8½ Movie Review

Federico Fellini's 8½ was one of the loveliest films of 1963 and it's every bit as exquisite today. The dream cast is headlined by Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, and Barbara Steele. All this plus Nino Rota's haunting score and the brilliant cinematography of Gianni Di Venanzo combined to make 8½ one of the most widely admired and relentlessly imitated movies of its era. Many tried, but none quite captured the overwhelming sense of love and longing the great Fellini gave to this unsparingly honest examination of a successful director on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Cast Notes: Madeleine LeBeau played Yvonne in Casablanca 20 years earlier; Mark Herron was Judy Garland's fourth husband from 1965 to 1967. AKA: Otto E Mezzo; Federico Fellini's 8½.

1963 135m/B IT Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Barbara Steele, Rossella Falk, Eddra Gale, Mark Herron, Madeleine LeBeau, Caterina Boratto; D: Federico Fellini; W:Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rondi, Federico Fellini; C: Gianni Di Venanzo; M: Nino Rota. Academy Awards ‘63: Best Costume Design (B & W); New York Film Critics Awards ‘63: Best Foreign Film; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘63: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (B & W), Best Director (Fellini), Best Story & Screenplay. VHS, LV, Letterbox