Showing posts with label
The Films of Federico Fellini.
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Showing posts with label
The Films of Federico Fellini.
Show all posts
A loose, often unstructured account of the life of Giacomo Casanova (played by Donald Sutherland), who many considered the greatest lover in all of Italy, Fellini’s Casanova whisks us to some of Europe’s most prominent cities, starting with Venice, where the title character has a rendezvous with a nun (while her rich boyfriend watches through a peephole), then is arrested and thrown into prison for his lewd behavior.
Casanova eventually escapes and says goodbye to Venice forever, traveling first to Paris, where he is the honored guest of Madame d’Urti (Cicely Browne), who asks the Italian lover to impregnate her. It’s here that Casanova also meets the love of his life, the gorgeous Henriette (Tina Aumont), though the affair is short-lived.
An encounter with two women in London, who rob Casanova and leave him in the streets, leads the fiery Italian to attempt suicide by drowning himself in the Thames. Before he can finish himself off, however, Casanova spots a giantess (Sandra Elaine Allen) and her two dwarf companions resting by the side of the river, and decides to follow them back to the circus, where the Giantess, known as Princess Angelina, arm wrestles men for a living (she has never lost).
Casanova next visits Switzerland, where he has a brief fling with an alchemist’s daughter (Olimpia Carlisi), then it’s on to Germany, first Dresden, where he runs into his mother (Zanetta FArussi) in a crowded theater, then Wurttemberg, whose royal court displeases him, though he does meet - and has sex with - a mechanical doll named Rosalba (Leda Lejodice).
From this synopsis, you can assume (quite correctly) that Fellini’s Casanova is not so much a straightforward account of its main subject’s life as it is a fantastical journey through the surreal, with moments that are equal parts erotic (though the sex scenes are shot in such a way that they’re more comical than arousing) and bizarre (the sexual encounter with the mechanical doll being at the top of a very long list).
Sutherland is quite good as Casanova, convincing as both a great lover and a sophisticate, though the real stars of Fellini’s Casanova are Danilo Donati (the production and costume designer), composer Nino Rota (whose music compliments the film’s vibrant imagery), cinematographer Giusseppe Routuno, and of course Fellini himself, whose vivid imagination brings a carnival-like atmosphere that resonates throughout the entire movie.
Those looking for a structured biopic will find themselves quickly frustrated; everyone else should settle in for what will prove to be one very wild, very entertaining ride.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Well, according to filmmaker extraordinaire Federico Fellini, it’s a man in his late 20s or early 30s who doesn’t work and spends his days with his buddies, chasing girls and wasting time.
That just about sums up the characters populating his 1953 award-winning comedy / drama, I Vitelloni.
Like many of the great director’s movies, I Vitelloni is semi-autobiographical: Five buddies – Moraldo (Franco Interlenghi), Fausto (Franco Fabrizi), Alberto (Alberto Sordi), Leopoldo (Leopoldo Trieste) and Riccardo (played by Riccardo Fellini, Federico’s brother) – all of whom are pushing 30 - live in a provincial town on the Adriatic coast.
Fausto is dating Moralda’s sister Sandra (Leonora Ruffo), and is forced to marry her when she becomes pregnant. But Fausto won’t let marriage get in the way of his having a good time, and is fired from his job when he makes an aggressive pass at Giulia (Lida Baarova), the wife of his boss (Carlo Romano).
As for the others, Leopoldo fancies himself a playwright, and is flattered when renowned actor Sergio Natali (Achille Majeroni) praises his newest opus, while the reserved and quiet Moraldo does what he can to hide Fausto’s philandering ways from his sister. Alberto lives off his mother and his sister Olga (Claude Farell) - though he is none too happy to discover Olga is dating a married man - and Riccardo hopes one day to become a famous singer.
Whether dressing up for the annual masquerade ball, playing pool, or simply staring out at the sea, these five friends dream of the day when they can leave their quiet, boring town behind. Only one of them, however, will find the courage to actually do so.
I Vitelloni is, indeed, a comedy, and features a handful of funny moments; in one scene, Alberto leans out of a car window and insults some workers on the side of the road, only to have the car break down immediately after. But it’s the characters and their laissez-faire attitude that makes this film so appealing, even when said characters are doing questionable things, like when Fausto leaves Sandra alone in a movie theater to pursue a married woman that had been sitting next to them.
But its their flaws that make these friends believable, and even when you want to smack some sense into them (Fausto’s father, played by Jean Brochard, does so to his son on a number of occasions), you can’t wait to see what the five of them will do next.
