51 - 8 & 1/2 - 2 stars
I had a feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy this, and guess what... I was right. I have already watched All That Jazz earlier in the challenge which is Bob Fosse's take on the film and got a 1 star review for its trouble, and then I saw Nine at the end of last year that was a rather dull musical version of 8 & 1/2 which lacked any truly memorable songs.
I had hoped that these were pale imitations of the original film and it would blow me away with how good it was that it could inspire so many copycats/tributes, but alas I found it to be dull and incredibly self indulgent, which unfortunately was probably Fellini's point.
This film is a bit of a mess, which reflects the state of mind of the lead character who is a film director with director's block, played by Fellini's favourite leading man Marcello Mastrianni.
Things are not helped by the fact that the lead character of Guido is a total shit!
As he struggles to even write a script, cast actors and design sets, he drifts off into flashbacks and dream sequences that mostly involve the various women in his life as he desperately seeks that spark of inspiration that will put his film back on track.
But it never arrives and the actual film that we are are watching jumps from one unusual scenario to the next until it finishes in a ridiculous musical number where everyone joins Guido to dance around until there is a fade to black.
Days remaining - 12 Films remaining - 12
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