8 1/2 by Dustin Stratton

Title/Year

8 1/2

Director/Birth Country/Year Born

Federico Fellini/Italy/1920

Budget

?

Gross

$98,760

Synopsis

Guido is a successful film director who is trying to come up with his next big hit, and at the same time relax a bit. All of the pieces are in place, producer, actors and location, but no script or new idea. As he tries to come up with his next big thing he is constantly hounded by everyone around him, his wife, mistress, and his lead actress. To help himself relax and solidify his ideas he checks himself into a spa, but that helps little as everybody bothers him there as well. He decides to create a film that is a science fiction commentary on Catholicism but runs into many blocks as he does not want to tell a lie in his film. As Guido works through his problems and obstacles he reminisces about his childhood and how he hopes things will turn out. During his struggle he meets an actress named Claudia which Guido hopes will be his salvation.

Narrative and Visual Keywords

Black and White, whimsical, flashback, staged, big locations

Characterization/ Dialogue

Lots of dialogue, well flushed out characters, strong frustrated lead, dialogue heavy

Camera/lighting/editing technique

Lots of moving shots, wide exteriors, lots of contrasting lighting which makes all of the heavy smoking look even cooler than it is, standard dialogue editing, lots of shadow play

Political/ Social Commentary

8 1/2 Deals with the process and struggles that artists go through when they are expected to deliver something amazing and profound on the spot and in short time, combined with personal probles.

Historical Relevance/ Recognition

2 Academy Awards (best foreign film, best costume design), many nominations, grand prize at the Moscow Film Festival, influenced many movies and directors including Woody Allen, Francois Truffaunt and Peter Greenaway.

Notable Collaboration

Actress Claudia Cardinale who was allowed to dub her own voice for the first time in her career as her voice was always considered throaty and heavy on the Tunisian accent.

Random fact, Etc.

The title refers to the number of movies Fellini had directed up until this point.

1. Objective Realism in 8 1/2 is everywhere. The conversations that Guido has with the other characters seem like the conversations that most people have. They are very boring for the most part which doesn't make the film boring, it adds to Guido's character and the frustration that he feels as he just wants to relax and get away from everyone. There is also much subjective realism in the piece. Guido constantly flashes back to times when he was a child and hallucinates about many things which open him up for exploration by the viewer. Authorship is harder to pinpoint since this is the only film by Federico Fellini that I have ever seen. However, with the research that I have conducted into the film the authorship seems pretty stamped on the piece as the main character is a direct reflection of Fellini and how he feels about the process.

2. The film focuses much on romantic commitment. Guido has both a mistress and a wife who are polar opposites of each other. This makes it very hard to juggle the two but Guido seems like a glutton for punishment. He seems almost like a masochist in that he enjoys receiving the pain that he inflicts upon himself.

3. I can see Fellini in the main character Guido. On the surface the job descriptions are the same. But deeper than that is the struggle for the artist to constantly come up with ideas that please everyone quickly and efficiently. I can see that while Fellini was writing this character he poured a lot of himself into it to express his frustrations with the process and the people that are always surrounding you.