Cited as an influence on such movies as Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and George Lucas’s American Graffiti, I found as I was watching I Vitelloni that I couldn’t help comparing it to Barry Levinson’s Diner (though Levinson claims he had never seen this movie prior to writing and directing his 1982 film). Like I Vitelloni, the characters in Diner are a decent bunch of guys with no ambition; they hang out with one another and have a good time. When the responsibilities of life creep up on you, as they do all of us, who doesn’t think back to a time when there wasn’t a care in the world?
Well, for the characters in I Vitelloni, that’s pretty much every day of the week.
Must be nice.
Rating: 10 out of 10
I never would have thought that a Fellini film could take me by surprise; I have yet to see a movie of his that didn’t floor me one way or another, and I rank three of his pictures (8 ½, Amarcord, and Roma) among my all-time favorites. Yet for years I avoided Variety Lights, in part because I never read a synopsis of it that “wowed” me.
The story centers on a traveling troupe of second-rate actors and performers who barely earn enough to pay for their trip to the next town. The “star” of this troupe is Checco Dal Monte (Peppino De Filippo), who performs vaudeville-style musical numbers and dramatic scenes, normally accompanied by his longtime fiancé Melina (played by Fellini’s real-life spouse, Giulietta Masina).
The troupe’s luck finally changes for the better when novice dancer Liliana Antonelli (Carla Del Poggio) forces her way into the fold. A true beauty, Liliana draws large crowds, and even captures the heart of Checco, whose amorous feelings for the young starlet cause him to toss Melina to the curb. But can Checco keep Liliana happy, or will her newfound fame go straight to her head?
As I already mentioned, there’s nothing about this synopsis that would indicate just how entertaining Variety Lights truly is; it’s a standard show-biz story, yet told with enough warmth and humor to make is all seem completely fresh. I laughed out loud during some of the early scenes, like when the troupe performed at the rundown theater with a leaky roof (the water constantly dripping onto the performers was comedy gold).
In addition, both De Filippo and Masina bring a believable pathos to their characters: two aging actors, one hungry for the fame that has thus far eluded him, the other longing for a love and stability that suddenly seems out of reach. Del Poggio, who was married to co-director Lattuada at the time of production, is also quite good as the ambitious Liliana, and the supporting players are in top form (my favorite being Giulio Cali, the less-than-impressive magician whose best friend is a goose).
It may not seem like much on paper, but take my word for it: Variety Lights is a movie you won’t want to miss!
Rating: 9 out of 10
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Starring: Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Peter Cellier
Tag line: "One of the world's great directors invites you to join him on a voyage"
Trivia: Screened out of competition at the 40th Venice Film Festival, where it received a fifteen-minute standing ovation
While it’s definitely more “grounded” than some of Fellini’s other films (Juliet of the Spirits, Roma, Satyricon), 1983’s And the Ship Sails On also boasts moments of fantasy, which, coupled with its World War One-era storyline, results in a gorgeous, often captivating motion picture that strikes the perfect balance between whimsy and reality.
It’s 1914, and the luxury liner Gloria N, , filled with artists, singers, and government officials, is on its way to the island of Erimo to scatter the ashes of Edmea Tetua (Janet Suzman), who, before passing on, was considered the finest soprano ever to grace the Italian stage.
With journalist Orlando (Freddie Jones) as our guide, we meet many of the elite who have gathered for this melancholy event, including Edmea’s fellow soprano Idelbranda (Barbara Jefford); Tenors Fuciletto (Victor Poletti) and Sabatino Lepori (Carlo Di Giacomo); British aristocrat Sir Reginald Dongby (Peter Cellier) and his nymphomaniac wife Lady Violet (Norma West); Russian singer Ziloev (Maurice Barrier); and the Grand Duke of Austria Hungary (Fiorenzo Serra), who is traveling with his advisors as well as his blind sister, the Princess Lherimia (Pina Bausch).
During a voyage scheduled to last only a few days, these honored guests will share laughs and tears, and along the way be pulled into a conflict that sets the stage for the First World War.
Like any good Fellini film, the characters in And the Ship Sails On are a flamboyant bunch, and many of their escapades are equally outrageous. While Touring the ship’s boiler room, Fuciletti, Lepori and Idelbranda entertain the workers by singing to them, and in the process try to out-do one another (getting into a professional “battle” of sorts, where the applause of the workers is used to determine the winner), Later on, Ziloev will show off his talents by hypnotizing a chicken with his voice; and several of Edmea’s friends and associates participate in a séance, during which a medium supposedly contacts the late singer’s spirit (a sequence that actually gets a bit creepy before it’s over).
