8½ 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

8½ 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 15, 2024

Federico Fellini's "8 ½" (1963) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary; filmed introduction by Terry Gilliam; interviews with Lina Wertmuller, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, and actress Sandra Milo; the documentary "Fellini: A Director's notebook"; rare stills and photographs; and more. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

8 ½ is undoubtedly Federico Fellini’s most personal film. It is about a well-known Italian director, Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroainni, La Dolce Vita), who arrives at a fashionable sanatorium where he hopes to regain his physical strength and creative powers. His next film is due very soon, and producers, actors and technical staff are already asking questions for which the director has no answers.

But the more Anselmi attempts to hide the fact that he does not know what his film would look like, the more he begins to realize that perhaps the recovery he hopes for would never materialize. What he experiences isn’t a temporary crisis, but the end -- he has shown the world everything he wanted, everything he could.

Nevertheless, everyone around Anselmi interprets his obvious struggle to provide clear answers to questions about his next film as part of an act. Anselmi is an eccentric man, and they know that very soon he will shoot a brilliant film, one that would be praised and remembered for years to come. It is just a matter of time before Anselmi reveals what this brilliant film will be about... is it not, maestro?

It is a well-documented fact that when Fellini began working on 8 ½ he had no idea what it would be about. Initially, Anselmi was to be a famous writer, not a film director, but Fellini changed his mind, and sometime after that, while still contemplating different ideas, decided to model him after his image.

Like most of the films Fellini directed, 8 ½ welcomes its audience into a world where fantasy and reality are closely intertwined, effortlessly blending the serious and the bizarre, the hilarious and the shocking. It is true that the messaging of 8 ½ is not as direct as that of some of Fellini’s earlier films, which makes it difficult to deconstruct, but it is defined by the same unmissable visual brilliance. For this reason, viewing 8 ½, or any Fellini film, whether one fully comprehends it or not, is always a special experience.

In an archival interview included on this release, Lina Wertmuller, whom Fellini invited to assist him on 8 ½, discusses the important role women had in the director's life. Wertmuller clarifies why Fellini frequently treated them as objects in his films, and why he feared and admired them at the same time. Apparently, Fellini's dreams were inspired by them, and so were his films.

Unsurprisingly, in 8 ½ Anselmi is constantly surrounded by women, too. He fantasizes about the moment when the mysterious actress Claudia (Claudia Cardinale, Girl with a Suitcase) would arrive and help him overcome his creative problems. She is the key to all of his struggles, not the two women that already share him -- his wife, Luisa (Anouk Aimée, A Man and a Woman), and mistress, Carla (Sandra Milo, The Visit).

An old proverb says the first step towards greatness is to be honest. During the years, many directors have claimed that their work is revealing of their feelings, thoughts and emotions. However, only a few have been as honest and revealed as much as Fellini does in 8 ½. Indeed, this film is the personal confession of a director who has realized that the finest story he could ever tell is his own.

In 1964, 8 ½ won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. During the same year, it also won seven Silver Ribbon Awards, including Best Director and Best Cinematography (Gianni Di Venanzo), granted by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

8½ 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of 8 ½ is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this release:

"Completed by Cinecitta S.p.A. and Centro Cperimentale di Cinematographia--Cineteca Nazionale for the Fellini 100 Project, this new 4K restoration was created from the 35mm original camera negative, which was made available by RTI-Mediaset and Infinity. The originalmonaural soundtrack was restored and remastered from various 35mm optical and positive elements by the Criterion Collection."

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces a native 4K presentation of the 4K restoration of 8 ½ completed in Italy in 2019. Previously, the 4K appeared on Blu-ray, as part of the Essential Fellini box set. The native 4K presentation is not graded with Dolby Vision or HDR.

