Product Description

The films of Federico Fellini (1920-1993) deal equally with truth-tellers and pretenders, realists and fabulists. His colorful, surreal vision of cinema is so distinctive that the term "Felliniesque" is common among film buffs, even those who have not seen any of his films. This collection of interviews spans the director's entire career from 1957 to 1993.

Fellini began making films shortly after World War II, working in a style similar to the Italian neorealists Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, but he soon distinguished himself from them by introducing elements of his dreams into his movies. While his earlier masterpieces--such as I Vitelloni, La Strada, and The Nights of Cabiria--are realistic in setting and plot, his post-1960 films are baroque and surrealist. Even 8 1/2, one of his recognized masterpieces and widely regarded as a veiled autobiography, is deeply fantastical.

Fellini's feverish imagination is evident in interviews as well. His friends and enemies alike were quick to call him a buggiardo--a big liar. It is perhaps more accurate to note that Fellini understood the inherent theatricality of all performance, including the interview form, and that artifice is just as revealing as plain truth. In his conversations with interviewers and the media, he often blurred the line between truth and sheer invention.

Bert Cardullo is a professor of English and American literature at Fatih University in Istanbul, Turkey. He is the author of In Search of Cinema: Selected Writings on International Film Art and Vittorio De Sica: Director, Actor, Screenwriter, among other books.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #954312 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Booklist
The Conversations with Filmmakers series continues with collections focused on subjects noted for their disdain for being interviewed. "I do believe that the author is the least authorized to speak about the film he has made," renowned Italian director Fellini says in one of these 16 colloquies. Many others include similar disclaimers, yet the interviewers generally prod the maestro into a semblance of cooperation. If Fellini's observations on La Dolce Vita and 8 aren't as informative or revelatory as fans might hope--he is usually interested more in pontificating about the nature of cinema and philosophizing in general than in addressing his work--his remarks are often as extravagantly theatrical as his films. The interviews, most taken from specialized film journals, range chronologically from a 1957 interview on the heels of Nights of Cabiria to several pieces published after the director's 1993 death. They notably include a 1966 Playboy interview, the transcript of a 1970 discussion with American Film Institute faculty and fellows, and a playful 1988 encounter with Germaine Greer. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher
These career-spanning interviews with the director of La Strada, La Dolce Vita, The Nights of Cabria, Juliet of the Spirits, and 8½

--- Offer the first collection of interviews in English with the acclaimed Italian director

--- Include interviews ranging from 1957 to 1993, covering the breadth of his cinematic career

--- Expand the Conversations with Filmmakers Series

From the Inside Flap
Career-spanning interviews with the director of La Strada, La Dolce Vita, The Nights of Cabiria, Juliet of the Spirits, and 8½