IMDb > 8½ (1963)
8½
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8½ (1963) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?

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Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story) &
Ennio Flaiano (story) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

25 June 1963 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy more

Plot:

A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 5 nominations more

User Comments:

A Five Martini Cinematic Experience more (152 total)

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 1711:00 PMTCM   


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Marcello Mastroianni ... Guido Anselmi

Claudia Cardinale ... Claudia

Anouk Aimée ... Luisa Anselmi (as Anouk Aimee)
Sandra Milo ... Carla
Rossella Falk ... Rossella
Barbara Steele ... Gloria Morin
Madeleine Lebeau ... Madeleine, l'attrice francese
Caterina Boratto ... La signora misteriosa
Eddra Gale ... La Saraghina (as Edra Gale)
Guido Alberti ... Pace, il produttore
Mario Conocchia ... Conocchia, il direttore di produzione
Bruno Agostini ... Bruno - il secundo segretario di produzione
Cesarino Miceli Picardi ... Cesarino, l'ispettore di produzione
Jean Rougeul ... Carini, il critico cinematografico
Mario Pisu ... Mario Mezzabotta
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

Eight and a Half (UK) (alternative spelling) (USA) (alternative spelling)
8 1/2 (Italy) (alternative spelling)
8½ (Italy) (alternative spelling)
Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (USA)
Federico Fellini's 8½ (USA) (complete title)
Huit et demi (France)
La bella confusione (Italy) (working title)
Otto e mezzo (Italy) (alternative spelling)
more

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

Italy | France

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) (2003) | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Norway:16 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) (1989) | UK:A (original rating) | Norway:15 (2004)

Company:

Cineriz more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The film's working title was "La Bella Confusione", i.e. "The Beautiful Confusion". more

Goofs:

Continuity: A man tells Guido that he has placed something in his right-hand pocket (a gun), when he goes to shoot himself under the table, he pulls it out of his left pocket. more

Quotes:

Guido: I thought my ideas were so clear. I wanted to make an honest film. No lies whatsoever. I thought I had something so simple to say. Something useful to everybody. A film that could help bury forever all those dead things we carry within ourselves. Instead, I'm the one without the courage to bury anything at all. When did I go wrong? I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it all the same. more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Die 120 Tage von Bottrop (1997) more

Soundtrack:

The Ride of the Valkyries more


FAQ

What make of sunglasses was Guido wearing?
Is this movie based on a novel?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
more
63 out of 104 people found the following comment useful.
A Five Martini Cinematic Experience, 6 February 2005
Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas

Intellectuals have written volumes on this strange film by Italian New Wave director, Federico Fellini. I am not an intellectual, so my review will be brief. At its most basic, "8 1/2" (a.k.a. "Otto e mezzo") concerns Guido, a film director (supposedly a surrogate for Fellini himself), who is having what amounts to a midlife crisis. Guido is frustrated in his film-making, and by his relations with other people in his life. But the film's story does not proceed in a traditional, linear fashion. Fellini more or less abandons logical narration, in favor of "open form" narration, wherein the story's causal chain of events is broken.

Thus, trying to figure out what is going on in this film can be hard. Guido's fantasies, memories, dreams, and reality co-mingle in a kind of cinematic stew. Fellini presents viewers with a kaleidoscope of surreal B&W images of ordinary objects and eccentric, chattering characters which interact with Guido and with each other, in ways that defy logic, and give breathtaking meaning to the term symbolism. Followers of psychologist Carl Jung would have a field day. In style, the film is flamboyant. In substance, the film is maddeningly subliminal. And yet, even the most metallic cynic, Pauline Kael notwithstanding, must surely appreciate the rareness of Fellini's probing introspection.

Given the bizarre, unstructured content of "8 1/2", I wonder about the issue of necessity. Suppose Fellini had added an extra ten minutes to the screenplay, or deleted ten minutes. Would that have made any difference? Apart from Guido, if this or that character had been deleted, how would that have changed the story's significance? And if, as some have suggested, the film is a mirror image of Fellini's own confused psyche, can the story be construed as an intuition of his future film-making?

"Otto e mezzo" is not for everyone. Like a Zen koan, "8 1/2" invites frustration. It is above all else a celebration of ambiguity and abstraction, a cinematic experience to ponder, especially on the heels of four or five martinis ... or 8 1/2, if you really want to induce immense intellectual insight. Cheers.

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