8½
1963 · Movie · NR · 139 min · ★ 8.1 · 95% critics
A celebrated filmmaker hits a creative wall and retreats to a luxury resort on doctors’ advice, hoping to recover and find inspiration. Instead, colleagues, family, and lovers descend with demands and expectations, pushing him further inward as memories, dreams, and fantasies blur with daily life and old pressures resurface.
Also known as Eight and a Half · 8.5 · 8 1/2 · Federico Fellini's 8 1/2
Where to watch
Watch free on Kanopy, Shout! Factory TV, Plex +2 more — also streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 1963
- Release date
- 1963-02-14
- Language
- Italian
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 139 min
- Critic score
- 95/100
- TMDB rating
- 8.1/10 (2,530 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you’re drawn to dreamlike, introspective stories about fame and creative pressure, especially if La Dolce Vita appeals to you; Not for you if you want a clear, straightforward plot and steady pacing.
Pros: imaginative reality-fantasy blend; striking sequences; thoughtful creative crisis | Cons: confusing, disjointed narrative; slow, tiring pace; not for casual viewers
Themes
- dying and death
- adultery
- depression
- individual
- unsociability
- screenplay
- suicide attempt
- missile
- scapegoat
- movie business
- allegory
- difficult childhood
- +12 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best International Feature Film · 1964
- Academy Award — Best Costume Design, Black-and-White · 1964
- National Board of Review Award — Best Foreign Language Film · 1963
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Original Screenplay · 1964 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Costume Design, Black-and-White · 1964 · nominated
Show all 9 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Director · 1964 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best International Feature Film · 1964 · nominated
- International Submission to the Academy Awards · 1964 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Art Direction, Black and White · nominated
Cast & crew
Marcello Mastroianni
as Guido Anselmi
Claude Cardinale
as Claudia
Anouk Aimée
as Luisa Anselmi
Sandra Milo
as Carla
Rossella Falk
as Rossella
Barbara Steele
as Gloria Morin
Madeleine Lebeau
as Madeleine, the French Actress
Caterina Boratto
as Mysterious Lady
Eddra Gale
as La Saraghina
Guido Alberti
as Pace, the Producer
Directed by Federico Fellini