Product Description
Federico Fellini's towering masterpiece follows burned-out celebrity director Marcello Mastroianni through a series of bizarre encounters and wild daydreams, the first of which finds him ascending into the clouds during a traffic jam. Seeking solace and rejuvenation at a remote health spa, he finds himself plagued by journalists, his producer, his mistress, and most inconvenient of all, his wife (A Man and a Woman's Anouk Aimee). Caught between past, present, and fantasy, he longs to make a pure and honest film while his producer goads him into shooting a big budget science fiction spectacle. Widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, this visually dazzling feast also stars Claudia Cardinale (The Pink Panther), Barbara Steele (Black Sunday), and Rossella Falk (Modesty Blaise). Outrageous and unforgettable! 1963 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign-Language Film.
Product Details
| Format | Video On Demand |
| Title | 8 1/2 |
| Directed By | Federico Fellini |
| Compatible Devices | TiVo |
| Running Time | 139 minutes |
| Synopsis | Federico Fellini's towering masterpiece follows burned-out celebrity director Marcello Mastroianni through a series of bizarre encounters and wild daydreams, the first of which finds him ascending into the clouds during a traffic jam. Seeking solace and rejuvenation at a remote health spa, he finds himself plagued by journalists, his producer, his mistress, and most inconvenient of all, his wife (A Man and a Woman's Anouk Aimee). Caught between past, present, and fantasy, he longs to make a pure and honest film while his producer goads him into shooting a big budget science fiction spectacle. Widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, this visually dazzling feast also stars Claudia Cardinale (The Pink Panther), Barbara Steele (Black Sunday), and Rossella Falk (Modesty Blaise). Outrageous and unforgettable! 1963 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign-Language Film. |
| Studio | Egami |
| Genre | Classics |
| Release Date | 2009-01-20 |
Customer Reviews
Fellini's MasterpieceReview by Paul G. Peterson, 2010-06-28
"81/2" doesn't require my review to retain its place as a standard for film excellence. i saw it when it 1st came out in 1963; i was 16 and knew then i was in the presence of something extraordinary. after dozens of viewings over the last 45 years, it still holds up. in fact i continue to discover nuances in each scene. it seems my own maturity enables me to appreciate the film even more. viewing "81/2" now on its own terms should enrich the understanding of any viewer committed to experiencing film.
81/2 is really a 10
Review by John M. Dillon, 2010-04-26
Short and simply put, a masterpiece by a master filmmaker. The picture quality of the blue ray is stunning, as I watch I want to print stills from the film because the images are that striking.
Blu-ray version looks amazing
Review by Tim L, 2010-02-03
This is my first Criterion Blu-ray and it looks great, I couldn't be happier
If you've never seen the film, sorry but words really don't do it justice, but without gettin' all artsy fartsy on ya', let's just say that--
Trying to describe the experience of seeing Fellini's "8 1/2" is like trying to explain hearing Beethoven's "9th", you really gotta experience it for yourself-- (that was deep, huh?)
anyway, great Blu-ray, tons of bonus stuff... it's very, very, nice!
BD Version.
Review by Brian Lange, 2010-01-24
One of my top five films of all time. I won't speak much about the film itself, under the assumption most readers have already seen it. You can be guaranteed a fantastic film if you haven't seen this yet.
As far as the BD itself, the transfer is absolutely fantastic! The DVD version itself already had a pretty pristine transfer, but of course with the BD upgrade the resolution and detail is so much better, and of course comes loaded with extras and an accompanying booklet that is actually quite thorough and should be considered an item in itself, and not just a supplement to the disc.
I haven't watched them all, but the extras that are bundled with the film are plentiful and quite informative. Often times with extras you feel as though it is just filler and fodder (let's be honest, it usually is) but at least Criterion makes a conscious effort to make it interesting. I'd say the extras are worthwhile, and also an upgrade from the DVD version.
The biggest difference I noticed from my first viewing is that the subtitles are slightly changed from the DVD version, and also theatrically. There are probably lots of different translations, but it IS different from the DVD but not drastically. The same point is made, but just using a different delivery. Not sure how I feel about some of the changes, but I probably just got used to the previous translation.
I'm not sure where some of these discrepancies or complaints are coming from that have surfaced recently, but my copy was packaged in the special made Criterion jewel cases, NOT the cardboard ones, and of course not the actual blue ones. For a while, with some of the earlier releases, Criterion was releasing its BDs in cardboard slip case and digi-pack format which angered a lot of customers who spoke their voice and got them to upgrade to the now standard jewel cases. A good move in my opinion, but now I'm stuck with Third Man and 400 Blows in cardboard. Reportedly, you can send in the old cases to get upgraded to new ones, but it'll cost you 5 bucks each, so... I think I can live with it.
The Madding Crowd, beautiful women, and, of course, a circus band!
