February 22, is Giulietta Masina’s birth date. The longer she is gone, the more she grows on me. Her work in, La Strada and Nights of Cabiria become more cherished and timeless. Here’s to the memory of, La Masina!
This Update and all the previous ones will be available online at the website very soon. You can also expect to find a more complete sampling of the ever-growing archive in the near future, as well. Thanks for looking.
Famed Italian Cinematographer, Tonino Delli Colli, has died at age 91. Best known famous for his masterful work on Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, he also collaborated with Fellini on Ginger e Fred, Intervista and La Voce della Luna. Read more here.
And more here.
Please check out the new Don Young Felliniana Archive website. Gradually, most of the 5,000 item collection will be available as an online gallery as well as this and all previous Fellini News Updates. Thanks for looking.
At long last, Boccaccio 70, the rarely seen 1962 omnibus film featuring episodes by 4 of the most renowned Italian directors of the 60’s is now available on DVD in the U.S. with English subtitles. Fellini’s contribution, The Temptation of Dr. Antonio, is one of his most “Fellini-esque” works, bringing together such disparate elements as a 50 foot tall Anita Ekberg in all her glory, a troop of Boy Scouts, a flurry of nuns and a real live Cupid. Those who have watched with a mixture of curiosity and alarm the moral ambiguities of certain members of the Bush administration will get a kick out of the title character, played by Peppino de Filippo.
First and foremost, February 22, is the birthdate of Giulietta Masina, aka: Mrs. Fellini, aka: Gelsomina, Cabiria, Ginger, et al., aka: La Maisna. Her career was pretty much defined by her work with Federico. She appeared in eight of his films. Although she won numerous awards for her acting across Europe, it was only the films that won Academy Awards. Both La Strada (which was the first ever film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Film) and Nights of Cabiria won Oscars and both are difficult to imagine without Masina's inspired acting. She was certainly as deserving of those golden stauettes as much as her director.
With that in mind, I propose a toast in hommage to and in memory of La Masina. Cheers!
December 3, is the birthdate of Fellini's longtime musical partner Nino Rota. I know many of you share my enthusiasm for his music. Rota left us with an abundance of works to discover and rediscover. It's impossible to to pick a single favorite.
My enduring fascination with the works of Fellini has led me down many a literary and philosophical side road. Nothing can replace watching the films, but to fully appreciate Fellini, one must have encounters with the
likes of Dante, Petronius, Boccaccio, Jung, Poe, Kafka, and Flash Gordon to name a few. As a layman student, these side trips in search of Fellini have helped to fill some gaps in my formal education. After a while, a kind of Six Degrees of Separation becomes evident. There are so many connections.
"Who are you, Silvia? You are everything. You are the first woman on the first morning of creation. You are mother, sister, lover, friend, angel, devil, earth, home."
The words are Fellini's, brought to life by Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni in the 1960 landmark film, La Dolce Vita. Marcello would have been 80 years old today (9/28/1924). Anita will turn 73 tomorrow (9/29/1931). Their back to back birthdays and last weeks release of the film on DVD are cause for celebration.
If you happen to find yourself in London during August and September 2004, you will have 34 opportunities to view Fellini's Amarcord. 28 showings of I Vitelloni, a paltry 10 for 8 1/2 and at least a few showings of all the other Fellini films plus several documentaries and other goodies. The National Film Theatre presents this extraordinary event. You can read all about it at bfi.org.
You can also read two related articles online, from the new issue of Sight and Sound at the BFI website: Why Fellini, by Philip Kemp and Late Fellini: A Clown With Wrinkles, by Guido Bonsaver. Well done on both accounts.
In other news...
I can't seem to escape Fellini. He's everywhere! Just two nights after the TCM broadcast of La Dolce Vita (and others) on, "A Night with Fellini", there's Uncle Junior on The Soprano's complaining that, "This movie makes no sense, even with sub-titles!". There in the background on Junior's TV set is Mastroianni, anguishing away in black and white. (For those interested, the show is in repeats all this week.)