Episode 17 – 8½ (1963)
Episode description
It's 1963. We're crossing the Atlantic to visit Italy, a preeminent filmmaking country. In the 1950s-60s, Italian film was largely known for Commedia all’Italiana (“Comedy in the Italian way”), spaghetti Westerns (westerns made in Italy), and Post-Neorealism (a movement moving past realism to explore existential themes). Famed Italian director Frederico Fellini pushes past this last in his critically acclaimed 8½, an avant-garde surrealist comedy-drama about a director trying to figure out what he wants to say in his new movie.
What 8½ offers offers casual move fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: a seamless blending of past, present, and dreams; a meta-examination of creativity and the inner life; a romatically confused and self-focused main character; and a compelling, one-of-a-kind movie experience.