Skip to main content

Federico Fellini's Impact on Woody Allen

A scene from Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories"

 Tonight I watched the film, "Woody Allen: A Documentary." I was not expecting a connection to Italian cinema but since one usually ends up presenting itself, tonight was no different.

A scene from Federico Fellini's "8 1/2"
The documentary brought up the similarities between Allen’s "Stardust Memories" and Federico Fellini’s "8 ½." These are films that I saw 20+ years ago when I was young and exploring the masters of cinema. I found both films fascinating but I believe that I was too young to understand the complexities of them. My memory recalls their visual aspects- the zany characters and faces and a strong sense of the surreal. In "Woody Allen: A Documentary," Allen talks about the impact that Fellini had on his career. Although I've seen just about every film that Allen has made, I didn’t realize how strongly Fellini influenced his work. After watching this film, and yesterday by coincidence, Ettore Scola’s 2013 "How Strange to Be Named Federico," I can see similarities not only in their work but also in their unique personalities, their curiosities about life and mortality and their undeniable comic genius that catapulted each of them to success.
Ettore Scola directs his grandson, Tommaso Lazotti, as a young Fellini
“Fellini loved driving and he treated his insomnia by taking his friends out in turns for midnight drives: true and tried kidnappings. He’d pick up drunks, compulsive liars, dethroned princes, even a few streetwalkers, out of curiosity, out of an uncontrollable love for life. And with him, that car became a confessional booth. Life was a party, he loved to say, so why not live each moment as one?”  

I really enjoyed this line in "How Strange to be Named Federico." Many of the scenes take place in a car driving around Rome. Through the windows, you can see the landmarks, the fountains, the piazzas and of course, the Romans. Rome was to Fellini what New York City is to Allen- a metropolitan muse. Speaking to that muse, Fellini’s "La Dolce Vita" was Allen’s "Manhattan" just like Fellini’s "8 ½" was Allen’s "Stardust Memories." Furthermore, Scola says "The White Sheik" inspired Allen's 2012, "To Rome With Love."

"Woody Allen: A Documentary"
The qualities I feel are the strongest between the two filmmakers are taking an average character and putting him into a completely surreal fantasy world, the diversity of stories ranging from comedy to love to tragedy and the strong presence of the muse in their work- For Fellini, it was Marcello Mastroianni and Giulietta Masina, his wife of 50 years, the city of Rome and the Romans. For Allen, it was (in the '70s and '80s) Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow- with whom he had relationships, the island of Manhattan, and New Yorkers. It is noted in Scola’s documentary that “Fellini adopted Mastroianni as an ideal alter-ego in his main films. In fact, he took better care of him than he did himself: forcing physical exercise and diets on him that he himself never did”. In Allen’s documentary, he talks about his closeness with Keaton and how her friendship enabled him to see life from a woman’s perspective.

Ettore Scola and Federico Fellini
The biggest difference I see in their work is that Fellini felt uncomfortable in front of the camera, whereas Allen comes alive. Scola recalls how “it took many car rides and convincing to get Fellini to play himself in Scola's 1974 ensemble masterpiece, "C'eravamo tanto amati" (We all loved each other so much). When he did finally accept the offer, it was on the condition that he wouldn’t be filmed from behind, “so no one sees my bald spot.”
Another aspect of these masters’ films that I appreciate is their way with music and how it's a protagonist of its own- for me most notably in Allen’s opening scene of "Manhattan" with Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue"...  


... and Fellini’s closing scene of "8 ½" with Nino Rota’s "La passerella"..

On that note, Scola, also a master screenwriter and director, beautifully ended "How Strange to Be Named Federico" with Rota’s signature circus-like melody in a collage of powerful images from his films with Alberto Sordi and Mastroianni. It reminded me of the equally beautiful scene from John Huston's 1952 "Moulin Rouge" in the very final moments of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's life when that signature can can music plays with the images of his friends and muses. 
With each of these scenes, I was struck by an explosion of nostalgia which made me ponder the great question of Woody Allen and the reoccurring theme of his films, why can’t life be eternal? Surely we are not eternal, but one thing is for sure.. the magic of cinema.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legend of Alberto Sordi - Rome's Eternal Son

′′They will always judge you, whether you behave well or if you behave badly. So screw it and live as you want but above all don't listen to anyone.′′  - Alberto Sordi By giving his fellow Italians something to laugh about during tumultuous times, he emerged as his generation’s King of Comedy. One of Italy’s best-loved personalities, Alberto Sordi played a pivotal role in Italian cinema from the end of World War II to the postwar economic boom of the 1950s. During those tumultuous years, he gave his countrymen a hearty laugh when they might have otherwise cried. Former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi perhaps said it best: “Alberto Sordi interpreted the feelings of Italians, especially in their most difficult and tough moments.” Born in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome in 1920, Sordi grew up in a creative household. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, a professional musician for the Rome Opera House. A young Sordi joined the children’s choir o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty.  He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence.  Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Timeless Vision of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pondering his films and poetry, I wonder if the uniqueness of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films was rooted in his unconventional childhood. Born in Bologna in 1922, Pasolini's father was a lieutenant in the army, and his family was always moving. He grew up in various small towns in Northern Italy. After his parents separated, he spent most of his time in his mother's hometown of Casarsa, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. There, he grew to respect the area's peasant culture and began to write poetry in the region's dialect. He studied literature and art history at the University of Bologna and was drafted into the army during World War II. The war proved to be especially tragic for his family as his younger brother was executed by Communist partisans. Following the war, he returned to Casarsa where he worked as a teacher and ironically became a leading member of the Communist party there. Pasolini was later expelled from the party due to allegations of homo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Portrait for a friend: 'How Strange to Be Named Federico'

  Ettore Scola on the set of 'How Strange to Be Named Federico' A sentimental portrait for a friend, Ettore Scola’s 2013 “Che strano chiamarsi Federico” (“How Strange to Be Named Federico”) is both a tribute to Federico Fellini and a reflection on friendship, and an artist’s passion for filmmaking.  Scola created a personal and imaginative film that moves between documentary, fiction, memory, and fantasy, bringing to life important moments he shared with Fellini during their decades-long friendship as well as highlights from Fellini’s own life and career while showing how deeply Fellini influenced Scola himself. The result is an inviting, nostalgic, and at times playful portrait of one of Italy and the world’s most beloved filmmakers. The film opens on the beach where a figure depicting Fellini sits in a director’s chair and watches performers audition for him. The beach is likely symbolic of Fellini’s roots in the seaside town of Rimini and his beach-going days on the c...
Post a Comment
Read more