8 1/2 (Italian title: Otto e mezzo) is a 1963 comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini.
Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) is a man in crisis. He is a storyteller without a story to tell, a director in need of direction. His life as a filmmaker hangs in the balance as his new project is virtually collapsing around him.
Celebrated Italian visionary and master of grand spectacle Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita) unravels one of the great films about unraveling – turning one man's artistic crisis into a grand epic of the cinema – where the camera captures the insanity of the creative process in surreal detail.
Weaving in and out of fantasy and dreamscape, follow Guido on his spiritual journey to creative fulfillment – where he is at once tethered by ropes to overzealous producers whilst simultaneously pondering the true value of the science fiction epic he is supposed to be filming.
A tour-de-force of imaginative cinema, reflecting Fellini's own creative concerns and crises, 8 1/2 (Otto e mezzo) is as thought provoking as it is incredible, blending the best of dreams, the worst of anxieties – sprinkled with the wonder of circus and magic – pondering the possibility that art may be imitating life! Special features include: The Lost Ending – a 50 minute sequence cut from the original film by Fellini, The Magic of Fellini – a collection of interviews with key Fellini collaborators, Federico Fellini's Mysterious Journey – a documentary about The Journey Of G. Mastorna, an unfinished Fellini project shrouded in mystery.
Special Features:
- The Lost Ending (50 mins) – an intriguing insight into the making of a masterpiece. Some remember it, some don't. The photographs exist, the sequence has been shot. It should have been edited as the last sequence of Fellini's 8 1/2, but eventually the Maestro chose the enchanting liveliness of the Circus, and the train sequence is nowhere to be found. A Mystery!
- The Magic of Fellini (55 mins) – a collection of interviews with key Fellini collaborators including Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese & Donald Sutherland
- Federico Fellini's Mysterious Journey – a documentary about The Journey Of G. Mastorna, an unfinished Fellini project shrouded in mystery
Awards
- Won Oscar Best Foreign Language Film Academy Awards, USA 1964
- Won Best European Film Bodil Awards 1964
- Won Kinema Junpo Award Best Foreign Language Film Federico Fellini
- Won Moscow International Film Festival 1963 Grand Prix Federico Fellini
- Won National Board of Review, USA 1963 NBR Award Best Foreign Language Film
Italy. Top Foreign Films
- Won New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1963 NYFCC Award Best Foreign Language Film Italy.
- Nominated Best Director Federico Fellini Academy Awards, USA 1964
- Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film from any Source Italy BAFTA Awards 1964
- Nominated Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Federico Fellini
DGA Award
- 10 other wins, 5 other nominations.
8 1/2 Movie Reviews
“Here is the author-director picture par excellence, an exciting, stimulating, monumental creation.” Variety
“Here is a piece of entertainment that will really make you sit up straight and think, a movie endowed with the challenge of a fascinating intellectual game.” New York Times
“[A] fascinating and highly-influential masterpiece from Federico Fellini.” Film4
“Fellini's manic, larger-than-life 8 1/2 rules as the king of all Italian movies.” Combustive Celluloid
“Fellini's flights into the surreal are his self-examination and confession. Alas, unlike Bergman, his confession is without moral rigor; he wants to be indulged, not absolved.” Decent Films Guide