Fellini also breaks the fourth wall by having the journalist Orlando, who acts as narrator, address the camera directly while revealing the identities and back stories of the various personalities he encounters. There’s even a brief moment when we’re taken behind-the-scenes of this movie, watching as Fellini coaches his actors on the elaborate, hydraulic-controlled set built especially for the film. All this, plus a handful of scenes involving a rhinoceros stowed below decks, do their part in making And the Shop Sails On a truly “Fellini-esque” affair.
But the movie delves, quite frequently, into more serious matters as well, including professional jealousy (Idelbranda cannot bear the thought of forever living in Edmea’s shadow, and tries desperately to uncover the late singer’s “secret” to success); marital infidelity (Sir Reginald, a very jealous man, is driven nearly insane by his wife’s dalliances); and unrequited love (Count Bassano, played by Pasquale Zito, has fallen hard for the deceased Edmea, and has built a shrine to her in his stateroom).
Considering the time period in which it takes place, it stands to reason that And the Ship Sails On would also feature plenty of political turmoil, most of which revolves around the events that led to the outbreak of World War I. About halfway through their journey, the ship’s Captain (Antonio Vezza) stops to pick up Serbian refugees, who fled their country after the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on them (following the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand by a Serb revolutionary). Naturally, the Grand Duke’s entourage is none too pleased that the Serbs are on-board, and insists that they be separated from the rest of the passengers. In addition, an Austrian battleship eventually intercepts the Gloria N., demanding that the captain immediately turn over the Serb refugees. While the fantasy-laced sequences in And the Ship Sails On are, indeed, fun to watch, these doses of reality are just as vital to the overall story, and do their part to keep things on an even keel.
It may have come late in the maestro’s career, yet based on this movie, I’d say Fellini’s skills were as sharp in 1983 as ever. Funny and sad, invigorating and reflective, And the Ship Sails On is a remarkable motion picture.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Starring: Riccardo Billi, Federico Fellini, Gigi Reder
Trivia: In its native Italy, this movie was released simultaneously on TV and as a cinema feature
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: I am not the biggest fan of circus clowns.
Apparently, neither was Federico Fellini.
In an early scene from his 1970 film The Clowns, the director flashes back to his childhood, recalling the day he first visited the circus. A new and wonderful experience, he enjoyed everything about it with the exception of the clowns. “The clowns didn’t make me laugh”, says the director, who also acts as narrator. “No, they made me cry. Those chalky faces, those enigmatic expressions, those twisted, drunken masks”. Clearly, it was more than the young Fellini could stand.
The Clowns is a documentary that delves into the history of this unusual profession, introducing us to former clowns whose antics entertained children and adults alike for decades. Joined by Tristan Remy, an author who penned the biographies of several famous clowns, Fellini and his crew travel across Europe to talk with a number of circus clowns, many of whom have since retired.
Interspersed within these segments are filmed performances of clowns doing what they do best: making people laugh.
Produced for Italian television (but released theatrically as well), The Clowns isn’t so much a documentary as it is a Fellini documentary. Believe me, there’s a difference (anyone who has seen Roma will know what I’m talking about). While sitting around a dinner table with several players from a traveling circus, Fellini is introduced to Franco Migliorini, an animal trainer who claims to have received somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 stitches over the course of his career (one of his colleagues quips that they’ve had to drag him from the cage on four different occasions, jokingly adding that they don’t plan to do the same should a fifth occurrence arise).
As with most of the movie’s interviews, this dinner sequence has a tinge of fantasy about it, due undoubtedly to the stylish manner in which Fellini presents it (with an almost frantic pace, the camera darts from one performer to another, giving the scene an energy unlike any you’d find in a standard documentary).
As he’s shown us many times before, Fellini’s view of the world of circus clowns is a bit skewed, and seasoned with a dash of the fantastic that keeps it from ever feeling 100% genuine. For the great maestro, reality is not an absolute, and the entire world is a stage.
Taking into account his childhood experience with clowns, we can’t help but wonder why Fellini chose to make this film in the first place. At one point, Tristam Remy asks the director this very question, remarking that the documentary comes a bit late in the game, seeing as circuses have been dying a slow death for years.
Was Fellini exorcising the demons of his past, or did he have a genuine interest in the history of this oft-overlooked form of entertainment?
The Clowns never answers these questions, though we are left with the impression that, like many of the great director’s later works, it’s a subject that touched him deeply.
