fellini s/d

Il Bidone: Probably the least characteristic film the man ever made, which is probably why you don’t hear about it that much. Very noir-y, with a brutal final act.

8 ½: So much better on this, my second viewing. I get the feeling that Fellini couldn’t believe he was getting away with going so far off the rails. Liberating stuff.

Nights of Cabiria: Still my favorite. Giulietta Masina was an angel. That’s all I have to say about this.

This weekend brings Juliet of the Spirits (which I can take or leave depending on my mood), Satyricon, and a double feature of The Clowns and Roma.

Juliet of The Spirits: I want to love this movie, but I just can’t. Yes, the color palate is breathtaking, as are many of the images. I had forgotten how great the opening sequence with Juliet/ Giulietta getting ready for her anniversary dinner was. And the stuff w/Sandra Milo is endearingly wacky. The problem is, the whole marital strife storyline was simply done better (and cut deeper too) in 8 ½. Sadly, this remains MEH.

Satyricon: This hasn’t aged well. Loved the down and dirty atmosphere though. But on the whole, MEH.

The Clowns: Fellini’s affection for the subject makes this one work. SEARCH.

Roma: Holy shit. That sequence on the toll road! The Variety Show! Those motorcycles! Simply amazing and a fitting capper to the weekend’s programming, as many of the ideas explored in those films finally click and bear fruit here. SEARCH.

Only two films this weekend: Casanova (another one I’ve been dying to see), and Amarcord.

Casanova: A fine rude variation on the costume picture. For some reason, this reminded me most of Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia. They’re both grotesque portraits of someone losing their humanity. Two questions: How’s the English dub of this (which I imagine Donald Sutherland worked on)? And, why isn’t this out on (legit) DVD? SEARCH

Amarcord: Lovely. SEARCH

This weekend brings City of Women, And The Ship Sails On, and Orchestral Rehearsal

City of Women: When I was a kid one of the few film books we had in the house was Ebert’s home video companion (which covered 1980-85). I actually still have the book, and thumb through it regularly (it’s great bathroom reading). In the review of this film, he wrote that “Fellini can certainly make a bad film, but he can’t quite make a boring one.” True dat, but probably more than any other, this film also demonstrates that Fellini could be damned tedious too. There are some good scenes, particularly when Mastroianni runs through the doctor’s gallery of conquests, which is like a sterile 80s equivalent of the harem sequence from 8 ½. Ultimately though, this is a failure. DESTROY

And The Ship Sails On: A nice ensemble piece, with some magical musical sequences. The ending has a serious WTF? factor, which (for me) actually detracts from it a little bit. Still, SEARCH

Orchestral Rehearsal: Once again the weekend is capped by the best film, Reminiscent of late ‘60s Godard, but not nearly as annoying. My only issue is that it could have been a bit longer, because the ending would have had more resonance coming at the 90 minute mark as opposed to 70. SEARCH

We close this weekend with Ginger and Fred, Intervista, and Voice of the Moon.

Ginger and Fred: A nice little send-off for Giulietta. It’s good that she and Mastroianni got to do a movie together. Given the parties involved, it’s not as good as you want it to be, but it ain’t bad. SEARCH

Intervista: Easily the least of Fellini’s faux-documentaries. This is really a film that only converted will enjoy. The sequence w/ Mastroianni & Ekberg is kinda touching. MEH

Voice of The Moon: The final testament w/some nice sequences. The film feels like a clearinghouse of unused sketches and it doesn’t quite cohere like Fellini’s best frescoes. It’s funny though that w/ Benigni, Fellini finally found a guy to play a Giulietta-style character. Despite that, another MEH.

I’ll try to post some final thoughts on the canon tomorrow.

the only Fellini film i love w/t reservations is i vitelloni. the other ones i've seen ... the so-called cream of the crop like la strada, la dolce vita and 8 1/2 ... don't do much for me and are a bit of a slog to sit through. i mean, i think i GET what he was going for and all of the films i have seen have great SCENES. but that's really it ... kinda like what Fellini said himself in 8 1/2 about mastroianni the director/character -- a bunch of excellent scenes spliced together, but randomly and not much sense.

Fellini also suffers from too much adulation by the film critics/nerds, kinda like Bergman. as in, "if you don't like Fellini or Bergman, you're just a philistine idiot who's unworthy of even some unfunny Rob Schneider schlock." i will stand up for Bergman, Fellini not so much.

also, upthread someone praised Woody Allen's stardust memories ... which i also found to be the most unwatchable of his films from his "golden" era (as it were). perhaps the overt Fellini-isms of that film were what made it so.

oh, i forgot i've also seen nights of cabiria -- the (great) final half-hour notwithstanding, i simply couldn't stand Cabiria (or whatever her name was). not that she deserved what befell her (no spoilers for those who haven't seen it), but still i found it a bit hard to care much about what happened to a vulgar, loudmouthed tart.

Orchestral Rehearsal is my favorite Fellini film

I saw Dolce Vita an 8 1/2 on BBC2 in black and white in my early teens and fucking loved them. If film school ruined Fellini for you, or if the action sequences just don't come thick and fast enough, all I can say is I'm sorry for you. But at least try Amarcord.

did we never poll this fella?

La Strada is my favorite Fellini film, but La Dolce Vita is his most beautiful

Am I being 1) a coward or 2) a philistine if I nope out of seeing the following Fellini films this weekend:

1) 8 1/2
2) Roma (w/ Toby Dammit)?

(The antiabortion zealots have their annual march this weekend; and I don't want to go into downtown DC.)

FWIW, I have not yet seen a Fellini movie that impressed me, but I didn't want to miss the National Gallery of Art's ongoing retrospective.

8 1/2 is all about trying to impress you, so if it doesn't you might prefer his earlier movies. Roma just seemed like a bunch of uninvolving spectacle to me, but not as bad as Casanova.