8½

8½, Federico Fellini's 1963 Italian-French co-production, centers on his alter ego, celebrated director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), who cannot move forward with an ambitious science-fiction project he has been hired to make. Having lost all enthusiasm for the work, Guido withdraws to a spa town, yet his wife, his mistress Carla, his producer and his crew still track him down there. The narrative slides freely between his present circumstances and images surfacing from his mind, revisiting his boyhood, his time at a Catholic school, the memory of a woman dancing on the beach, a fantastical harem sequence, and imagined reunions with his late parents. Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Rossella Falk and Barbara Steele each embody women connected to Guido. The number in the title alludes to how many films Fellini had directed up to that point. Shot in black and white by Gianni Di Venanzo, with music by Nino Rota and costume and set design by Piero Gherardi, the picture took home two Academy Awards and remains widely regarded as one of cinema's most significant achievements.