Discover
Federico Fellini’s surreal self portrait, a triumph of art and imagination, is one of the
indisputable cornerstones of a collection of great cinema. It has been studied, acclaimed
and loved all over the world, it is a motion picture that can never grow old. 8½ is Fellini’s
soul, a magnificently textured film that mingles dreams, reality and fantasy with a riot
of visual imagery a comic extravaganza of overwhelming brilliance. 8½ is complex,
challenging, cathartic and fearless, and it all begins so simply. . .
. . . Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career.
His next production is ready to shoot, but his crisis of self confidence leaves him unable to
cope. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, where he hopes
thermal baths will help cure his exhaustion.
While Guido (brilliantly played by Marcello Mastroianni) attempts to rest, a sorry group
gathers. His producer, staff, and actors, hoping to be cast in his opus, set up an office in
the hotel and begin erecting an elaborate set on a nearby beach. Guido’s bitter wife, his
mistress, his relatives arrive, the throng of idlers grows, each one begging him to get on
with the show.
In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes, creating a harem of all the women he has
known and in his dreams, he recalls his childhood in a sequence in which a fat prostitute
entertains for the pleasure of schoolboys. Guido snaps to reality, joining his entourage to
watch screen tests in a local theater, but drifts into a fantasy of a film critic being hanged
from the balcony. Dreams and fantasies weave through his days until, at last, Guido is
badgered to the brink at a press conference and commits symbolic suicide — a catharsis
that creates a confirmation of life and love and his work in the cinema.
Original Release
02/14/1963
US Release
06/24/1963
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Marcello Mastroianni | Guido Anselmi |
Claudia Cardinale | Claudia |
Anouk Aimee | Luisa Anselmi |
Sandra Milo | Carla |
Rossella Falk | Rossella |
Barbara Steele | Gloria Morin |
Madeleine Lebeau | Madeleine - l'attrice francese / Madeleine, the French Actress |
Caterina Boratto | La signora misteriosa / Mysterious Lady |
Eddra Gale | La Saraghina |
Guido Alberti | Pace - il produttore / Pace, the Producer |
Directors
Writers
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Brunello Rondi
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Marcello Mastroianni | Guido Anselmi |
Claudia Cardinale | Claudia |
Anouk Aimee | Luisa Anselmi |
Sandra Milo | Carla |
Rossella Falk | Rossella |
Barbara Steele | Gloria Morin |
Madeleine Lebeau | Madeleine - l'attrice francese / Madeleine, the French Actress |
Caterina Boratto | La signora misteriosa / Mysterious Lady |
Eddra Gale | La Saraghina |
Guido Alberti | Pace - il produttore / Pace, the Producer |
Mario Conocchia | Conocchia - il direttore di produzione / Conocchia, the Production Manager |
Bruno Agostini | Bruno - il secondo segretario di produzione / Bruno, the Second Production Secretary |
Cesarino Miceli Picardi | Cesarino - l'ispettore di produzione / Cesarino, the Production Supervisor |
Jean Rougeul | Carini - il critico cinematografico / Carini, the Film Critic |
Mario Pisu | Mario Mezzabotta |
Yvonne Casadei | Jacqueline Bonbon |
Ian Dallas | Il partner della telepata / Maurice, Maya's Assistant |
Mino Doro | L'agente di Claudia / Claudia's Agent |
Nadia Sanders | Nadine - la Hostess / Nadine, the Hostess |
Georgia Simmons | La nonna di Guido / Guido's Grandmother |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Angelo Rizzoli | Producer |
Trailers
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1964 | Oscar | Best Director | Nominated |
1964 | Oscar | Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen | Nominated |
1964 | Oscar | Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White | Nominated |
1964 | Oscar | Best Costume Design, Black-and-White | Won |
1964 | Oscar | Best Foreign Language Film | Won |