8½ Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

8½ Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 9, 2022

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Essential Fellini.

It may not quite match the treatment Criterion afforded a certain iconic Swedish director with their frankly almost overwhelming Ingmar Bergman's Cinema release, but Essential Fellini should pretty easily serve as either an absolutely first rate introduction to or a nostalgic reacquaintance with one of Italy's most legendary filmmakers. Fourteen beloved if sometimes controversial Fellini films have been aggregated in this set, along with a bonus disc offering a special devoted to Marcello Mastroianni, and while Criterion only provided check discs for the purposes of this review, from the looks of things online, this is another beautifully packaged set from the label with a number of non-disc swag packaging bonuses.

8 1/2 is one of the films in this set which has had (actually several) prior releases from Criterion, and for anyone still needing a plot recap, Svet's 8½ Blu-ray review of Criterion's 2010 release is a good place to start. I'll only add that the sheer fluidity of Fellini's camera in this piece is a marvel to behold, and it is matched by a similar "stream of consciousness" approach to the actual narrative. Never has a dreamlike quality so magically infused a supposedly mundane narrative of an artist on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

8½ Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

8 1/2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Criterion only sent check discs for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer that may be included in an insert booklet, but the actual film includes some introductory text which offers the following information:

This restoration of 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1983) was completed in 2019 by Istituto Luce - Cinecittà and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Cineteca Nazionale at the Istituto Luce - Cinecittà laboratories from the original 35mm picture negative, which was made available by RTI-Mediaset and Infinity.

The original monaural soundtrack was restored and remastered in 2020 from various 35 mm optiocal positive and negative elements by the Criterion Collection.

Soundtrack restoration supervision by Michael W. Wiese.

The original release that Svet reviewed came out in 2010, so it seems evident that this is sourced off a new, and to my eyes improved, transfer from the earlier generally excellent Criterion release. While some of the improvements here are arguably marginal, I found detail levels to be more precise especially in terms of things like fabrics on costumes, and some of the variations in contrast that are at least due in part to frequent transitions in lighting or things like optical dissolves have a more fluid, integrated appearance in this version. I noticed no signs of denoising, and grain is tightly resolved throughout the presentation.

8½ Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

8 1/2 features an LPCM Mono track which to my ears sounded interchangeable with the track on Criterion's 2010 release. There's the same slightly boxiness and overly reverberant quality that often attends post-looped Italian productions from this era, but fidelity is generally fine, and both Nino Rota's wonderfully evocative score and dialogue are rendered without any issues whatsoever. Optional English subtitles are available.

8½ Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary offers another somewhat unusual approach, combining an audio essay read by Tanya Zaicon, along with interviews with Fellini, Gideon Bachmann and NYU film professor Antonio Monda.


• Terry Gilliam Introduction (HD; 7:29)


• The Last Sequence (HD; 50:24) is a fascinating documentary by Mario Sesti which documents an abandoned final sequence Fellini originally planned for the film. Subtitled in English.


• Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert (HD; 47:28) is a fantastic archival piece devoted to the legendary composer. Subtitled in English.


• Sandro Milo (HD; 26:38) is an interview with the actress. Subtitled in English.


• Lina Wertmuller (HD; 17:28) offers Wertmuller's reminiscences about Fellini. Subtitled in English.


• Vittorio Storaro (HD; 17:24) is an interesting interview with the cinematographer. In English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:10)


• Photographs by Gideon Bachmann (HD)


• Stills Gallery (HD)

8½ Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've never seen a Fellini film, my advice is to jump in the deep end with 8 1/2. If you haven't succumbed to Fellini's patented brand of magical realism within the first five minutes or so, Fellini may simply not be a director for you to spend time with. For the rest of us lucky folks, however, this release offers solid technical merits and appealing supplements. Highly recommended.