Intervista (1987)

73% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
67% of users liked it
(1,077 ratings)

Intervista has been termed a semi-documentary: This is in fact the filmed autobiography of Italian director Federico Fellini, framed in the form of an interview conducted by a Japanese film crew. As the interview progresses Fellini's mind wanders to his earliest days (the reenacted events conflict… More Intervista has been termed a semi-documentary: This is in fact the filmed autobiography of Italian director Federico Fellini, framed in the form of an interview conducted by a Japanese film crew. As the interview progresses Fellini's mind wanders to his earliest days (the reenacted events conflict with several of the "official" stories of his life). His fascination with filmmaking is manifested in the "wonderland" atmosphere of the old Cinecitta studios. With the cooperation of Fellini's loyal co-workers, we are permitted to see tantalizingly brief excerpts (some self-mocking) of Fellini's modus operandi. A visit by Fellini and guest-star Marcello Mastroianni to Anita Ekberg's home leads to a lavish (and poignant) "reliving" of the 1961 Fellini/Mastroianni/Ekberg effort La Dolce Vita. The climax of Intervista scene invokes Fellini's previous inward-looking classic 8 1/2, with a novel twist calculated to send the director's disciples home with a knowing smile. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 48 min.
Directed By: Federico Fellini
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1984 Wide
On DVD: Apr 26, 2005

Critic Reviews

Glenn Abel, Hollywood Reporter
Federico Fellini broke through all the walls he could find in 1987's delightfully jumbled Intervista. The maestro created a film about a film about a film.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
In its own seemingly off-hand manner, it's a grandly cosmic joke.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It would not be of much interest, I imagine, to anyone who was not familiar with Fellini's earlier films.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
An enjoyable, lightweight entertainment, filled with the usual Felliniesque characters, faces, and situations.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
A lovely, rather restful piece of nostalgia.
Chris Hicks, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Federico Fellini's latest work is an oddly unaffecting look at moviemaking and the director's own youth, a sort of 8 1/2 meets Amarcord but without the resonance of either.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Fascinating and messy as only Fellini can be.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
shouldn't be your first foray into Fellini material, or else it will come off as one dizzy surrealistic trip
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Makes Fellini look like a pompous ***

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Arash X

My first Fellini was really disappointing, Maybe it wasn't a good choice to watch this before his other movies
Eric B

It's a shame "Intervista" wasn't Federico Fellini's last film, because it would have been a perfect farewell. Mostly autobiographical, it features the director himself as a prominent onscreen player. Fellini described the film as an informal chat among… More
It's a shame "Intervista" wasn't Federico Fellini's last film, because it would have been a perfect farewell. Mostly autobiographical, it features the director himself as a prominent onscreen player. Fellini described the film as an informal chat among friends, and "Intervista" indeed has an enjoyably meandering, conversational structure. Not just a movie-within-a-movie, it even becomes a movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie. A chirpy Japanese crew maneuvers to interview Fellini as he shoots a retelling of Franz Kafka's "Amerika." He soon introduces actor Sergio Rubini, who will be portraying Fellini as a young man. Fellini advises a makeup girl to add a pimple to Rubini's nose for comic effect, but a short time later, the pimple is "real" and Rubini is dramatizing Fellini's memories of visiting a major Italian film studio for the first time. Innocent, awestruck Fellini sees various scenes being shot and eventually has trivial dressing-room dialogue with an aging movie queen. Once that section closes, the narrative moves to backstage sequences including a depiction of how Fellini casts his legendary "faces," a surreal attack by Indians wielding TV antennas instead of spears and, most touchingly, a reunion between Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg. Twenty-seven years have passed since the two splashed in a fountain during a famous "La Dolce Vita" scene, and Ekberg is much heavier and no longer a hot property. Of course, Mastroianni has become a superstar, but Ekberg shows no competitive bitterness. Their misty-eyed viewing of the old footage -- their tears require no acting, I'm sure -- is usually cited as "Intervista"'s highlight.