
8½
Federico Fellini's 1963 film follows Guido Anselmi, a film director retreating to a spa town while his crew waits for a script he cannot write, sliding between the demands of producers, mistresses, his wife and memories of his Catholic childhood without marking the boundary between what is happening and what he is imagining. Shot by Gianni Di Venanzo in high-contrast black and white, scored by Nino Rota, and led by Marcello Mastroianni, the film won two Oscars, for costume design and international feature, and has stood since as one of the most direct portraits of creative paralysis committed to film.