I would describe the overall quality of the native 4K presentation as very good. If you are moving directly from the original Blu-ray release to the 4K Blu-ray, you would be enormously impressed because the previous master reveals limitations that were very typical for the DVD era. Scanning and mastering technology has evolved a lot, so what is on the 4K Blu-ray actually has different native qualities. This being said, I must immediately point out that the native 4K presentation could have been a bit more convincing. Why? Because there is a bit of softness on it that appears to have been introduced by careful digital corrections. Delineation, clarity, and depth are still very, very good, but I think that what was done, which was likely justified as rebalancing work, should have been avoided. The grayscale is wonderful, too. Blacks are rich but do not appear boosted, while grays and white are wonderfully balanced. The density levels of the visuals are outstanding. Also, I would like to point that a lot of the crucial lighting looks better now. There are still some areas where it creates rather harsh contrasts, but the old master tends to exacerbate this effect quite a lot. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks pristine as well.

8½ 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: Italian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track, which was restored in 2020 by Criterion, is very healthy. If you turn up the volume a lot, you won't notice any instability or age-related anomalies in the upper register. Clarity and sharpness are as good as they can be. Dynamic contrasts are modest, but in the majority of Federico Fellini's films they usually are. In 8 ½ , there are a few areas where you may notice some minor lip-sync issues, but they have always been there. It is how the film was finalized.

8½ 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this is the same audio commentary that was included on Criterion's DVD release of Fellini's 8 ½. It combines an audio essay, read by actress Tanya Zaicon, and interviews with Fellini friend and documentarian Gideon Bachmann and NYU film professor Antonio Monda. It was recorded in New York and Berlin in 2001.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this is the same audio commentary that was included on Criterion's DVD release of Fellini's 8 ½. It combines an audio essay, read by actress Tanya Zaicon, and interviews with Fellini friend and documentarian Gideon Bachmann and NYU film professor Antonio Monda. It was recorded in New York and Berlin in 2001.

• Introduction - presented here is an archival introduction by director Terry Gilliam, who quickly explains what makes 8 ½ such an important film and the impact it had on his career. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• The Last Sequence - Federico Fellini originally intended for 8 ½ to end with a surreal sequence in a train car -- sets were built and footage was shot, but all that remains are still photographs. From this starting point, Mario Sesti's fifty-two-minute documentary details the story of the original ending and how it came to be replaced. In Italian, with English subtitles. (51 min).

• Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert - this archival documentary focuses on Nino Rota's work and his collaborations with Federico Fellini. Produced by Vassili Silovic, the documentary initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of 8 ½. In German, with optional English subtitles. (48 min).

• Sandra Milo - in this archival program, actress Sandra Milo remembers her initial encounter with Federico Fellini and the shooting of 8 ½. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (27 min).

• Lina Wertmuller - in this archival program, Lina Wertmuller recalls her collaboration with Federico Fellini on 8 ½, and explains how Fellini helped her direct her first film. Wertmuller also discusses the important role women had in Fellini's life. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (18 min).

• Vittorio Storaro - in this archival program, Vittorio Storaro discusses cinematogtharer Gianni Di Venanzo's unique use of light and work with Federico Fellini on 8 ½. In English. (18 min).

• Fellini: A Director's Notebook - Federico Fellini made this hour-long "documentary" for producer Peter Goldfrab and NBC in 1969. A meditation on his films -- including those he had abandoned and those he had not yet made -- it follows the path laid out by 8 ½ and leading to such later self-reflexive films as Fellini's Roma and Orchestra Rehearsal. (52 min). Also included is a letter Fellini sent to producer Peter Goldfrab, in which he outlined his plans for Fellini: A Director's Notebook. (In text format).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for 8 ½. (3 min).

• Photographs - presented here are rare photographs from Gideon Bachmann's collection.

• Stills - a gallery of behind-the-scenes and production photos.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Stephanie Zacharek and technical credits.

8½ 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The liberal use of the term masterpiece has made it incredibly difficult to recognize the truly great and timeless films that deserve the highest praise. Federico Fellini's 8 ½ is one of them. While a visual stunner, it is a truly great and timeless film because its musings on success and life will always be relevant. Criterion's upcoming combo pack introduces a native 4K presentation of the recent 4K restoration of 8 ½ that was prepared in Italy. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.