Ultimately, the reasons behind it are unimportant; for Fellini, The Clowns was, like later works Amarcord and Roma, a very personal affair.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Starring: Britta Barnes, Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence
Tag line: "The fall of the Roman Empire 1931-1972"
Trivia: The film was screened at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, but wasn't entered into the main competition
Federico Fellini's love letter to the city of Rome is a visual explosion, with images from the past and present springing from its director’s vibrant imagination.
Roma has no plot to speak of, save some early scenes in which a young man named Fellini (Peter Gonzales) travels to Rome in the 1930s, during the fascist regime of Mussolini. He moves into a boarding house, takes in a stage show, and even visits a brothel for the very first time. Aside from this minor attempt at weaving a story, Roma is little more than a collection of sequences, related to one another only by the fact all are set within the city's limits.
Parts of Roma play as if they were a documentary, including its most memorable scene, a visit to an underground construction site. It’s here that an extraordinary find is made; an ancient fresco, in pristine condition, discovered behind a recently removed wall. But this relic from Rome’s history is no match for its current environment, and the frescoes are destroyed when the modern, polluted air hits them.
Such “realistic” images of the present are interspersed with bizarre visions of the past, like the above-mentioned brothel, where women openly display themselves for their male patrons; and there's a very strange fashion show, in which the Catholic Church exhibits some of its newest - and most unusual - garments.
Perhaps the best moment in all of Roma is the finale, where we join some motorbikes as they travel through the streets at high speeds. On their journey, the bikers pass a number of notable landmarks (including the Coliseum), yet never stop to take in a single one.
Ultimately, Fellini’s Roma is as much about its director as it is the Eternal City, giving us Rome’s past as Fellini remembers it, and only those portions of its present he chooses to explore. It is Rome as it exists in the mind of an artist, where reality can be twisted at will, and nothing is truly as it seems.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale
Tag line: "A picture that goes beyond what men think about - because no man ever thought about it in quite this way!"
Trivia: In 2002, named by "Positif" (France) as one of the 50 best films of the last 50 years
When the great Italian director, Federico Fellini, found himself at a crossroads in his career, having suddenly - and without reason - lost his desire to make films, he did what any brilliant filmmaker would do in his place...
He made a movie about a director who’d lost his desire to make films!
More than a little autobiographical, Fellini's 8 ½ follows Guido Anselam (Marcello Mastroianni), a revered movie director whose passion for the art has inexplicably abandoned him. To make matters worse, his next picture has already been financed
In the hopes of regaining his muse, Guido steals away to a health spa, and invites both his mistress (Sandra Milo) and wife (Anouk Aimée) to join him. Yet even here, he doesn’t get a moments peace, bothered at all hours by angry producers, frustrated actresses, and confused assistants, all demanding that Guido begin work immediately on what is sure to be his newest cinematic masterpiece.
8 ½ is stockpiled with fantastic scenes, the best of which is the dream sequence that opens the film. Guido is behind the wheel of his car, stuck in what looks like an endless traffic jam. While sitting there, motionless, he notices the car is filling up with smoke, and as he struggles to get out, the motorists in the surrounding vehicles look on, staring at him, neither offering assistance nor showing the slightest concern for his well-being. Guido manages to escape, then suddenly takes to the air, floating above the other cars and away from the traffic. Soon, he’s gliding over an open sea. But his freedom is to be short lived, because before he can fly off, Guido is pulled back to earth by several assistants, yanking a rope that's tethered to his leg. The sequence ends with Guido falling towards the water, waking up in his bed just before splashing down.
It’s a marvelously surreal beginning to a marvelously surreal film, and all at once, we understand Guido’s mindset, his longing to break away from the producers, actors and costume designers who hound him hourly. We’re already in tune with Guido’s plight, and things are just getting started!
I’m a sucker for films like 8 ½, movies that walk a fine line between fantasy and reality, shifting from one to the other with inspired ease.
While I both admire and enjoy his earlier, "neo-realist" pictures (Nights of Cabiria, La Strada), I find Fellini's later works (Roma, La Dolce Vita, Amarcord) much more engaging. With visual expression, the director pushes film making to its extreme, creating carnival-like images presented within a highly personal narrative.
There is a story here, that of a man struggling with his art (In the world of 8 ½, the director is not merely a technician, but an artist, and even a celebrity), yet Fellini realizes motion pictures are more than just plot; they are a medium for the senses. And with 8 ½, he does an exceptional job of exciting them.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée
Tag line: "The Roman Scandals - Bound to shock with its truth!"
