8888½½½½ Directed by Federico Fellini Cinematography by Gianni Di Venanzo Studio: Citerion Length: 138 min. Format: Black and White Theatrical Release Date: 1963 DVD Release Date: 2001 Language: Italian

Excerpted from The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights,

New York: The Museum of Modern Art, revised 2004, originally published 1999, p. 259:

Fellini created a remarkably personal cinematic confession in this film about a director who is

mentally unable to commence work on his latest production. Suffering from a psychosomatic

liver ailment, Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) takes to a spa for physical and spiritual

rejuvenation, only to be haunted by the specter of his professional and personal life. In the

black-and-white-tiled world of the spa, Anselmi confronts his

problems, his boyhood memories, and his lusty fantasy world. Yet

interruptions keep coming at him—from his producer, who wants

to get the production of an outer-space adventure underway, and

from his wife Luisa, upset about his mistress. His imagination

serves as his escape: in imaginary sequences, he brandishes a

whip instead of a megaphone to orchestrate his actors, and he

also fantasizes that he is the master of a harem of women

demurely under his control.

The containment of 8 1/2 within the artificial world of the spa manifests a subjective, self-created

reality, one that Fellini populates with priests, journalists, and Saraghina, the mythical prostitute

who initiated Anselmi into the self-created mysteries of sex in his youthful days. Like Anselmi's

incomplete film script in the story, 8 1/2 relied a great deal on Fellini's gift for improvisation. The

film's title represents the total number of films made by Fellini before this production: seven plus

three collaborations (each counting as one-half). This uniquely autobiographical work is enhanced by a musical score written

by Nino Rota.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WATCHING THE FILM . . .THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WATCHING THE FILM . . .THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WATCHING THE FILM . . .THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WATCHING THE FILM . . .

• The self-reflective style and content of the narrative and the main character • The main character’s personal examination and soul-searching • The visual portrayal of the psychological journey to the inner self • The examination of the past and the present • How the main character deals with and resolves his problems • The film’s presentation of fantasy/escape • The use and meaning of symbolism • The specific use of the “Pinocchio” symbolism • The presentation and commentary of the world of the director and the world of filmmaking • If you watched Manhattan, compare Fellini’s main character as representative of Fellini to Allen’s main character as

representative of Allen—are these roles just thinly veiled personal examinations? Are they self-indulgent?

Other films by Fellini:

La Dolce Vita Satyricon

Amarcord Nights of Cabiria

And the Ship Sails On Spirits of the Dead

La Strada City of Women

CAST LIST Marcello Mastroianni Guido Anselmi Claudia Cardinale Claudia Anouk Aimée Luisa Anselmi Sandra Milo Carla Rossella Falk Rossella Madeleine Le Beau French Actress Mario Pisu Mezzabotta Barbara Steele Gloria Morin Neil Robinson Agent for French actor Mino Doro Claudia's agent Eugene Walter The Journalist Gilda Dahlberg Journalist's Wife Annie Gorassini Producer's Girl Friend Ian Dallas Mindreader Guido Alberti The Producer Mario Conocchia Producer