The first ten minutes of 8 ½, alone, is fraught with material worthy of hundreds of pages of analysis and interpretation. I remember my first viewing of the opening: I knew I was watching something electrical; the images and camera movements seemed so dynamic, so carefully, perfectly and thoughtfully executed that I found it impossible to take my eyes off the screen. The imagery was enigmatic, seemingly inscrutable, but the mystery made me all the more captivated. The only background information necessar

The ending of 8 ½ also re-enforces the self-reflexive tendency/theme to be found throughout the film. It ends similarly to the delicate dance of the beginning: with all the actors in the film dancing around in a circle directed by Guido. Again, the theme of the inextricable nature of the medium of cinema, its subjects and its makers is solidified when Guido actually joins the jubilant circus he is directing. Holding hands with the many players who actually appeared in the film, he dances joyously (at last) around in a circle. Fellini’s film ends with Guido’s film, and appropriately so. It is often said that 8 ½ is a filmmaker’s film: as an aspiring filmmaker I have come to agree more and more with each viewing.

The camera moves over the traffic jam; the camera itself, as earlier stated, has an undeniable kinetic energy, throughout the film the camera seems an entity unto itself. This is in keeping with the theme of self-awareness: Fellini does not attempt to deceive us into believing we are not watching a film, rather, he goes to great lengths to ensure that we are fully aware of both the fact that we are watching a film, and that there is a director behind the camera. Pans are used heavily during the scene in the car; the camera is positioned behind Guido, and first pans left to show us an eerie looking man who is staring at Guido, then right, where it picks up and follows the movement of Guido’s hand where it begins wiping his windshield, despite the fact that it appears to be spotless. I personally interpret this act to represent the fact that an artist must be a perfectionist to attain true greatness. Smoke, or perhaps fog, begins to fill Guido’s car. He struggles desperately to escape the strange mistiness which is overtaking him. He soon manages to escape. The camera tracks Guido from behind as he inexplicably floats through the air, over the traffic jam and out of

Some topics in this essay:
Vita Fellini, Valkyrie Fellini, Frederico Fellini, Frederico Fellini’s, 8 ½, Mirror Celluloid, camera moves, traffic jam, camera pans, watching film, throughout film, keeping theme, carefully directing, cinema subjects, outdoor spa,