Rating: 
Summary: 8 1/2 or Day For Night?
Review: It's a toss up as to which film is the greatest film about film by a true film artist, and even harder to put this film up against Truffaut's masterwork simply because DAY FOR NIGHT hasn't been available on home video in an appreciable form ever. Both deal with a director having trouble putting a film together, but they're handled in two amazingly different, yet similar styles (with a bow/jibe to Fellini in Truffaut's work). It's also interesting to note that this film about filmmakig is perhaps the best examination of how an artist works in his medium using that medium - hard to visuallly dramatise the elusive discipline required for writing, singing, painting, poetry, dancing or sculpting on film, no matter how many times filmmakers in the past have tried. Yet 8 1/2 shows AND tells what's it's like to be a filmmaker.Criterion's splendid rendition of Fellini's chez d'ouvere is a benchmark for the restorative process of DVD! The blacks have never looked this black, except maybe in Gianni di Venanzo's head - and the constast is startling, another reason why the major film distribution companies should spend the time and care restoring them pre-1970 catalogs. The commentary is incredibly informative, the documentary a peculiar glance inside Fellini's head without the benefit of a narative structure and the visual commentaries by Lena Wertmuller and the incomparable Vittorio Stararo contextualize this film in a fascinating way.
Rating:
Summary: Fellini's Masterwork
Review: Frederico Fellini's masterwork 8 ½ is difficult to approach largely because of its reputation. Many critics also state that the film is so complex that it requires multiple viewings to understand, and this is likely to intimidate many viewers. But the truth is that, in spite of its surrealistic flourishes, 8 ½ is more straight-forward than its reputation might lead you to believe. The storyline itself is very simple. A famous director is preparing a new film, but finds himself suffering from creative block: he is obsessed by, loves, and feels unending frustration with both art and women, and his attention and ambition flies in so many different directions that he is suddenly incapable of focusing on one possibility lest he negate all others. With deadlines approaching the cast and crew descend upon him demanding information about the film-information that the director does not have because he finds himself incapable of making an artistic choice. What makes the film interesting is the way in which Fellini ultimately transforms the film as a whole into a commentary on the nature of creativity, art, mid-life crisis, and the battle of the sexes. Throughout the film, the director dreams dreams, has fantasies, and recalls his childhood-and this internal life is presented on the screen with the same sense of reality as reality itself. The staging of the various shots is unique; one is seldom aware that the characters have slipped into a dream, fantasy, or memory until one is well into the scene, and as the film progresses the lines between external life and internal thought become increasingly blurred, with Fellini giving as much (if not more) importance to fantasy as to fact. The performances and the cinematography are key to the film's success. Even when the film becomes surrealistic, fantastic, the actors perform very realistically and the cinematography presents the scene in keeping with what we understand to be the reality of the characters lives and relationships. At the same time, however, the film has a remarkably poetic quality, a visual fluidity and beauty that transforms even the most ordinary events into something slightly tinged by a dream-like quality. Marcello Mastroianni offers a his greatest performance here, a delicate mixture of desperation and ennui, and he is exceptionally well supported by a cast that includes Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, and a host of other notables. I would encourage people not to be intimidated by the film's reputation, for its content can be quickly grasped, and when critics state the film requires repeated viewing what they actually seem to mean is that the film holds up extremely well to repeated viewing; each time it is seen, one finds more and more to enjoy and to contemplate. Even so, I would be amiss if I did not point out that people who prefer a cinema of tidy plot lines and who dislike ambiguity or the necessity of interpreting content will probably dislike 8 ½ a great deal; if you are uncertain in your taste on these points you would do well to rent or borrow the film before making a purchase. For all others: strongly, strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Could be one of the top 10 films ever made.
Review: Fellini's 8 1/2 is a gorgeous picture that, in 1963, must have floored audiences. Too bad I wasn't alive then. Marcello Mastroianni gives a stunning performance that, in my opinion, topped his performance in La Dolce Vita. The DVD is top quality. The transfer is tip-top and there's an interesting short film by Fellini. Buy this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: "Accept me as I am."
