8½ photopage The Maltese falcon The searchers

8½

1963 Italy Black / White 138 Minutes

Bruno Agostini + ? + Marcello Mastroianni

Review

It's better to destroy than create what's unnecessary

Guido is a director suffering from creative block and a midlife crisis. He is simultaneously recovering from exhaustion in an Italian resort town and preparing to shoot a movie he hasn't written yet. But the multi-million lire set is under construction, his production crew is moving full speed ahead, and Guido himself is confused, bewildered and up against artistic and personal barriers he seems powerless to overcome.

Guido is being interrupted all the time and instead of solving his problems, he retreats into his dreams and memories. Guido's dishonesty in dealing with his marriage, his career, and the fact that he really does not want to make the film forces him to mislead people as to his true intentions.

Cast

Directed by Federico Fellini

Marcello Mastroianni .... Guido Anselmi
Claudia Cardinale .... Claudia
Anouk Aimée .... Luisa Anselmi
Sandra Milo .... Carla
Rossella Falk .... Rossella
Barbara Steele .... Gloria Morin
Madeleine LeBeau .... Madeleine
Caterina Boratto .... La signora misteriosa
Eddra Gale .... La Saraghina
Guido Alberti .... Pace
Mario Conocchia .... Conocchia
Bruno Agostini .... Il segretario di produzione
Cesarino Miceli Picardi .... Cesarino
Jean Rougeul .... Carini
Mario Pisu .... Mario Mezzabotta
Ian Dallas .... The partner of the mindreader
Mary Indovino .... The mindreader

Links and more

Asa Nisi Masa
Terrible thing

Trivia

Annibale Ninchi plays Marcello Mastroianni’s father in this film and in La dolce vita (1960).

The film title literally marks Fellini’s work on 8 1/2 feature films. He counted the six features he made so far, added the new one and 1/2 a point for each of the three features he had co-directed: Variety Lights, Love in the City and Boccaccio ’70Source / More (Book)

Fellini: “The movie is the story of a film director who is trying to pull together the pieces of his life and make sense of them”

Laurence Olivier was Fellini’s initial choice to play Guido.Source / More (Book)

Bio

Marcello Mastroianni

I am not a sex addict

Remarkable:

Marcello made over 100 films but he said that only ten of them are really good.

Born:

September 28, 1924

Born as:

Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni

Died:

December 19, 1996

Marcello was born in Fontana Liri, Italy, but soon his family moved to Turin and then Rome. He enrolled at the University of Rome after World War II.

Mastroianni performed with a local drama troupe, earning raves for an appearance in Angelica which brought him to the attention of director Luchino Visconti , who subsequently cast him in his theater production of As you like it.

In 1960 Marcello became a sensation with La Dolce Vita (The sweet life) by Federico Fellini. It was followed by other classic pictures e.g., La notte (The Night)(1960), Divorzio all'italiana (Divorce—Italian Style)(1961) and 8½ (1963). His reputation worldwide was now as strong as in his native country.

In the late sixties Marcello travelled to Britain to star in Diamonds for Breakfast (1968) , the first of his English-language films in which his performance was not overdubbed.

After several critical and commercial disappointments he returned to form in Una Giornata particolare (1977) as a sensitive homosexual in love with a housewife (Sophia Loren). Mastroianni continued to act until his death and held starring roles in about 120 films over the course of his long career.

Selected Movies:

8½ (1963)
La dolce vita (1960)
Divorzio all'italiana (1961)
Le notti bianche (1957)
Notte, La (1961)
Una giornata particolare (1977)
La grande bouffe (1973)

Academy awards:

1988 Nominated Best Actor for: Oci ciornie (1987)
1978 Nominated Best Actor for: Una giornata particolare (1977)
1963 Nominated Best Actor for: Divorzio all'italiana (1961)