June 24, 1963 - Opening today in U.S. theaters is “8½,” a surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Federico Fellini. The story centers on Guido Anselmi, played by Marcello Mastroianni (pictured), a famous Italian film director who suffers from stifled creativity as he attempts to direct an epic science fiction film. Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Rossella Falk, Barbara Steele, and Eddra Gale portray the various women in Guido’s life. The film is shot in black and white and features a soundtrack by Nino Rota. As with most contemporary Italian films, the sound was entirely dubbed in afterwards; following a technique dear to Mr. Fellini, many lines of the dialogue were written only during post-production, while the actors on the set mouthed random lines.
