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8 1/2
Movie: 10/10
Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, the winner of the 1963 Oscar for best foreign film, deals with a filmmaker named Guido (Marcello Mastroianni) who is currently suffering a mid-life crisis. He is torn between lovers, ill, and extremely restless. Guido is also currently in production of his next film, something everyone will offer criticism on but no one knows anything about it. It all lies in Guido's head and changes constantly. Everything is falling apart in his film and around him and 8 1/2 is all about the confusion in both. The film is done quite well and I really enjoyed it. The film is exactly what the back of the box says: a magic act and a circus. It's all about Guido hiding his lover and the truth from his wife, hiding aspects of himself from everyone else (providing an illusion) and him taking control of the madness surrounding him and turning it into a piece of cinema. Fellini and the cast do a nice job throughout, especially in the tension around Guido, his wife, and lover. Great stuff, it's easy to see why this is called by most film schools a masterpiece. Hard to catch a lot on the first viewing, worth a few.
Video: 8/10
Very clean and well done. It's a Criterion disc so you know it's not crap all around.
Audio: 7/10
It's a nice clean mono. Gotta love the soundtrack.
Extras: 10/10
Doesn't drop the ball at all. The film features a decent commentary track by an NYU film professor and one of Fellini's personal friends (very well done, the friend's voice left me a little bored though, probably because she isn't a regular English speaker) and a nice introduction by former Monty Python member, Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Brazil, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). The second disc, riddled with spectacular extras, features two hour long documentaries on Fellini (a film directed by himself) and the composer, Nino Rota. Also included are a vast assortment of interviews and photos. The DVD also comes with 22 page booklet with an excerpt of Fellini's book. Nice job Criterion!
Overall: 9/10
Great film, extras, and transfers.
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