Federico Fellini (commonly misspelled Frederico Fellini) was born in Rimini, Italy, on the 20th January 1920. He is one of the world's most respected and revered directors. He died from a heart attack in 1993, having left the world with at least three acknowledged cinematic masterpieces; La Strada, La Dolce Vita and 8½.
Fellini's Debut Film Variety Lights and his Wife Giuletta Masina
Fellini's first film, Luci del varieta (Variety Lights) was made in 1950, and showcased ideas and themes which would soon become intrinsically linked with him. The film follows the ups and downs of a variety show act, and features scenes which are both comical and risqué. Fellini loved vaudeville acts and circus performers, frequently displaying them in his films. Variety Lights also featured the woman who went on to become Fellini's wife, Giuletta Masina, in a supporting role. Masina starred in many of Fellini's subsequent films, but is perhaps best remembered for her star turn in Le Notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria). Federico and Giuletta shared a long, and for the most part happy life together. She died less than five months after him. They are both interned in a bronze tomb at the gateway of Rimini's cemetery, together with their infant son Pierfederico, who died just one month after he was born, in 1945.
A List of the Films Directed by Federico Fellini (Filmography)
- Luci del varieta (Variety Lights), 1950
- Lo Sceicco bianco (The White Sheik), 1952
- I Vetelloni (The Young and the Passionate), 1953
- L'Amore in citta (Love in the City), 1953, Segment – Un Agenzia matrimoniale
- La Strada (The Road), 1954
- Il Bidone (The Swindle), 1955
- Le Notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria), 1957
- La Dolce vita (The Sweet Life), 1960
- Boccaccio '70 ,1962, Segment – Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio
- 8½ (Eight and a Half), 1963
- Giulietta degli spiriti (Juliet of the Spirits), 1965
- Histoires extraordinaires (Spirits of the Dead), 1968, Segment – Toby Dammit
- Block-notes di un regista (Fellini – A Director's Notebook), 1969, TV
- Fellini – Satyricon (The Degenerates), 1969
- I Clowns (The Clowns), 1971
- Roma (Fellini's Rome),1972
- Amarcord (I Remember), 1973
- Il Casanova di Federico Fellini (Fellini's Casanova), 1976
- Prova d'orchestra (Orchestra Rehearsal), 1978
- La Citta delle donne (City of Women),1980
- E la nave va (And the Ship Sails On),1983
- Ginger e Fred (Ginger and Fred),1986
- Intervista,1987
- La Voce della luna (The Voice of the Moon), 1990
Federico Fellini – Oscar Winning Master of Cinema
As a film-maker, Fellini's work can divide people. His output can be broadly separated into early works of a linear, narrative structure (La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, La Dolce Vita) and later works of a more abstract, expressionistic nature (Satyricon, Amarcord). But his cinematic vision and flair has won over critics and fans regardless of the storytelling style. La Strada was the first film ever awarded a best foreign language Oscar, and Fellini went on to win that accolade three more times with Nights of Cabiria, 8½ and Amarcord. Fellini also, somewhat wisely, chose to work with many great actors. Particularly Marcello Mastroianni, whose name is synonymous with Fellini. Mastroianni starred in the masterpieces La Dolce Vita, 8½ and, with quite a moving performance, in one of Fellini's very last films Ginger and Fred.
Where Does the Word Paparazzi Come From?
Perhaps Fellini's best known picture is still La Dolce Vita. The film, which made an icon out of Anita Ekberg dancing in the Trevi fountain, won the Palme d'Or in 1960. It also introduced the word paparazzi into the world, which is taken from Walter Santesso's celeb-snapping character Paparazzo. In this respect, La Dolce Vita is a telling insight into the way the world was already beginning to view fame. This just goes to show what a visionary director Fellini truly was, and makes one wonder what his quirky, satirist's eye would have made of the celebrity-baiting culture of today.
Further reading: Readers may be interested in these other articles about masters of foreign cinema Akira Kurosawa and Jean-Luc Godard.
