101 Movies: 8? (1963)

98/101

8??(1963)

Original title: Otto e mezzo (Italy)

Co-written (story by) and directed by Federico Fellini

Music by Nino Rota

*SPOILER FREE

"This film talks about you, about your life, about your dreams. This film is for you." ~ Federico Fellini?

8? is a surreal comedy-drama following Guido Anselmi, a celebrated Italian film director who is suffering from "creative block" while attempting to make his new science fiction film. Guido tries to whip both his work and love lives into shape.?

This is a film about film, about creativity, about sanity, and about ambition. This is celebration of art and those who live and die making it.

In this semi-autobiographical narrative, Federico Fellini genuinely creates a comic mixture of hypnosism, obsession, and surrealism about the act of filmmaking, sincere storytelling, sexuality, and the not-very-celebrated side of the artist's life.?

Marcello Mastroianni goes beyond mesmerizeing in his performance mirroring what it is to be a dreamy director in the creative process.?

Nino Rota translates into his finest work, composing the ultimate musical score of Italian cinema. Memorable, enchanting, and exhilarating.?

The fascinating locations and production design, the resonant story, and the glorious black-and-white image. This is exquisite cinema at its most classic.?

Closing to its 60th anniversary, Eight and a Half influenced a generation of filmmakers and continuing to inspire aspiring filmmakers like myself to go out there and put their hearts and arts into motion.?

8? is the very definition of the magic of cinema, a 20th century carnival of art, and an exuberant masterpiece by an artist defined by exuberance.?

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Available to watch on HBO Max, The Criterion Collection, and on Amazon Prime Video?

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