One of the greatest films about film ever made, Federico Fellini's 8½ (Otto e Mezzo) turns one man's artistic crisis into a grand epic of the cinema. Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) is a director whose film-and life-is collapsing around him. An early working title for the film was La Bella Confusione (The Beautiful Confusion), and Fellini's masterpiece is exactly that: a shimmering dream, a circus, and a magic act. The Criterion Collection is proud to present the 1963 Academy Award&tm; winner for Best Foreign-Language Film-one of the most written about, talked about, and imitated movies of all time-in a beautifully restored new digital transfer. Disc two features Fellini's rarely seen first film for television, Fellini: A Director's Notebook (1969). Produced by Peter Goldfarb, this imagined documentary of Fellini is a kaleidoscope of unfinished projects, all of which provide a fascinating and candid window into the director's unique and creative process.

Supplements Screen-specific audio essay featuring commentary by film critic and Fellini friend Gideon Bachmann and NYU Professor of Film Antonio Monda Introduction by Terry Gilliam, director of Brazil and 12 Monkeys Fellini: A Director's Notebook, a 52-minute film by Federico Fellini Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert, a compelling 48-minute documentary about the maestro behind the music of Fellini's films Interviews with actress Sandra Milo, director Lina Wertmüller, whose career began on the set of 8 1/2, and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who discusses the revolutionary art of Gianni di Venanzo Rare photographs from the collection of Gideon Bachmann Gallery of behind-the-scenes and production photos Theatrical trailer 22 page booklet featuring essays by Fellini, longtime Fellini collaborator and critic Tullio Kezich, and film professor and author Alexander Sesonske

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