Documentarian Pettigrew was introduced by novelist Italo Calvino to Federico Fellini (1920–1993) on the set of Fellini's And the Ship Sails On
(1983). In 1991–1992, Pettigrew shot in-depth interviews with Fellini, material later used in his documentary Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
(2003). Returning to their original q&a, Pettigrew has now extracted an alphabetical compilation of quotes from Fellini's responses. With an underlying theme of creativity, it runs the A-to-Z gamut from actors ("An actor's face and body are more important to me than plot structure"), Anita Ekberg ("a glorious apparition!") and Antonioni, to clowns, death, God, guilt, Hollywood, music, puppets, vagabonds, Visconti and women, "the source of man's creativity." As screenwriter Tullio Kezich notes in his foreword, Fellini is a "matador of words." Beautiful page designs by Brankica Kovrlija are festooned with torn-paper effects and flamboyant fonts, a stylish setting to display 125 illustrations, including numerous never-before-published photographs courtesy of the Fellini Foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna. Striking sepia scrapbook photos appear alongside imaginative color images from such masterworks as Amarcord
, Satyricon
and Juliet of the Spirits
. Amid creamy b&w stills from 8 1/2,
La Dolce Vita
, La Strada
and others, production photos capture Fellini on Cinecittà sets, directing and gesticulating. "Real life doesn't interest me," Fellini once said. His flair for fantasy and visual poetry is evident throughout this rich, ornate volume. 125 photos. (Feb.)
FYI:
The book's publication coincides with the current Guggenheim exhibition, Fellini!
