causing this block? It's the fact that Guido finds himself at forty-three and at a loss for any real meaning in his life. He is uncertain about his troubled marriage to Luisa (Aimee), indifferent toward his overbearing mistress, and always, the shadow of his strict Catholic upbringing hangs overhead like a heavy storm cloud, threatening to wash everything else away in a shower of guilt and regret.
As the movie progresses, and Guido walks this precarious tightrope, we often cut away to flashbacks of his childhood (usually embellished for heightened effect), or to complete fantasy sequences (one such sequence has Guido living in a harem with all the women he has known, who love and serve him, until they realize he doesn't truly care about them, leading to a full-scale revolt), both of which allow us a window into the psyche of this brilliant yet self-indulgent director.
Marcello Mastroianni, playing a version of Fellini, is brilliant as the confused and self-absorbed director, who has simply lost the desire to continue with his latest film. Even playing a man befuddled and directionless, Matroianni imbues Guido with a vital presence, and even though he is selfish and (at times) a liar, we cannot help but be drawn to him.
At one point, the characters all gather at one of the half-completed sets, that of a giant spaceship (whose purpose in his movie Guido cannot say), that towers impossibly high into the night sky. With no script to accompany it, the ship has simply taken on a life of its own, and the set builders keep adding to it. But you have to wonder, what is the point? Why keep building? Perhaps the answer is related to Guido's struggle - that it is easier to simply keep moving blindly ahead than to stop and challenge yourself to find real meaning.
This is not only Fellini's finest film, but also the best movie yet made on the subject of filmmaking. We are allowed a rare glimpse into the artistic struggle that occurs in the mind of a great artist, and the means an incredibly talented director will employ to resolve it.