Federico Fellini is considered one of the greatest cinematic geniuses of our time, but his films were not produced in isolation. Instead, they are the results of collaborations with some of the greatest scriptwriters of twentieth-century Italy. Inspiring Fellini re-examines the filmmaker’s oeuvre, taking into consideration the considerable influence of his collaborations with writers and intellectuals including Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Andrea Zanzotto. Author Federico Pacchioni provides a portrait of Fellini that is more complex than one of the stereotypical solitary genius, as he has been portrayed by Fellini criticism in the past.
Pacchioni explores the dynamics of Fellini’s cinematic collaborations through analyses of the writers’ independently produced works, their contributions to the conceptualization of the films, and their conversations with Fellini himself, found in public and private archival sources. This book is an invaluable resource in the effort to understand the genesis of Fellini’s artistic development.
Reviews:
“Focusing on the filmmaker’s intense and sometimes turbulent relationships with his collaborators, Inspiring Fellini leads us through the intricate scriptwriting process which produced such masterpieces as La strada, La dolce vita, 8 1/2, and Amarcord. Thanks to Pacchioni’s meticulous archival research, penetrating analyses, and accessible style, specialists and film-buffs alike have a great deal to gain from the discoveries and insights of this important new work.”
–Millicent Marcus, Department of Italian, Yale University
“Pacchioni’s solid scholarship, critical insight, and innovative methodology revisit the question of the auteur, repositioning the canon of Italian art cinema in relation to current tendencies that focus on gender, genre, and popular film.”
–John P. Welle, Notre Dame University
“Inspiring Fellini is a ground-breaking contribution to Italian film studies, to Fellini studies, and to film theory about artistic collaboration in the industry. Pacchioni’s treatment of Fellini’s scriptwriters adds an entirely new dimension to our vision of Fellini’s complicated cinematic creativity, and his brilliant use of Fellini’s dream notebooks represents a huge advance in our knowledge of the Italian director’s personality and artistic choices.”
–Peter Bondanella, Indiana University Bloomington
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