The Films of Federico Fellini

The Films of Federico Fellini examines the career of one of Italy's most renowned filmmakers through close analysis of five masterpieces that span his career: La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, Amarcord and Interview. Providing an overview of Fellini's early career as a cartoonist and scriptwriter for neorealist directors such as Roberto Rossellini, this study traces the development of Fellini's unique and personal cinematic vision as it transcends Italian neorealism. Rejecting an overtly ideological approach to Fellini's cinema, Bondanella emphasizes the director's interest in fantasy, the irrational and individualism.

• Interprets Fellini's major films
• Offers accessible, jargon-free introduction to the renowned Italian director
• Presents Fellini as the champion of a personal, poetic cinema that opposes contemporary ideology and privileges the emotions as a valid means of knowing

About the author

Peter Bondanella, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Review

'… lucid, informative prose …' The Times Literary Supplement