8½ (1963)

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

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

Release Date:

25 June 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

A picture that goes beyond what men think about - because no man ever thought about it in quite this way!

Plot:

A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.

Plot Keywords:

Director | Mistress | Spa | Dream | Friend

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 5 nominations

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

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)

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English | French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cineriz

Trivia:

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

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.

Quotes:

Guido: The truth is: I do not know... I seek... I have not yet found. Only with this in mind can I feel alive and look at you without shame.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brazil (1985)

Soundtrack:

The Ride of the Valkyries

A Five Martini Cinematic Experience

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.