Opening Sequence: "8 1/2" (1963)

After the smashing international success of "La Dolce Vita" (1960), Federico Fellini fell into a deep, drawn out "director's block" (his words).

A paralyzing, inspirational void.

A phantom zone of creativity.

At that point in his career, Fellini always picked up where he left off. He never had a large gap between films. His next film was always gestating in his mind as he was finishing up post-production on his current film.

However, something happened after the long, post-production process of "La Dolce Vita."

Fellini had no clue which film he was going to do next. He was lost. He poured so much of what he wanted to say in "La Dolce Vita."

His fear of losing his creative voice had come true.

Just sit back and imagine this for a minute. Put yourself in Fellini's shoes. Ever since he was young, he had a gift of imagination and creativity. He had made 7 1/2 (one co-directed) films over a period of 10 years. He was on top of the world of cinema. He was the maestro.

And all of a sudden, it was gone.

Eventually, Fellini had the idea of making a film about a writer going through writer's block, but that morphed into a director going through director's block in what would become his masterpiece, "8 1/2" (1963).



This is a traffic jam as Purgatory.

This is a film director, Guido Anselmi (Fellini's alter-ego), having a mid-life crisis in pre-production.

After the opening credit sequence, we start out beyond the back glass of Guido's moving car.

The car stops in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.

A man, in the backseat of the car in front of Guido, looks directly at him. This will become an ongoing theme of the opening sequence. All eyes on Guido.

A sweeping shot of the jam. Notice how Guido's car is in shadow, underneath the tunnel. Whereas, the light of the exterior is a short distance away. However, in this type of limbo, it can be an eternity before he reaches the light.

The cause of the jam is ambiguous. It's not important in Fellini's world. The point of this introduction is the jam, not its cause.

Guido looks to the left and sees a man, in another car, looking at him. Freeze frame. He then sees a woman asleep at the wheel. Freeze frame.

Pan right. Guido grabs a hanky and cleans a smudge on his windshield. The problem? There is no smudge. The windshield is flawlessly clean.

More people are staring at him.

Then, a mysterious smoke appears inside his car.

Guido begins to panic. He turns a dial on his center console. Nothing. He attempts to open the driver's door. Nothing.

Then, the terrifying shot of a bus-load of headless arms. People continue to stare at him.

Guido's breathing gets heavier. He slams on the driver's door again. Nothing. He reaches over and pulls the passenger door handle.

Nothing. He is trapped.

He frantically slams his palms on the passenger door glass. We can hear his flesh streak on the cold glass.

The car is becoming his coffin. It is no coincidence that his car resembles a hearse. A car for the dead.

We pan right and see a man looking at Guido. Freeze frame.

Guido is now slamming on the passenger quarter glass. Full panic mode.

Quick cut to a cigarette-smoking-lecherous-old-man caressing the bare shoulder of Carla, Guido's mistress.

Guido crawls out of the sunroof of his car. He resembles a black salamander. A tadpole with a black tie. He is a creature of Purgatory. The car, which was once his coffin, has now become a womb.

Guido is being reborn.

Guido floats above the cars toward the light at the end of the tunnel. He raises his hands and accepts the light as he passes below power lines.

Guido is flying above the clouds. The sun is in the distance. Heaven is in his sights.

We see a flash image of a half-erected monstrosity that is a setpiece of Guido's abandoned film.

Cut to the shore as a man on a horse rambles to the right side of the frame. Another man in a turtleneck sweater pulls on a kite string.

Cut to Guido's leg tied to the end of the rope/string. His ascension to Heaven is tethered to the string of a kite. This is Heaven, interrupted.

The turtleneck man tugs violently on the rope.

Guido tries desperately to untie the rope. This umbilical cord to earth. To Purgatory.

Finally, Guido is pulled back down to Earth. His body falls toward the breaking waves of the shore.

Toward water. Toward life.

Before he actually crashes into the water, we hear heavy breathing.

Guido wakes up. His hand outstretched toward the ceiling of his room.

Toward God.

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This opening sequence expertly sets the tone for the rest of the film.

It represents the Duality of an Italian Man.

Between Madonna and Whore. Between Wife and Mistress. Between Reality and Fantasy.

Fellini decides to open his film with an anxiety dream laced with a nightmare. The sequence encapsulates the fears and desires that have governed Guido/Fellini's life.

He is trapped. Everyone is looking at him. They are waiting for his next direction. They are waiting for his next film. They are waiting for Fellini to be Fellini.

Fellini wants liberation from his director's block. He is looking for a way out.

What Fellini finally realizes that he must do is to go through the block instead of working around it.

He makes a film about a director making a film. But it's much more than that.

It is about a man who has lost his boyhood imagination. A man who has lost his inner-child and inner-voice.

Fellini courageously examines his past through "8 1/2." His childhood. The moments in his life that have defined his existence. The moments that he will always cherish.

Fellini exorcises the demons of his temporary inspirational void and comes out reborn.

He was lost and his now found.