The Magic of Fellini

Presenting a solid if brief take on the wonder and legacy of filmmaker Federico Fellini's career, director Carmen Piccini's The Magic of Fellini gathers material from archived interviews with the maestro responsible for such classics as La Dolce Vita, 8½, and La Strada, as well as clips from Fellini's films, and interviews with key collaborators (Anita Ekberg, Donald Sutherland) and admirers (Martin Scorsese, Lina Wertmuller). A bemused Fellini recalls taking, with great reluctance, his first assignment as director, and talks about how he prefers following intuition rather than screenplays--insights that help this serve as a decent introduction and nostalgic overview for his fans, but there is so much more to the story than is covered here (Fellini: I'm a Born Liar, reviewed in VL-1/04, offers a less conventional but more in-depth portrait). Still, this is recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)