wilky61

Man, I expect to run into some serious opposition here... Fellini's one of those untouchable directors that everybody's supposed to like... but I just cannot get past his actors. I just tried (and failed) to watch La Strada but I just couldn't bring myself to put up with that main actress from Nights of Cabiria (another "ugh" movie). Everything about her rubs me the wrong way... her ugly shrill voice, her huge dark eyes, her ugly blonde hair, her exaggerated Chaplinesque mannerisms and facial expressions. The plump red-headed chick Rosie was even worse... I had to mute the DVD during her scenes and just follow the facial expressions and subtitles because her voice/laugh was like knives in my ears. I don't think I'll ever try to watch another movie with that Cabiria actress in it, though, I suppose that rules out Il Bidone and Juliet of the Spirits.

The most tolerable one I've seen so far was 8-1/2, anything else like it?

PopcornTreeCt

Giuletta Masina? That's his wife you're talking about!

I have quite the opposite reaction. She's the reason I like Fellini's movies.

wilky61

Figures.
Maybe Fellini made 8-1/2 after realizing that his wife was a hindrance to his artistic capabilities.

JasonTHX

I think the best reasons to watch a Fellini film is because of the women.

There is:

Anouk Aimee (La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2)
Barbara Steele (8 1/2)
Anita Ekberg (8 1/2, Boccoccio 78')
Magali Noel (La Dolce Vita, Amarcord)
Donatella Damiani (City Of Women)
Claudia Cardinale (8 1/2)
Sandra Milo (8 1/2, Juliet Of The Spirits)

I was going to add pics, but seems I'm unable. Bummer.

cungar

I think she's absolutely amazing in Nights of Cabiria and La Strada. American viewers are not used to a heroine in a film who is not gorgeous but I found her enchanting and absolutely perfect for the parts she played in his films.

Mondo Kane

Amazing list!

LiquidSky

baracine

Arguably, Felllini's last important film was Giulietta Degli Spiriti, which was all about his wife. Even in 8 1/2, the Anouk Aimée character is meant to represent the real-life Giulietta Masina.

baracine

Not to get too high-falutin', but in La Strada, the Masina character may represent the anima to Anthony Quinn's animus, that is to say the soul, as opposed to the animal body with its life instinct and its life force.

Most audience members identify with the Masina character on some level: the innocence of childhood, the trust in others, which is often misplaced, the hope for a better world, the belief in self-improvement, the hope that justice will be done, etc.

If you don't do any of those things, could it be possible that you have sold your own soul to a schoolmate for $5, like Bart Simpson did to Milhouse? If so, it's time to get it back.


http://www.snpp.com/episodes/3F02.html

NoirFan

8 1/2 has quite possibly the most beautiful assortment of actresses ever to appear in the same film. I love Masina - such an expressive face.