February 13, 1963: The Film "8 1/2" Premieres

February 13, 1963: The film Otto e mezzo -- "Eight and a Half," or, as it was officially released in the English-speaking world, 8½ -- premieres.

It is a semi-autobiographical film, directed by Federico Fellini, whose films already included La Strada (The Street, 1954) and La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life, 1960). There had been 8 of those previous films, hence the title of this one.

Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director, who suffers from stifled creativity as he attempts to direct an epic science fiction film, which has semi-autobiographical elements. So, for all intents and purposes, Fellini is a character in a film that he's directing as a character in a film that he's directing. Are you following me so far?

Guido has recurring visions of an Ideal Woman, whom he sees as key to his story. His mistress Carla comes to visit him, but Guido puts her in a separate hotel. The film production crew relocates to Guido's hotel in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to work on the film. Guido invites his estranged wife Luisa and her friends to join him, but it doesn't help his block.

What helps his block is when wife and mistress gang up on him. Guido slips into a fantasy world where he lords over a harem of women from his life, but a rejected showgirl starts a rebellion. The fantasy women attack Guido with harsh truths about himself and his sex life.

The Ideal Woman was played by Claudia Cardinale, Carla by Sandra Milo. Both were born in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, a French colony that achieved independence in 1956. Both were ethnically Italian despite being born on French soil, and thus were French citizens, but made most of their movies in Italy. Luisa was played by French actress Anouk Aimée.

Guido bases his film around the fantasy women, but upon seeing a pre-release screening, Luisa declares their marriage over. As it turns out, his Ideal Woman is real, her name is Claudia, she also saw the screening, and tells him the protagonist is unsympathetic, because he is incapable of love.

Shocked into depression, Guido calls off the film, but the producer and the film's staff announce a press conference at which the filming will commence. Guido attempts to escape from the journalists, and imagines shooting himself in the head. He realizes he was attempting to solve his personal confusion by creating a film to help others, when instead he needs to accept his life for what it is.

The men and women of the cast and crew start holding hands and walk briskly around in a circle, with Guido and Luisa joining them last. The production set is dismantled, Guido salutes the last of the crew members, and the set fades to black.

The film was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Director for Fellini. It won 2: Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Costume Design. It has been hailed as one of the greatest films in the history of Italian cinema. It would later form the basis for the musical Nine, staged in 1982, and filmed in 2009.

Federico Fellini died in 1993, Marcello Mastroianni in 1996. As of February 13, 2022, Claudia Cardinale, Sandra Milo, Anouk Aimée are still alive. (UPDATE: Milo and Aimée died in 2024. Cardinale died in 2025.)

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February 13, 1963 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the St. Louis Hawks, 103-102 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics, 134-128. Elgin Baylor scored 50 points.

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Syracuse Nationals, 124-122 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (not the Indiana Farmers Coliseum) in Indianapolis -- technically, a home game for the Royals. Oscar Robertson, playing for the Royals in his hometown, scored 34 points.

* And the Detroit Pistons beat the San Francisco Warriors, 134-132 in overtime at the Cow Palace, outside San Francisco in Daly City, California. Despite the loss, it was a good workout for Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 51 points and grabbed 29 rebounds.

There was 1 game in the NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.