The Cinema of Federico Fellini

by Peter Bondanella, Federico Fellini (Foreword)

This major artistic biography of Federico Fellini shows how his exuberant imagination has been shaped by popular culture, literature, and his encounter with the ideas of C. G. Jung, especially Jungian dream interpretation. Covering Fellini's entire career, the book links his mature accomplishments to his first employment as a cartoonist, gagman, and sketch-artist during the Fascist era and his development as a leading neo-realist scriptwriter. Peter Bondanella thoroughly explores key Fellinian themes to reveal the director's growth not only as an artistic master of the visual image but also as an astute interpreter of culture and politics. Throughout the book Bondanella draws on a new archive of several dozen manuscripts, obtained from Fellini and his scriptwriters. These previously unexamined documents allow a comprehensive treatment of Fellini's important part in the rise of Italian neorealism and the even more decisive role that he played in the evolution of Italian cinema beyond neorealism in the 1950s. By probing Fellini's recurring themes, Bondanella reinterprets the visual qualities of the director's body of work--and also discloses in the films a critical and intellectual vitality often hidden by Fellini's reputation as a storyteller and entertainer. After two chapters on Fellini's precinematic career, the book covers all the films to date in analytical chapters arranged by topic: Fellini and his growth beyond his neorealist apprenticeship, dreams and metacinema, literature and cinema, Fellini and politics, Fellini and the image of women, and La voce della luna and the cinema of poetry.

Genres: Film, Italy, Italian Literature

392 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1992

About the author

Peter Bondanella (1943–2017) was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Italian, Comparative Literature, and Film Studies at Indiana University, United States.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Pyjov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who likes Fellini, art, psychology or cinema should read this book. It contains the most enjoyable (and enlightening!!!) cinema analyses I have ever read.

[Scott Trinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great analysis of all of Fellini’s work. Makes a strong argument that television ruined the world forever.

[Sinan Öner]

İtalyan Yönetmen Federico Fellini, 20. Yüzyıl'ın en iyi Yönetmenlerinden biridir, İkinci Dünya Savaşı yıllarında film yönetmeye başlayan Fellini, neredeyse elli yıl sinema yaptı! İtalyan Tarihçi Peter Bondanella'nın "Federico Fellini Sineması" kitabı, Payel Yayınları'nın Türkçe'de sinema okurlarına bir hediyesi. "Federico Fellini Sineması", Fellini'nin müthiş sinema çabasını ayrıntılarıyla okumak için harika bir eser! Federico Fellini'nin filmlerini Türk Halkı çok sevmişti, geçmişte, 1950'lerden 1990'lara, sinema salonlarında, TV'lerde, Federico Fellini'nin filmleri ilgiyle izlenmişti. Federico Fellini'nin filmleriyle bütünleşmiş biyografisini anlatan en iyi kitaplardan biridir "Federico Fellini Sineması", Payel Yayınları'nın yayını ile sinema okurları bir film festivali yapıyor gibi!