8½

While part of the Everyman Critics is broadening each others movie viewing there are some movies that i watch that may not be suitable for everyone's viewing. Rather than subject everyone to some of my more provocative movie viewing habits i will post reviews in the blog of some movies that won't be discussed with everyone else. This does not mean though that i won't push the boundaries every so often and make my fellow Everyman Critics watch movies they really don't want to watch. :)

-dan

This time i'm going to go back and post a review of a movie i watched awhile ago and was referenced in the 'Wristcutters: A Love Story' podcast, '8½'. It was only mentioned in passing, but it's such a great movie that i feel that it deserves more recognition from me. Oh, just so you don't think i'm going to go soft on my fellow everyman, we will most likely be watching this one in the future. On to the review:

8½ (1963)
TIME: 138 minutes
GENRE: Drama
MPAA RATING: NR
LANGUAGE: Italian
DIRECTOR: Federico Fellini
STARRING:
Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo

RATING: 10/10

OVERVIEW:
A director fresh off a previous film which was a smash hit, prepares for his next film. However, the last film took much out of him so he heads to a spa for relaxation and recovery. While there he begins to become hounded by actors, producers, his mistress, his wife and retreats into a fantasy world. It was recently remade into a musical titled 'Nine'.

REVIEW:
8½ is a masterpiece! It is a semi-autobiographical film by Fellini on his own trials as a filmmaker. Mastroianni's performance made me very sympathetic to him even though his character is little more than a womanizer. For the most part it may seem that Fellini has just thinks of women as merely objects for his amusement, but by films end one can see that he has a deep love and respect for women – he just doesn’t know how to show it. After seeing this I know that I must see 'La Dolce Vita' as it is hailed by many as Fellini’s greatest film.