8 1/2

Though he can't face up to the total case, we must be grateful to Fellini for having presented so much of it, and with such flair and exuberance.

Fellini keeps a grasp on his difficult form, creating some penetrating, witty, tragic moments.

A carnival of the soul.

Marcello Mastroianni becomes an avatar for the great Italian director Federico Fellini in the surreal cinematic self-interrogation that takes place in 8 1/2.

It exerts an irresistible pull.

8 1/2 is probably the most potent movie about film-making, within which fantasy and reality are mixed without obfuscation, and there's a tough argument that belies Fellini's usual felicitous flaccidity.

The conflict between Guido’s discomfort for the nature of his fame and the driving force that led him there drives every interaction in the film.

An ambitious, ambiguous, and experimental form of navel-gazing.

This is the first (and, predictably, not the last) movie in which the director seems to be primarily interested in glorifying his self-imprisonment.

Federico Fellini’s tale of an artist in crisis is such a universal statement to everyone who creates as a living, it has to be a must-own (and must-watch) for everyone.