Fellini

The most revealing section of this lavishly illustrated but slight scrapbook consists of Italian film director Fellini's notes on or treatments of movies he was unable to make. These include a portrait of Venice, an autobiographically tinged version of Dante's Inferno, a study of the psychology of the actor and the adventures of the 1940s American comic-strip hero Mandrake. Fellini's colored drawings illustrating his dreams, accompanied by his analytical commentaries, provide a window onto the subconscious world that molded his films. Also included are lighthearted letters to and from filmmakers and writers; a biographical chronology and a filmography decked out with photographs and memorabilia; and Fellini's drawings, caricatures, comic strips and storyboards. Hard-core fans will want to own this miscellany. (Aug.)