Review: Fellini's postmodern, "meta-fictive" masterpiece *8-1/2* ultimately defeats criticism. Even Pauline Kael, a critic I normally worship (and probably sound like in my own reviews), could only mutter something about Fellini's "fictional" director being just that: a movie-goer's IDEA of what a director's life and work must be like, rather than the real thing. (Did she want a documentary?) She basically accused Fellini of using cheap tricks in this movie to impress a gullible audience. I feel this is drastically wrong. First of all, Guido's fantasies and memories are of a very personal nature . . . maybe I'm sheltered, but Fellini/Guido's experiences and thoughts are certainly not mine (can Saraghina really be called a cliche?). Secondly, Fellini uses tricks, all right, but they ain't cheap: utilizing the talents of trailblazing cinematographers, production designers, and so forth, Fellini irrefutably revolutionized the way a movie could look, what it could say, and how it could say it. I think Kael's REAL problem with the movie comes from somewhere else: Fellini has never been popular with American women, who despise the director's apparent celebration of Old World double-standards in general, and his frank objectivising of women in particular. However, the director was wise enough to be up-front about it, c.f. the infamous Harem Scene, wherein typical male fantasy is brought to its ludricously logical conclusion. On the other hand, Guido finally demands his ticked-off wife to "Accept me as I am." (Be forewarned, ladies.) All in all, *8-1/2* is a watershed event in cinema, as well as a turning point in Fellini's career. The only downside to all this is that, perhaps encouraged by all the acclaim for *8-1/2*, this erratic director continued to emulate his own achievement here in later, lesser movies, with varying degrees of success (mostly not). In any case, I can't see how one can call himself a cineaste without having this baby in his collection. [Criterion has lavished -- the only word -- all kinds of effort on the DVD, most of it actually paying off. (I could have done without the addle-headed documentary Fellini did for NBC.) The second disc also features an interesting documentary about the impeccable Nino Rota, as well as interviews with Sandra Milo, Lina Wertmuller, and Vittorio Storaro. The Milo piece is shockingly candid, giving the lie to the notion that love isn't timeless. Mr. Storaro, btw, should've just spoken in his native tongue -- he was, I think, saying something useful about how to film light and shadow. A few more subtitles to read wouldn't have made any difference. Well, whatever. If you're a fan of the movie, BUY. If you're not, BUY -- and become one.]
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Summary: This DVD Rocks!!!
Review: ...Watching the DVD I bought from Amazon, I was stunned. The clarity of light on the cars in the famous opening sequence literally shines! There is one other scene in particular where Mastroianni stands in front of a light -- an effect I'm certain Fellini realized -- and you can literally see the light shine from his graying hair. Even the subtitles have been re-done. I can remember looking at the fuzzy subtitles on the VHS and struggling to concentrate. On this Criterion Collection DVD, they are crisp and clear as anything on the market. Most significant to me, though: the commentary section! Though I've watched this film a few times (I can still remember getting chills up my spine the first time I saw the opening sequence) the commentary will blow you away with how complex this 2 hour film is. Though it is a film that is fun enough to watch for its own sake -- the commentary read like a guidebook to Picasso's cubist period, explaining the significance of casting certain characters, various symbols: for example, the watch given to Mastroianni by the Producer in the film echoes Fellini's own producer giving him a watch under similar circumstances after his filming La Dolce Vita. There are many like images and symbols explained. The depth of commentary made this film Ten Times more complex than without -- and yet, even realizing how much more complex and personal this film is, it's still the fun 2 hour film it'll always be! It's just that watching it now is watching a film with thirty years of wisdom packed into one DVD. Amazing. Nina Rota's score is a trip! I've only had time, so far, to browse over the interview section on Disc 2 (nearly three hours worth of interviews). My hope here is that this amazon.com review will give you an indication that: There's enough info, entertainment, and analysis on this DVD to keep you interested and entertained for plenty 'o time to come! It is the best DVD I have ever bought...
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Summary: Criterion does it again!
