Guido's Ideal Woman arrives in the form of an actress named Claudia. When Luisa sees how bitterly Guido represents her in the film, she declares that their marriage is over. The fantasy women attack Guido with harsh truths about himself and his sex life.
Luisa and Rosella call him on the lie, and Guido slips into a fantasy world where he lords over a harem of women from his life, but a rejected showgirl starts a rebellion. Carla surprises Guido, Luisa, and Rosella outside the hotel, and Guido claims that he and Carla ended their affair years ago. Guido confesses to his wife's best friend Rosella that he wanted to make a film that was pure and honest, but he is struggling with something honest to say. They dance, but Guido abandons her for his production crew.
Guido invites his estranged wife Luisa and her friends to join him. Guido admits to a Cardinal that he is not happy. The film production crew relocates to Guido's hotel in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to work on the film. His mistress Carla comes to visit him, but Guido puts her in a separate hotel. Guido has recurring visions of an Ideal Woman, which he sees as key to his story. While attempting to recover from his anxieties at a luxurious spa, Guido hires a well-known critic to review his ideas for his film, but the critic blasts them. Stalled on his new science fiction film that includes thinly veiled autobiographical references, he has lost interest amidst artistic and marital difficulties. Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director, is suffering from " director's block". It is now considered to be one of the greatest and most influential films of all time.
The film ranked 7th in BBC's 2018 list of The 100 greatest foreign language films voted by 209įilm critics from 43 countries around the world. It is listed on the Vatican's compilation of the 45 best films made before 1995, the 100th anniversary of cinema. It was ranked 10th on the British Film Institute's The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012 critics' poll and 4th by directors. It is also acknowledged as an avant-garde film and a highly influential classic. It is shot in black and white by cinematographer Gianni Di Venanzo and features a soundtrack by Nino Rota, with costume and set designs by Piero Gherardi.Ĩ + 1⁄ 2 won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design (black-and-white). 8 + 1⁄ 2 (Italian title: Otto e mezzo, pronounced ) is a 1963 Italian surrealist comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini.Ĭo-scripted by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi, it stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director who suffers from stifled creativity as he attempts to direct an epic science fiction film.