Review by John Grabowski, 2009-12-23
As I write this, a new film called "Nine," starring Daniel Day Lewis, who indeed has the charm of Marcello Mastroianni, is hitting theaters. I haven't seen it, and so far it's garnered mixed reviews, but I am amused that here is yet another attempt to pay homage/copy/try to surpass 8 1/2 and Fellini.
Woody Allen couldn't leave the Italian filmmaker alone. His Stardust Memories, with echoes of both this picture *and* (to a lesser extent) La Dolce Vita, got all the superficialities right, but as usual whenever Allen tries leaves his New York/New Yorker Jewish roots, he turns in a hallow imitation. Stardust Memories captured Fellini about as much as Interiors captured Bergman. Mazursky faired better with Alex in Wonderland, but even this fell apart and is largely forgotten today. (It's long out of print on VHS and never made it to DVD--Criterion, anyone?) Then there are the perfume commercials. Could Calvin Klein, Chanel and all the others imagine how to market their wares without the inspiration of the surreal grandness and craziness of Fellini? If the Italian maestro could sue for intellectual property infringement, he'd have died a billionaire.
So how does the film hold up nearly *half a century* (!!) after it was made? It still astonishes, it's still relevant, it's still very funny and very sad and, ultimately, sweet and endearing in a way that's surprising for a film that seems to be headed to a bleak ending. And if some of it looks dated...well, I repeat, it's nearly *half a century old!*
This is one of those films that is hard to describe, and any description doesn't do it justice, because its appeal is more to the right than left brain. That is, it tells a story that at its core is simple--and yet is endlessly complicated. It is the story of self-doubt, of the grand façade, of gestures large and small. While American cinema was patting itself on the back almost five years later for telling an epic, almost non-narrative story (2001 A Space Odyssey), one that was "pure film," Fellini was already there in 1963. The fantasy sequences drift in and out effortlessly, as well as the surrealism, without, really, a lot of complicated camera tricks and "special effects." Fellini is a master of composition and movement.
Our hero is set up in ways that remind me of Bob Fosse's All That Jazz: harangued and harassed, pursued and pursuing. But there's something that bothered me about All That Jazz when I watched it again recently which I hadn't caught so much on first viewing: great pains are taken to set up the main character (brilliantly played by Roy Scheider, who was robbed of an Oscar in my opinion) as sympathetic... *too* great, in my opinion. The film really seems to be saying Yeah, he's a jerk, but it's really not his fault. While 8 1/2 has some of that in common, Fellini treads lighter here. Scheider's character achieves the perfection he sets out for, and to me it's as though that qualifies the more unsavory qualities he also brings to the table. Fellini's auteur is empty, and he knows it and admits it (ultimately), and that makes him more sympathetic and less tragic, more human and less idealized. Fellini's character doesn't die for his art. I won't tell you what he does do, how he does resolve his crisis, but it's not the most obvious solution, and not one I'm sure Hollywood would have embraced.
The ensemble performances are wonderful, and I particularly like Barbara Steele and Claudia Cardinale as two of the many actresses the director seems to attract like flypaper, and Anouk Aimée as the filmmaker's wife, who oddly, in her short, chic haircut and tight black glasses, is one of sexiest women in the cast. The film is fascinatingly Freudian in the way childhood is grafted onto his fantasies about the women around them and how he would like them to regard him and take care of him, vs. the life he is stuck with. A lengthy set-piece, dubbed "Guido's Harem," reveals this aspect of his life in an amazing sequence that encapsulates his childhood, fantasy life and reality he's living now. (See it here on YouTube: [...]. If this doesn't convince you to see this movie, nothing will.)
As usual, Criterion steps up to the plate, swings, and knocks it out of the park. This is a beautiful release, with a crisp transfer, intelligent packaging, valuable extras, an interesting forward from Fellini admirer Terry Gilliam (who I'd say has taken more away from the director than either Allen or Mazursky, even if he's never directly ripped the film). The interviews with actress Sandra Milo ("Carla"), director Lina Wertmuller, and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who talks about the unforgettable, now iconic cinematography of Gianni di Venanzo, is also great. I realize I may not wince as much as some actual Italian viewers, who are *not* reading subtitles and therefore see the horrible sound-synching (since most of the dialogue was overdubbed, as was common in Italian films at the time), and I feel sorry for those who wince at some truly awful synchronization. (Oddly, for all his meticulous care with cinematography and lighting, Fellini didn't seem to be much of a perfectionist when it came to dubbing.) Perhaps this is one time where I'm grateful to be reading subtitles.
8 1/2 just may well be Italy's Citizen Kane. It's a film that has so many characters, and so many subtle characterizations, that it must be viewed several times to be sorted out and appreciated. I used to always say I liked La Dolce Vita more than this film, but now that I've seen 8 1/2 several more times, I realize it is even richer and deeper than it's predecessor. It's simply one of the greatest films ever made. Despite the length of this review, ultimately words fail, so just see it.