Trivia: Producer Dino De Laurentiis left the project when Fellini refused to cast Paul Newman in the lead
Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita is a film of contradictions, exposing the emptiness of a life in which pleasure is valued above all else while, at the same time, celebrating the very lifestyle it seeks to condemn.
While showcasing his flair for visuals, Fellini also fills La Dolce Vita with shallowness and sophistication, corruption and culture, and in so doing demonstrates how seamlessly such extremes fold together.
It provides him with a good living, yet reporter Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) laments the fact that he is nothing more than a glamorized gossip columnist. To escape his soulless existence, Marcello immerses himself in the Roman nightlife, mingling with socialites such as Maddalena (Anouk Aimée) and others who, like him, are looking to leave their humdrum lives behind and have a little fun.
Marcello will spend many nights experiencing the decadence of Rome, but much to his dismay, the evenings are but a brief respite from the professional dilemmas that haunt his days.
Throughout La Dolce Vita, Marcello strives to be taken seriously as a journalist, yet is unwilling to sacrifice the prestige that goes with his current occupation. At night, he leaves his troubles behind, leaping from excess to excess and visiting clubs as well as private parties, all in his unending quest for good times and easy women.
But the nights are inevitably separated by the days, during which Marcello reflects on the worthlessness of his life. One afternoon, he - along with dozens of other press and paparazzi - heads to the airport to greet a famous American actress (Anita Ekberg) who has just arrived in Rome. Marcello is content to remain in the background as his peers bombard her with "important" questions such as “Do you practice yoga?”, and “Do you like bearded men?”. Under the light of day, Marcello can see quite clearly the triviality of his profession, and he despises it.
Fortunately for him, the sun doesn’t stay up forever, and once it is down, he's back on the streets, reveling in the debauchery that fills the empty spaces. He will, of course, find no salvation from his torments, but what he does find is something just as appealing: escape. Surrounded by others who are equally shallow, Marcello is, at the very least, among friends.
Rising above the sadness and despair that fills La Dolce Vita is the city of Rome, a city Fellini adored (he would explore it more thoroughly years later in his 1972 film, Roma). The Rome of La Dolce Vita - and most definitely the Rome that sparked Fellini’s imagination - is equal parts past and present, revealing a rich, vibrant history that exists within a very modern society. From the regal splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica to the opulence and excitement of the Via Veneto, La Dolce Vita is a salute to a city as dual in its nature as the film's lead character.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Starring: Magali Noël, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio
Tag line: "The Fantastic World of Fellini!"
Trivia: Director Federico Fellini has denied that the movie is autobiographical, but agreed that there are similarities with his own childhood
Filled with tales inspired by director Federico Fellini’s own childhood in 1930’s Italy, Amarcord presents a surreal universe in which characters are caricatures, events play out at a fevered pitch, and the only words that come close to describing the atmosphere of it all would be “carnival-like exuberance”.
Told with imagination and wit, Amarcord is a true delight.
Titta Biondi (Bruno Zanin) is a young boy growing to manhood in Fascist Italy. His father, Aurelio (Armando Brancia), can be very strict, but Titta's mother, Miranda (Pupella Maggio) is usually there to protect her son from incurring Aurelio's wrath.
We follow Titta and a group of his friends over the course of one full year, tagging along as they walk on the beach, frolic in the snow, and ogle Gradisca (Magali Noël), the local hairdresser, with whom Titta has fallen desperately in love.
It’s obvious from the start that the ‘memories’ Fellini uses to frame Amarcord are more along the lines of reminiscences, where one can recall personalities and emotions much more clearly than actual details. Titta’s deranged uncle, Pataca (Nando Orfei), climbs a tree and refuses to come down until someone finds him a woman. The teachers at Titta’s school extol the virtues of Fascism in one class, and the power of God in another. We watch as bonfires welcome in the spring season, and snow falls so heavily that it buries the entire town.
Amarcord plays out like a series of related anecdotes, stories that have been told and retold through the years until embellishment has confused fact with fiction. The main ingredient of Amarcord is undoubtedly humor, but mixed with just the right amount of melancholy, and a smidgen of anarchy thrown in for good measure.
These are the kinds of yarns Federico Fellini loved to spin, and you sense the director genuinely enjoyed this little walk down memory lane. Now, thanks to Amarcord, Fellini’s childhood is recorded for posterity, with everything exactly as he remembers it.
…even if it didn’t really happen that way.
