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8 1/2 (1963) watch along (Patreon)

Published:
2024-09-18 17:00:11
Edited:
2024-10-12 04:11:08
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Where do I begin?

This movie was a trip. Excuse my stream of consciousness at the end of this movie. It was a lot to digest, and I can't wait to sit through it again without reacting so I can soak up more of the dialogue, which at times was so beautiful and meaningful.

Fellini throws so much at you, and technically this movie is so interesting and magnificent. The black and white contrast was mesmerizing, making every frame a visual delight. I loved the mixture of dreams and memories. It all felt like a hazy dream of conflicting fantasies and struggle. There were moments of absurdity and humor, too, but overall, I found it to be an audacious piece of art, and I love that. It's inspiring to watch something extremely creative, not only visually but also in it's unconventional storytelling.

This film is beautiful and (to me) open to interpretation. I felt like my thoughts were fragmented, but honestly, that kind of fits with the non-linear nature of the movie. I know I missed a lot, but that’s ok.

I am very excited to hear from you all. I’m sure you’ll have some incredible insights- especially if you have had more time with Fellini!

Glad I got one under my belt.

Thanks for being here! Appreciate ya'll so much!

xx

ames

Files

8 1/2 (1963)

Comments

Shawn Goforth

Ecstatic that we are being introduced to some European cinema from this time period! Thank you for taking this leap. I know you'll enjoy the payoff. Fellini is famous for emphasizing images and feelings over concepts or ideas. This one is usually regarded as one of the best films involving filmmaking that we have. Guido is absolutely a stand-in for Fellini himself, a director who is grappling with where to turn next in his career. I remember reading several Roger Ebert essays on Fellini where, although he greatly admired his work, he claimed the director never seemed to know what he wanted or how to achieve it, but I believe the films prove he knew exactly what he wanted to say. Communicating those thoughts and feelings are always the greater challenge. I like looking at his body of work as building upon itself, one film after another. His 70s films, with the exception of Amarcord, which is brilliant, became a bit too abstract for me. A couple I find almost completely inaccessible, but his 50s and 60s films reimagined Italy cinematically. They broke away from the destruction and sadness shown during the earlier post-WWII Italian Neorealism period shown in the films of Rossellini, Visconti, and De Sica (in which he was also involved, collaborating on screenplays for Paisan and Rome, Open City). Although often mysterious or dreamlike and self-reflective, I think Fellini's films were always forward-facing, imagining a better future somewhere ahead. Collectively, his version of Italy will always be the Italy I envision. Someday, I hope to experience the country for myself.

Jeffrey Schmidbauer

Wanna see a classic Fellini film? Watch and react to "La Strada" (The Street) starring his wife Giulietta Masina.

VivendoBem

It would probably help to have seen a good bit of earlier Fellini (or even, at the very least, La Dolce Vita), so kudos to you, Ames, for “getting it” without a primer! I know some people find 8 1/2 to be the greatest movie ever made about filmmaking while others label it self-indulgent and obtuse. While I don’t often love movies about making movies (though I usually like books about writers even less). I think why 8 1/2 works to the point that it’s a masterpiece is because it’s less a movie about making a movie, and more about the existential crisis of an artist struggling with a creative block, and the absurd psychological terror that can come with that. I'll leave it to the English Major types to interpret symbolism, but I'll just say it’s no coincidence that in the years preceding this project, Fellini had begun working with the Jungian psychiatrist Ernst Bernhard and reading Jung’s Memories, Dreams and Reflections, leading him to the belief that dreams are the psychic manifestations of the subconsciousness. (Though surreal as 8 1/2 gets, apparently his experimentation with LSD didn’t come until later, if one can believe it.) So, I think 8 1/2 is as much about psychoanalysis as it is about moviemaking, which can be mistaken for the “plot”, such as it is, when it’s merely the device/situation for getting to the whole purpose—exploring Guido’s internal struggle. I suspect that for those who dislike the movie, it’s usually because they take the framing device (struggling to make a movie) at face value as a real plot and expect a story that delivers on said foundation only to be frustrated again and again by the constant flights of fancy. But, for me, this is the proverbial missing the forest for the trees. Btw, it may just be me, but I usually like to think of double feature matches with a movie as I’m watching it—the more unique the movie, the more fun the challenge. While the the obvious contenders for 8 1/2 would probably be Truffaut’s beloved Day for Night, Allen’s Stardust Memories (a movie I can’t stand), or Fosse’s All That Jazz (a movie I adore), watching it this time around, it struck me that it would probably actually go beautifully with Jonze’s and Kaufman’s Adaptation. Anybody have any ideas?

Toc

Just got home! The whole time I'm out, I'm thinking "8 1/2 has been posted!"🤣 Getting settled in and getting ready to tackle this gorilla! Super psyched!!! Can't believe I'm watching a reaction to this one; never in a million years!

Toc
>>149824884

PS: The part where you wrote "I'm sure I missed alot"......I'm sure I did too! And will again, during this next viewing! 😂

Shawn Goforth
>>149823924

Day for Night and Adaptation are great choices. For this one, I would have to go with Rob Marshall's Nine (2009) for the obvious character/setting inspirations.

Brian's Dog

I'm tempted to wait a little to watch this for the first time. It just got announced for a Criterion 4K release in December. I hadn't heard of it before and now I've heard of it twice in one week.

Butt Head

2 other films about film-making ED WOOD (1994) 7.8 on IMDB LIVING IN OBLIVION (1995) 7.5 on IMDB

Toc

That was FANTASTIC. I am totally inspired! I want to make a movie and I'm not even a director! (Or maybe I don't, actually! 🤣) Getting MY thoughts together, and a very late dinner...... and then can't wait to chat about it on Discord! 'till then, all I can say is that was the reaction I never knew I needed! They should put that on the DVD!

James Rogers

I was introduced to Fellini when I attended a press screening for Casanova; a film I do not recommend to anybody. Thankfully, I didn't allow that experience to deter me from eventually exploring his earlier work. I get a certain satisfaction from this work simply because I love good works of surrealist art. I can imagine a film like this inspiring a young Terry Gilliam or David Lynch. From the opening scene on, we're watching the story of a man who is trapped in a world he created and knows it. What a great week of films!!!

Mike Donovan

Oh wow! What a surprise and an incredible addition. One of the most famous movies in cinema, to real movie lovers. Gonna need The 400 Blows at some point ;)

JM63
>>149849947

I agree wholeheartedly with your last two sentences! Lynch definitely came to mind, good call on Gilliam

JM63

Damn, my internet cut out with 30 min to go! Hope it gets fixed today, can't wait to discuss on Discord

Samuelllll

You definitely need to watch La Dolce Vita (1960) and the earlier films Fellini made with the legend Giulietta Masina, like Nights of Cabiria (1957)) His 50s films are less esoteric and difficult than his 60s and 70s ones and more traditional narrative, but none the less stunning visually with lavish costumes and set pieces, and tell very intimate stories.