8½

Magnificent. Only a true genius is able to transform a creative crisis into such a film. What's the film about? What's the film going to be about? That's a question that continues to haunt Guido Anselmi's protagonist to the end... And the film really is only about what the film's going to be about. What is Anselmi's film going to be about, which is and is not at the very end. 8 1/2 is one of the most comprehensive narrative films I've had the pleasure of seeing; it permeates "reality", "dream" and "memory" so much that it is almost impossible to determine their exact limit. But that's what's going on here – I'm convinced that Marcello Mastroianni and his character are a kind of visualization in the film of the creator himself, who, filled with doubts, strives for an all-containing film. A truly essential work. And he feels that the way to do it is not through a "placeholder" story, but through the direct naming and narration of his memories, visions, desires... This hypothesis is confirmed by a unique narrative process, in which Fellini "performs" a scene from Guido Anselmi's nascent film and then lets it comment on either Guido himself, or on one of the characters. This gives the impression that 8 1/2 is a film that tells about itself. But it is by no means a self-centered film – it would not be Fellini if he were unable to create from his doubts a universal picture of creative uncertainty, futility (here, the gigantic construction of a spaceship) and camber. I see 8 1/2 as a film that describes its own origins, that looks into the heart of its creator, who ingeniously plays with the phenomenon of a "film within a film". If you put Fellini in place of Anselmi and his a heavily born film work 8 1/2, it will get into a complex and riveting game of symbols, hints and imaginative moments, which together form a wonderful and visually extraordinarily picturesque work that only one person could have created... Fellini succeeded in what Anselmi is striving for. Or rather, they both succeeded. It's an eternal shame that today's filmmakers don't have such prolific depression... (04/01/2004)

This just isn't the movie for me. Federico Fellini certainly directed something interesting, with great performances and truly stunning women, who are also capable actresses. There are interesting ideas, but overall, the film didn't impress me greatly, and I didn't fundamentally enjoy it. And I didn't even want to think about it. (04/27/2015)

Words of the day: That awkward moment when words cease to work and the director is forced from his position to express the film in words. The overwhelming, the unfocused, the immature or overripe, and the constant reeling in the daily surreal chaos that swirls around him in preparation for the next blockbuster from a known genius. And so, while Guido tries to return to the cradle and quietly absolve himself of responsibility for anything, a gigantic structure for his latest film looms on the wide plain, one he doesn't for the life of him know what he's going to do with, and which somehow characterizes himself – oversized, pointless, and disposable. Intellectual porn from Fellini that created a milestone for renowned aging directors in coming to terms with themselves (and would have been a brilliant double-feature with Menzel's The Don Juans!). Personally, it's a testament to the splendor of 8 1/2 that, as much as I loathe the Italian female temperament and found my toes curling at most of the female characters (apart from the always beautiful and dangerous Anouk Aimée), I drank it all in and enjoyed almost every incredibly composed shot. (06/14/2016)

The sheer joy of storytelling translated into the most creative depiction of a creative crisis, where time and space are hypothetical and the seemingly random order of scenes evokes the loss of the artistic and romantic soul in a sterile hierarchical environment. It could use a bit of editing (Fellini varies identical ideas too often in different situations, and in the last act he's kind of shooting in the dark), but the brilliantly composed music, the beautiful actresses, the energetically pulsating pace, and the wonderful work with off-screen space and camera movement around the mise-en-scène make it impossible to take your eyes off it. Fellini at his coolest. (10/30/2017)

Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 is a truly convoluted affair, in which dynamic scenes both build up and are killed by tedious ones. For the entire first half I was thinking I couldn't see this going for more than 3*, but then (as with many other films) the second half worked and was truly excellent, so I have to give it a boost. I loved the childhood memories, which only highlighted the present day scenes. I was so looking forward to the beautiful Claudia Cardinale and it's a shame she was given so little space. In short, a film that I really couldn't get enough of for much of its running time. (03/13/2011)