A huge contribution to the development of the cinematography was made by Federico Fellini. The filmography of this director has a little more than twenty tapes, but during his life he received many awards - the Golden Palm Branch, Golden Globe, Oscar, Golden Lion of the Venice Festival. Fellini is a recognized innovator and classic of world cinema, his name symbolizes the highest professional style that can conquer anyone.
Federico Fellini. Biography
Federico Fellini was born in 1920, on January 20, in the Italian resort town of Rimini. In childhood, was fond of drawing. He was very fond of the circus and arranged home performances. The future director received a classical education, after studying as a reporter in Florence. In 1938 he moved to Rome, where he made money writing texts for advertisements, variety shows, radio shows and drawings for magazines and newspapers.
In 1943, he wrote texts for a radio broadcast about a couple of lovers. Federico was offered to film this story. On the set, he met his wife, Juliet Mazina. Together they lived for 50 years.
Early work
Fellini met Roberto Rossellini when he traded cartoons in a small shop. Roberto shared his plans for filming a short film about a priest shot by fascists. Federico offered to deepen the idea and helped write the script for the film "Rome, an open city." The tape was a huge success and laid the foundation for a new genre in cinema - neorealism. Fellini gained fame as a good screenwriter.
In 1950, the director participated in the creation of the film "Variety Lights". We can say that it was with this film that Fellini began as a director. His filmography starts with this picture, but he himself considered it half, since this is a joint work. In 1952, he wrote the script and made the film "The White Sheikh." In 1953, 2 films were already released - “Love in the City” and “Mama's Sons”. The latter successfully went to the cinema. Federico Fellini received the Silver Lion for this work.
"Road"
From this moment you can begin to name the best films of Federico Fellini. Work on the script “Roads” was completed back in 1949, but the director was only able to start filming in 1953. His wife Juliet Mazina and actor Anthony Quinn played the lead roles.
This tape, which brought the director world fame, Oscar for the best film in a foreign language and about 50 different awards, was very difficult for Federico. After the filming was completed, he was morally devastated. This work brought not only recognition, but also financial success for Fellini himself.
The filmography continues with the next film, Fraudsters, filmed in 1954. It did not attract the attention of the audience. But “Nights of Cabiria” has become another pearl in the work of the director. A little mystical film about touching and naive love appealed to the audience, and the sincere smile of Juliet Mazina in the final conquered them completely.
"Sweet life"
The film “Sweet Life” can be called landmark in the work of the director. This picture should be taken as a kind of philosophical parable that reveals the problems of modern Italian society. The director wanted to show that life, in which estrangement, loneliness and disunity reign, is empty. And at the same time, the charm, the sweetness of life is available to everyone, you just need to be able to see it. That is what Fellini himself believed.
The filmography of the director could end on this tape, because many viewers perceived it as a challenge to society. Bathing in luxury at a time when many people in the country were barely making ends meet caused a lot of negativity. The Vatican also condemned the film, especially for the striptease scene.
The Vatican’s official press published weekly devastating articles about the film, calling it “Abominable Life” and threatening to excommunicate anyone who watched it. At one of the premieres, the viewer spat in the face of the creator of the picture. The protagonist was hotly condemned, offered to ban and destroy the film, and Fellini himself deprived of Italian citizenship.
However, the resounding success of the film abroad and among democratically-inclined Italians silenced all critics, and soon the “Sweet Life” began to be called the symbol of modern Italian cinema. The painting has received wide acclaim and many awards. The phrase “Dolce Vita” has become synonymous with beautiful life in many languages of the world, and photographers have begun to call “paparazzi”, after the name of one of the characters of Paparazzo. With this film, the director began close collaboration with Marcello Mastroianni.
Eight and a half, Boccaccio 70
In 1962, the master took part in the filming of the film, which was to recreate the spirit of the Decameron. Four directors shot one film short, which were combined into a single film - “Boccaccio-70”.
The following year, a rather autobiographical picture, “Eight and a Half, ” was released, in which the master tried to show the audience a commotion in the artist’s soul. The picture tells about the director Guido, who, due to lack of inspiration, can not make his film in any way.
Marcello Mastroianni played the main role in this film and, in fact, embodied the image of Fellini himself. The actor tried to show the hero’s longing, his fear of the ordinary.
The premiere took place in Moscow, and the director himself and his wife first visited the Soviet Union. This work received the Grand Prize of the Moscow Film Festival, as well as 2 Oscars and many other awards.
“Juliet and Spirits”, “Three Steps in Delirium”
The film "Juliet and Spirits" the director thought over for several years. It was dedicated to Juliet Mazina and created for her. The actress fully revealed her talent in this work, but critics and viewers did not appreciate the picture.
"Three steps in delirium" - a joint work of three directors who filmed one story by Edgar Allan Poe. Fellini worked on a story about a British actor who came to Italy to shoot.
"Rome Fellini", "Amarcord"
In 1969, the director recreated the Roman Empire from the time of decline in the film Satyricon Fellini. In 1971, the humble comedy Clowns appeared. The master expressed his love for Rome in the light, magical film “Rome Fellini”.
About the hometown where the director’s childhood passed, Amarkord narrates. This light and funny picture, saturated with a light shade of nostalgia, instantly won the huge love of the audience. She is rightfully considered one of the best works of the master.
Casanova Fellini, Orchestra Rehearsal
Filmed in 1976, Casanova was a disappointment for critics, viewers and the director himself. He admitted that he was reluctant to work on this picture, and Casanova himself disgusted him.
The 1979 Orchestra Rehearsal caused a storm of emotions and responses. Each interpreted this picture in his own way. The director, as it were, shows society in miniature, using the example of a small orchestra. The tape was shot in just 16 days in the pseudo-documentary genre.