Review: I will leave film critique to others, although this is a very abstract almost surreal film about a director as artist and what happens when "writers block" sets in in middle age. The DVD is of unbelievable clarity and crispness. There is a great commentary included which helps explain much of what's going on (remember that the working title for this film was the "Beautiful Confusion"). The extra CD has a weird film about hippies made around the time of Satyricon, which is kind of a waste of time. There is also a bio on Rota's music and a few interviews, which are nice to have. This is an extremely well packaged DVD, one of the better ones available. This DVD should set a new standard for the treatment of great classic films! (I wish all the classics were represented as well as this). I don't know exactly who the Criterion corporation are personally, but they should be congratulated on some fine preservation and presentation of great film, and 8 1/2 is one of their landmark acheivments!
Rating: 
Summary: Guido! Why no english ?
Review: Regarding "8 1/2" itself, I agree with everything positive that people have already written. But--even with all the extras on it--I only rate the DVD 4 stars because it does not contain the rarely shown but very excellent english language dub. At the least, it provides one more experience of a film that, for me, has stayed pretty fresh since I first stumbled across it back in-when else?-1988. I know that a lot of(most?)dubs are pretty awful (english track on "Crouching Tiger" DVD)--but in the case of "8 1/2" it was done just right--down to the way it syncs with the actors' mouths. The voices are cartoonish compared to the italian, yet perfectly in sync with the characters on screen--Daumier sounds "more like" Daumier in english than italian. And I was actually kinda disappointed when I first heard Marcello's own voice, rather than the burlier english Guido. I appreciate the beautiful new print and the extra stuff, but I consider omitting the english track ridiculous. I'd buy another DVD if Criterion re-issued it with the english track available. Not to insult anyone, but if it's a question of DVD "bandwidth," I'd take the english dub instead of the audio commentary. Sometimes the subtitles obscure things, like Guido's twitching foot when Daumier is excorciating their proposed collaboration. Yes, I've seen the subtitled version many times, but, at least with this particular movie, there is something crucial lost in the necessity of reading subtitles while at the same time trying to take in Fellini's images. It flows perfectly if you don't have that slight disconnect.
Rating:
Summary: Reconsider 8 1/2
Review: There has been a lot written about 8 1/2 that I will not go into here. I have seen 8 1/2 about 8 times (give or take a few false starts where I gave up on the film). The film is essentially about itself: Fellini is creating a work that is completely self-reflexive. He does not hide the fact that Guido, the director, is very close to Fellini, the director. When I first saw this film about 10 years ago, I wondered what all the fuss was about. I had seen Amarcord a few years earlier and considered it a great movie, filled with sublime cinematography and wonderful dialogue. Amarcord is definitely Fellini's most accessible work after his neo-realist period ended in the late-fifties. I would recommend seeing it before this film. Having said that, I was confused by 8 1/2. I thought there was some structure to the film but I was not getting it. The black and white shots were beautiful but they weren't enough. I needed to be convinced that this was a work on par with the likes of Rashomon and Persona--two of my favorite films. This is probably the best Criterion has ever done from a content and packaging standpoint. It's almost like they wanted to convince the non-believers. I will let others talk about the transfer; it is much better than the video version. This is a good buy. Watch the movie first and be confused by it if you're like me on my first viewings and then watch it with the commentary from NYU prof Antonio Monda turned on. If you're like me you will gain a new understanding of this movie and consider it one of the best ever made.
Rating:
Summary: a master in his prime
Review: Maybe you are familiar with Fellini or maybe you are not. It is not necessary to have a background in Fellini or neorealism to enjoy this film. It is quite simply from a masters hand. If you are capable of easily seeing through the brutally simplistic symbols of Hollywood films then a fun and provocative film about the art of filmmaking awaits you. You will find symbolic action in 8 1/2 but at the same time you witness the symbol it is made clear that the director condescends on the very framework of the symbols that he produces. The story lines and development continue to explore the inner state of the directors alter ego in a fascinating and brilliant way. Regarding the Criterion DVD release. Possibly the best work on DVD I have seen by Criterion yet. The documentary on the composer, Nino Rota, is excellent. It is a must see for anyone who is curious of a masters approach to cinema.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth About Truth
Review: This is an amazing film that hits you aesthetically and viscerally. The opening dream sequence is about the truest expression of a male in his forties that I could imagine and Mastroianni as the exhausted director Guido is the perfect blending of anxiety, detachment and ennui that follows the creative mind caught between projects. A wonderful film. If you don't want to own it, rent it. You will not be disappointed.
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