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Bachman, Gideon and Federico Fellini. “A Guest in My Own Dreams: An Interview with Federico Fellini.”Film Quarterly. Vol. 47, No. 3, Spring. 1994, 2-15. JSTOR University of California Press. University of Pennslvania Library, Philadelphia. 4 April 2008 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1212955>
Gideon Bachmann’s interview covers several Fellini films and discusses his process in making a film. Fellini admits to often being the inspiration for the main characters in his films. He agrees that there are loose references to his life when his films are within a specific stretch of time and cover certain contexts. He says he gives to the characters in his films to establish a more accurate representation of real life. Fellini talks about fascism as a type of strain on his childhood. American films were a relief as a child, because they were a break from the lies of the church and the fascist dictatorship. He called reality “completely falsified” under fascism. As a child, he was forced to confine to the fascist ideal and lost all freedom and honesty. He had to avoid things that were forbidden. Fascism had a way over most children his age, who believed that war was the key to living and they dreamed of dying in war.
This interview puts forth Fellini’s opinions of fascism and it reveals the characters of his films as being forms of himself, throughout his life. The main character in his film Amarcord is also a loose version of himself. His distaste for fascism is evident not only in this interview, but also in Amarcord, where fascism is mocked and ridiculed for its absurdity.
Gideon Bachmann’s interview covers several Fellini films and discusses his process in making a film. Fellini admits to often being the inspiration for the main characters in his films. He agrees that there are loose references to his life when his films are within a specific stretch of time and cover certain contexts. He says he gives to the characters in his films to establish a more accurate representation of real life. Fellini talks about fascism as a type of strain on his childhood. American films were a relief as a child, because they were a break from the lies of the church and the fascist dictatorship. He called reality “completely falsified” under fascism. As a child, he was forced to confine to the fascist ideal and lost all freedom and honesty. He had to avoid things that were forbidden. Fascism had a way over most children his age, who believed that war was the key to living and they dreamed of dying in war.
This interview puts forth Fellini’s opinions of fascism and it reveals the characters of his films as being forms of himself, throughout his life. The main character in his film Amarcord is also a loose version of himself. His distaste for fascism is evident not only in this interview, but also in Amarcord, where fascism is mocked and ridiculed for its absurdity.
belongs to Fellini's Amarcord and Fascism in Italy project
tagged characters childhood fellini fascism film interview
by lorenyu
...on 10-APR-08
Bold, Alan. “ A disturbed, despotic director.” The Herald (Glasgow). 23 October 1993, 19. LexisNexis . University of Pennslvania Library, Philadelphia. 4 April 2008
http://proxy.library.upenn.edu:5591/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3480194614&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3480194618&cisb=22_T3480194617&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=142728&docNo=1
Federico Fellini is recognized as one of the greatest talents in modern cinema, and author John Baxter has written a book--Fellini--about the director’s life. Critic Alan Bold analyzes Baxter’s work in this piece. Bold argues that Fellini’s popularity is a result of him incorporating a confessional-style into movie-making and he finds that Fellini fans--and he calls Baxter such a fan--are more interested in his personality, than anything. The filmmakers self-love was evident, when Sight and Sound magazine polled major international directors for a top-ten list and Fellini was the only one to include his own work in his list. Fellini once also confessed to being the inspiration for the main character in his film Eight and a Half.
Fellini was known for being a bully in his youth and he is presented as something of a terror in Baxter’s book. Fellini is described as an individual obsessed with himself and power. This power is exemplified by his dominant presence in a film. Fellini not only relates himself to the main character of Eight and a Half, but also incorporates personal sentiments into other films, such as Amarcord. Amarcord is frequently referred to as a critique of fascism, by Fellini himself and other critics, however Baxter’s book has a different analysis. Alan Bold mentions Fellini’s dabble with fascism in his youth. Fellini was a fascist at the age of 19 and drew cartoons for fascist magazines. Baxter’s book regards Amarcord to be more of a personal apology.
As the introduction to Alan Bold’s piece suggests, Fellini is in fact “as distrubed as the characters he creates”, because Fellini’s life experiences and personal reflections are precisely incorporated into his films. Fellini was known to make films based on the experiences of his life. His honest, true-to-life style in Amarcord, makes one have to believe that this is a story that he is familiar with. The main character is exposes the flaws of his characters, for failing to prevent fascism. However, we also learn from this piece that Fellini was once a fascist and felt he owed an apology. His attack on the indifference of the characters in Amarcord is also a personal vendetta with himself--the failure of his characters to see what was happening to their country, was in fact his own juvenile failure.
http://proxy.library.upenn.edu:5591/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?risb=21_T3480194614&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3480194618&cisb=22_T3480194617&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=142728&docNo=1
Federico Fellini is recognized as one of the greatest talents in modern cinema, and author John Baxter has written a book--Fellini--about the director’s life. Critic Alan Bold analyzes Baxter’s work in this piece. Bold argues that Fellini’s popularity is a result of him incorporating a confessional-style into movie-making and he finds that Fellini fans--and he calls Baxter such a fan--are more interested in his personality, than anything. The filmmakers self-love was evident, when Sight and Sound magazine polled major international directors for a top-ten list and Fellini was the only one to include his own work in his list. Fellini once also confessed to being the inspiration for the main character in his film Eight and a Half.
Fellini was known for being a bully in his youth and he is presented as something of a terror in Baxter’s book. Fellini is described as an individual obsessed with himself and power. This power is exemplified by his dominant presence in a film. Fellini not only relates himself to the main character of Eight and a Half, but also incorporates personal sentiments into other films, such as Amarcord. Amarcord is frequently referred to as a critique of fascism, by Fellini himself and other critics, however Baxter’s book has a different analysis. Alan Bold mentions Fellini’s dabble with fascism in his youth. Fellini was a fascist at the age of 19 and drew cartoons for fascist magazines. Baxter’s book regards Amarcord to be more of a personal apology.
As the introduction to Alan Bold’s piece suggests, Fellini is in fact “as distrubed as the characters he creates”, because Fellini’s life experiences and personal reflections are precisely incorporated into his films. Fellini was known to make films based on the experiences of his life. His honest, true-to-life style in Amarcord, makes one have to believe that this is a story that he is familiar with. The main character is exposes the flaws of his characters, for failing to prevent fascism. However, we also learn from this piece that Fellini was once a fascist and felt he owed an apology. His attack on the indifference of the characters in Amarcord is also a personal vendetta with himself--the failure of his characters to see what was happening to their country, was in fact his own juvenile failure.
belongs to Fellini's Amarcord and Fascism in Italy project
tagged characters childhood fellini
by lorenyu
...on 10-APR-08