I'm a Born Liar: A Fellini Lexicon
Encyclopedia
I'm a Born Liar: A Fellini Lexicon is a book combining film stills and photographs with transcripts of the last filmed interviews with Federico Fellini
conducted by Canadian filmmaker Damian Pettigrew
in Rome in 1991 and 1992. The interviews are edited and introduced by Pettigrew with a preface by Italian film critic and Fellini biographer Tullio Kezich
.
Designed as a companion to the feature documentary, Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
(which, in contrast, uses a single photo of Fellini as a baby), the book has 125 film stills of Fellini at work and many unpublished photographs recently restored by the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna (Italy) .
to Federico Fellini (1920–1993) on the set of Fellini's And the Ship Sails On in 1983, Pettigrew shot in-depth interviews with Fellini, material later used in his documentary.
Returning to their original q&a, he extracted a compilation of Fellini's responses.
Arranged alphabetically according to subject, the transcripts focus on the maestro's late philosophical views leavened with quips and one-liners, the enigma of memory and inspiration, style and aesthetics that were conducted expressly as a filmed testament in collaboration with Pettigrew. Sepia scrapbook photos appear alongside b&w stills from 8½
, La Dolce Vita
, La Strada
, I vitelloni
, and others while color images are selected from classics such as Amarcord
, Satyricon
, And the Ship Sails On, Intervista
, City of Women
, Roma
, and Juliet of the Spirits
. Production photos capture Fellini on Cinecittà
sets, directing and gesticulating.
review, critic Michael Rowin judged the volume as "one of the great documents of Fellini in his own words, as well as a beautiful photographic journey through his cinema".
Publishers Weekly
also reviewed the book favorably, describing the page designs by Brankica Kovrlija as "beautiful... festooned with torn-paper effects and flamboyant fonts, a stylish setting to display" quotes from the film transcripts that run "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' ".
Reviewers Odell and LeBlanc at Bookmunch wrote: "Flamboyant, witty yet showing signs of insecurity and angst, Fellini is as open as he is defensive. From the flippant ("God may not play dice but he enjoys a good round of Trivial Pursuit every now and again") and the surreal (dreams of Picasso making him omelettes), the moving (his brief epitaph to Nina Rota) and the insightful (the genesis of some of his most beloved projects), Fellini Lexicon has plenty to enjoy either as a straight read or to dip into."
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
conducted by Canadian filmmaker Damian Pettigrew
Damian Pettigrew
Damian Pettigrew is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, author, and multimedia artist, best known for his cinematic portraits of Balthus and Federico Fellini...
in Rome in 1991 and 1992. The interviews are edited and introduced by Pettigrew with a preface by Italian film critic and Fellini biographer Tullio Kezich
Tullio Kezich
Tullio Kezich was an Italian film critic, screenwriter, playwright and actor.Kezich was born in Trieste...
.
Designed as a companion to the feature documentary, Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
Fellini: I'm a Born Liar is a 2002 French documentary film written and directed by Damian Pettigrew.Based on Federico Fellini's last confessions filmed by Pettigrew in Rome in 1991 and 1992 , the film eschews straightforward biography to highlight the Italian director's unorthodox working...
(which, in contrast, uses a single photo of Fellini as a baby), the book has 125 film stills of Fellini at work and many unpublished photographs recently restored by the Cineteca del Comune di Bologna (Italy) .
Summary
Introduced by novelist Italo CalvinoItalo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
to Federico Fellini (1920–1993) on the set of Fellini's And the Ship Sails On in 1983, Pettigrew shot in-depth interviews with Fellini, material later used in his documentary.
Returning to their original q&a, he extracted a compilation of Fellini's responses.
Arranged alphabetically according to subject, the transcripts focus on the maestro's late philosophical views leavened with quips and one-liners, the enigma of memory and inspiration, style and aesthetics that were conducted expressly as a filmed testament in collaboration with Pettigrew. Sepia scrapbook photos appear alongside b&w stills from 8½
8½
8½ is a 1963 Italian fantasy film directed by Federico Fellini. Co-scripted by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi, it stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director...
, La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come...
, La Strada
La Strada
La Strada is a 1954 Italian neorealist drama directed by Federico Fellini in which a naïve young woman is sold to a brutish man and goes on the road as a part of his itinerant show....
, I vitelloni
I Vitelloni
I vitelloni is an Italian comedy drama film directed by Federico Fellini. Recognized as a pivotal work in the director's artistic evolution, the film has distinct autobiographical elements that mirror important societal changes in 1950s Italy....
, and others while color images are selected from classics such as Amarcord
Amarcord
Amarcord is a 1973 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale about Titta, an adolescent boy growing up among an eccentric cast of characters in the fictional town of Borgo in 1930s Fascist Italy...
, Satyricon
Satyricon (film)
Satyricon is a 1969 Italian fantasy drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini. It is loosely based on Petronius's work, Satyricon, a series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome.-Plot:The film opens on a graffiti-covered...
, And the Ship Sails On, Intervista
Intervista
Intervista is a 1987 film by the Italian film director Federico Fellini.-Plot:Interviewed by a Japanese TV crew for a news report on his latest film, Fellini takes the viewer behind the scenes at Cinecittà. A nighttime set is prepared for a sequence that Fellini defines as “the prisoner’s dream”...
, City of Women
City of Women
City of Women is a 1980 film written and directed by Federico Fellini. Amid Fellini's characteristic combination of dreamlike, outrageous, and artistic imagery, Marcello Mastroianni plays Snàporaz, a man who voyages through male and female spaces toward a confrontation with his own attitudes...
, Roma
Roma (1972 film)
Roma, also known as Fellini's Roma, is a 1972 semi-autobiographical, poetic film depicting director Federico Fellini's move from his native Rimini to Rome as a youth. It is formed by a series of loosely connected episodes. The plot is minimal, and the only character to develop significantly is...
, and Juliet of the Spirits
Juliet of the Spirits
Juliet of the Spirits is a 1965 Italian film directed by Federico Fellini that uses "caricatural types and dream situations to represent a psychic landscape"...
. Production photos capture Fellini on Cinecittà
Cinecittà
Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema.-History:The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi for propaganda purposes, under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte"...
sets, directing and gesticulating.
Reception
In his on-line Film CommentFilm Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
review, critic Michael Rowin judged the volume as "one of the great documents of Fellini in his own words, as well as a beautiful photographic journey through his cinema".
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
also reviewed the book favorably, describing the page designs by Brankica Kovrlija as "beautiful... festooned with torn-paper effects and flamboyant fonts, a stylish setting to display" quotes from the film transcripts that run "the A-to-Z gamut from actors ('An actor's face and body are more important to me than plot structure'), Anita Ekberg
Anita Ekberg
Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg is a Swedish model, actress and cult sex symbol. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita which features the legendary scene of her cavorting in Trevi Fountain alongside Marcello Mastroianni.-Biography:Ekberg was born in...
('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' ".
Reviewers Odell and LeBlanc at Bookmunch wrote: "Flamboyant, witty yet showing signs of insecurity and angst, Fellini is as open as he is defensive. From the flippant ("God may not play dice but he enjoys a good round of Trivial Pursuit every now and again") and the surreal (dreams of Picasso making him omelettes), the moving (his brief epitaph to Nina Rota) and the insightful (the genesis of some of his most beloved projects), Fellini Lexicon has plenty to enjoy either as a straight read or to dip into."