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

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
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:
Plot:
A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 5 nominations more
User Comments:
Perhaps, one of the greatest films ever made more (153 total)

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
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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:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The title refers to the number of movies Federico Fellini had directed up until that point - six features, two short (1/2) films and "half a picture" ("Luci del Varieta'" his first, co-directed with Alberto Lattuada), for a total of 7 1/2. So this one is number 8 1/2. 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: My Dears... Happiness consists of being able to tell the truth without hurting anyone. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
The Ride of the Valkyries more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
What does the 8½ in the title stand for?
Is this movie based on a novel?
more
63 out of 91 people found the following comment useful.
Perhaps, one of the greatest films ever made, 9 November 2005
10/10
Author: Galina from Virginia, USA

First time I saw 8 1/2 over twenty years ago; I did not like it then and I did not care much for a confused director who did not know how to make his next movie or how to deal with all women in his life. This time it was different. I knew it from the opening scene, from the first sounds of Nino Rota's music. I wanted to know how Guido would balance the demands of his producers and the insecurities of his love life. I sometimes barely could tell the difference between the reality and Guido's surfing the waves of his memory or building the Utopias in his mind where things were exactly the way he wanted them to be – and I really did not want to tell the difference. I just was there, following Guido on his journey where Fellini sent us. Then, that scene came, "La Saraghina's" lurid dance on the beach. There was something in that scene that made me return to it over and over again. What was it? The dancing woman was not young, pretty or graceful. On the contrary, she was fat and ugly but there was something about her – that smile, resilience, the promise of joy that attracted eager schoolboys. It was a last time the young Guido felt happy without guilt and shame that inevitably came after the encounter and stayed with him forever; he learned that joy and punishment are inseparable…

There have been fewer than a handful of films that affected me as profoundly as 8 ½ did:

Tarkovsky's "Zerkalo" – when the master holds the mirror in front of you that reflects his soul and mind, open you eyes and heart, don't say a word, just watch closely.

Tarkovsky's "Andrey Rublev" – What is talent? Is it a God's gift or Devil's curse? Is an Artist free in choosing what to do with that gift?

Bergman's "Persona" – How far can one individual go in opening his soul to the other without losing identity and sanity?

Fellini's –"Nights of Cabiria" – "Dum Spiro – Spero" - While there's life there's hope.

In 8 ½, Fellini explored all these subjects and in the final he took the idea of life and hope ever further: after all the characters in his film disappear from the screen, all what left behind is "a little orchestra of Hope with Love as its conductor". The last that we hear is the magic music of Rota, bringing affirmation, hope and love.

Simply wonderful. Perhaps, one of five greatest films ever made.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for 8½ (1963)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
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Criterion Blu-ray coming 12 Jan 2010 PriceOfAnarchy
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