8½

For other uses, see the film.

8½
Original theatrical poster
Directed by	Federico Fellini
Written by	Ennio Flaiano Tullio Pinelli Federico Fellini Brunello Rondi
Produced by	Angelo Rizzoli
Starring	Marcello Mastroianni Claudia Cardinale Anouk Aimée Sandra Milo
Cinematography	Gianni Di Venanzo
Edited by	Leo Cattozzo
Music by	Nino Rota
Release dates	February 14, 1963 (Italy) June 25, 1963 (US)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

8½ (pronounced Otto e mezzo in Italian) is a 1963 film written and directed by Italian director Federico Fellini. It is regularly acclaimed by film critics as one of the finest films ever made; it consistently ranks in the "top ten best movies ever" lists by cinema institutes and academies; in a recent poll of film directors conducted by the British Film Institute, 8½ was ranked 3rd best film of all time. The film was shot in black-and-white by influential and innovative cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo, and features a soundtrack by Nino Rota.

The film's title refers to the total number of films Fellini had previously directed. These previous works included six feature films, two short segments, and a collaboration with another director, Alberto Lattuada. The latter three projects accounted for a "half" film each. After directing these "7½" prior projects, the film became production number "8½" for Fellini.

Fellini's previous six feature films included Lo sceicco bianco (1952), I vitelloni (1953), La strada in (1954), Il bidone (1955), Le notti di Cabiria (1957), and La dolce vita (1960). His two short segments included: the segment Un Agenzia Matrimoniale (A Marriage Agency) in the 1953 omnibus film L'amore in città (Love in the City) and the segment "Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio" from the 1962 omnibus film Boccaccio '70. His collaboration with Alberto Lattuada, was Luci del varietà (Variety Lights) in 1950. The working title for 8½ was La bella confusione (The Beautiful Confusion).

Plot

The plot revolves around an Italian film director, Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), who is suffering from "director's block." He is supposed to be directing an ill-defined film that is hinted at as being science fiction as well as possibly autobiographical, but has lost interest amid artistic and marital difficulties. As Guido struggles half-heartedly to work on the film, a series of flashbacks and dreams delve into his memories and fantasies; they are frequently interwoven with reality.

Themes

8½ is about the struggles involved in the creative process, both technical and personal, and the problems artists face when expected to deliver something personal and profound with intense public scrutiny, on a constricted schedule, while simultaneously having to deal with their own personal relationships. It is, in a larger sense, about finding true personal happiness in a difficult, fragmented life. Finally, like many Italian films of the period (and most famously evident in the films of Fellini's contemporary, Michelangelo Antonioni), 8½ is about the alienating effects of modernization. 8½ is highly autobiographical: Fellini made the film because he himself was suffering from a director's block; the character of Guido (played by Mastroianni, whom Fellini often used to mirror himself in his films) is a representation of himself and many of Guido's memories are based on Fellini's own. Because of this, 8½ is a recursive film: a film about the creation of itself as well as a metafilm.

Fellini did not originally intend the film to be so obviously autobiographical. According to screenwriter Tullio Pinelli, in the original script, Guido was a writer who could not finish his novel. However, when Fellini found out that Marcello Mastroianni had just played a writer in Michelangelo Antonioni’s La notte, he changed the character into a movie director, explaining, "How am I going to ask Marcello to play a writer again? He’ll end up believing he’s one and he’ll write a novel." Four years after completing 8½, life imitated art. Fellini's producer, Dino De Laurentiis, had invested in an expensive replica of Cologne Cathedral and other huge sets that had been built in Cinecittà for Fellini's film Il viaggio di G. Mastorna. Fellini then informed De Laurentiis that he would not finish the film. De Laurentiis was furious, much like the producer in 8½.

Production

During production, Fellini handwrote a note to himself and attached it to the camera below the viewfinder so that he would constantly see it when filming. It stated, "Ricordati che è un film comico." ("Remember, this is a comedy.") 8½ was filmed in the spherical cinematographic process, using 35-millimeter film, and was exhibited with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. As with most Italian films of this period the sound was entirely dubbed in afterwards; following a technique dear to Fellini many lines of the dialogue were written only during post production, while the actors on the set mouthed random lines. This film marks the first time actress Claudia Cardinale was allowed to dub her own dialogue — previously her voice was thought to be too throaty and, coupled with her Tunisian accent, was considered undesirable..

Reception

The film received worldwide praise from critics and audiences alike. Roger Ebert wrote in his 1993 review of 8½ that "it remains the definitive film about director's block" making it no surprise that it came number three on the 2002 Sight & Sound Director's Poll (beaten only by Citizen Kane and The Godfather Parts 1 and 2.) The film also features #5 on They Shoot Pictures, Don't They's Top 1000 films. Popular film magazines such as Empire have given it excellent reviews to this day and many critics still consider it the best movie about making movies.

8½ won two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design (Black and White). It also garnered three other nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Art Direction (Black-and-White). The film won all of the seven awards it was nominated for at the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. It won the top award at the Moscow Film Festival.

8½ is a fixture on the prestigious Sight & Sound critics' and directors' polls of the top ten films ever made. It ranks number three on the magazine's "Directors' Top Ten Poll", and number nine on the "Critics' Top Ten Poll", from 2002. It is ranked as the 4th Best Foreign Language film of all time by the Screen Directory.

Cast

• Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi
• Claudia Cardinale as Claudia
• Anouk Aimée as Luisa Anselmi
• Sandra Milo as Carla
• Rossella Falk as Rossella
• Barbara Steele as Gloria Morin
• Madeleine LeBeau as Madeleine
• Caterina Boratto as La signora misteriosa
• Eddra Gale as La Saraghina
• Guido Alberti as Pace
• Mario Conocchia as Conocchia
• Bruno Agostini as Il segretario di produzione
• Cesarino Miceli Picardi as Cesarino
• Jean Rougeul as Carini
• Mario Pisu as Mario Mezzabotta

External links

• 8½ at IMDb
• 8½ at AllMovie.