Product Description

Forged from the many conversations Charlotte Chandler conducted with the director of La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, and La Strada over the course of fourteen years, I, Fellini is a portrait of one of Italy's greatest filmmakers in his own words.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #375232 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Amazon.com Review
This lusty, high spirited book came out of conversations, conducted over the course of fourteen years, between Frederico Fellini, the reknowned director of of such landmark films as 8 1/2, and La Dolce Vita, and author Charlotte Chandler. The result is a work of astonishing candor, subtle wit, and brilliant insight into the mystery of motion pictures.

From Publishers Weekly
Chandler, who befriended and interviewed Italian film director Federico Fellini from 1980 until shortly before his death in 1993, has distilled their talks into a first-person narrative that reveals a touchy, egocentric, obsessive personality, a perfectionist who claimed never to have seen any of his films once he'd completed them. Fellini credits his wife, the late actress Giulietta Masina, with helping him discover the imaginative terrain he explored in his movies. He recalls his privileged yet emotionally deprived childhood?his father was a remote, philandering wine-and-cheese salesman with whom Federico's strict, religious mother was bitterly unhappy. Fellini also discusses the symbolism of his dreams, his single, unfruitful LSD trip and his study of Jungian psychology, which helped him unchain his subconscious and place fantasy over realism. Chandler wrote Hello, I Must Be Going with Groucho Marx. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Federico Fellini was fascinated by the circus, an oft-cited influence apparent in many of his films. In this oral autobiography, Fellini emerges as a happy-go-lucky clown tumbling through life, a Peter Pan who never lost the imagination and wonder of childhood. Chandler skillfully interweaves conversations with the director from 1980 through 1993, trying to create a "verbal memoir of the images in his mind." The result is a charming portrait, but Fellini was so complex and his work so multifaceted that he himself was unable to provide the last word on his life and art. And because what is genius to many was normal to Fellini, the interviews don't reveal the insights into his creativity as often as the reader might hope. These shortcomings of the genre are in part balanced by a collection of reminiscences by his colleagues that make up the last 50 pages. Unlike John Baxter's Fellini (LJ 11/1/94), which made some pointlessly scurrilous charges, Chandler's book presents the man as simply and honestly as possible in his own words. An important and illuminating addition to film collections.?Cynthia Ward Cooper, Carrollton P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

I'm sure there's better...
There's a big difference between writing a biography and transcribing conversation by the subject into book form. This book is the latter. While it is certainly entertaining from an anecdotal standpoint, there simply isn't enough meat here to grab one who is wishing to dive into the creative process that made Fellini's films what they are. This book is by no means scholarly or academic. If you seek deep insight into his films, look elsewhere. If you're entertained by casual chat, this is your book.

A remarkable insight to the #1 genius of film in the century
This book was written with love over 14 years of friendship. Fellini speaks all, and I mean everything about his life in the movies. Charlotte Chandler records and organizes interviews with the director so that the entire piece (except one little chapter at the end) is Fellini talking to a friend, and the reader becoming that friend. I believe this to be the most beautiful biography ever written about Fellini. A touching and profound book that any film lover, and for that matter, any artist wouldn't want to miss