The best Federico Fellini’s documentary movies

Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini

20/01/1920- 31/10/1993
We present our ranking of the best Federico Fellini’s movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about Federico Fellini.

Ciao, Federico!

Ciao, Federico!
6.4/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 28/10/1970
  • Character: Self
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the filming of the Federico Fellini film, "Satyricon."

And the Oscar Goes To...

And the Oscar Goes To...
7.1/10
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.

The Clowns

The Clowns
7/10
Fellini exposes his great attraction for the clowns and the world of the circus first recalling a childhood experience when the circus arrives nearby his home. Then he joins his crew and travel from Italy to Paris chasing the last greatest European clowns still live in these countries. He also meets Anita Ekberg trying to buy a panther in a circus.

Fellini: I'm a Born Liar

Fellini: I'm a Born Liar
7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 02/04/2003
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
A look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a writer, and a production manager talk about working with Fellini. Archive footage of Fellini and others on the set plus clips from his films provide commentary and illustration for the points interviewees make. Fellini is fully in charge; actors call themselves puppets. He dismisses improvisation and calls for "availability." His sets and his films create images that look like reality but are not; we see the differences and the results.

Vittorio D.

Vittorio D.
7.3/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 17/09/2009
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
A documentary about Vittorio de Sica with clips of his films and testimonials from friends and family.

Filmmakers vs. Tycoons

Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
7.1/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 17/07/2005
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
How the cinema industry does not respect the author's work as it was conceived, how manipulates the motion pictures in order to make them easier to watch by an undemanding audience or even how mutilates them to adapt the original formats and runtimes to the restrictive frame of the television screen and the abusive requirements of advertising. (Followed by “Filmmakers in Action.”)

Fellini: A Director’s Notebook

Fellini: A Director’s Notebook
6.6/10
Fellini discusses his views of making motion pictures and his unorthodox procedures. He seeks inspiration in various out of the way places. During this film viewers go with him to the Colisseum at night, on a subway ride past Roman ruins, to the Appian Way, to a slaughterhouse, and on a visit to Marcello Mastroianni's house. Fellini also is seen in his own office interviewing a series of unusual characters seeking work or his help.

What Do You Know About Me

What Do You Know About Me
7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 16/10/2009
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
Until the 1970s, Italian cinema dominated the international scene, even competing with Hollywood. Then, in just a few years, came its rapid decline, the flight of our greatest producers, a crisis among the best writer-directors, the collapse of production. But what are the true causes and circumstances of this decline? In an attempt to provide an answer to this question, Di Me Cosa Ne Sai strives to depict this great cultural change. Begun as a loving examination of Italian cinema, the film transformed into a docu-drama that alternates between interviews with the great names of the past and fragments of cultural and political life of the last 30 years. It is a travel diary that shows Italy from north to south, through movie theatres; television-addicted kids; Berlusconi and Fellini; shopping centers; TV news editors; stories of impassioned film exhibitors and directors who fight for their films; and interviews with itinerant projectionists and great European directors.

The Magic of Fellini

The Magic of Fellini
6.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 27/01/2002
  • Character: Self (archive footage)
Documentary with interviews and clips of Fellini's movies.

Federico Fellini's Autobiography

Federico Fellini's Autobiography
6.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 05/09/2000
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
Federico Fellini was one of the most individual and thought provoking directors who based most of his films upon his own reflections, dreams, life events and fantasies, who did not convey any special message for humanity but regarded cinema simply as entertainment. Is there an answer to everything? Can it possibly be? If yes, then life can no longer be so curious, so dynamic, so creative...

Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert

Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert
6.8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/1993
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)
A look at the life and work of composer Nino Rota.

Fellini of the Spirits

Fellini of the Spirits
6.7/10
2020 marks 100 years since the birth of Federico Fellini, the most prominent Italian director and one of the symbols of the insuperable cinematic heyday of mid-20th century. Fellini had always been a mysterious director, not only in his cryptic symbolism but also in his idiosyncratic, excessive mixture of psychoanalysis, Catholicism and faith in the mysterious. In this documentary, his relationship with the paranormal, luck and fate, alongside the coexistence of organized discourse and transcendence to the imaginary, is examined via friends, collaborators and distinguished fans (Friedkin, Gilliam, Chazelle). A great testimony to why rationalists and ideologists have a hard time with his work, ‘Fellini and the Spirits’ is an appropriate yet unexpected tribute.

Giovanna Cau - Diversamente giovane

Giovanna Cau - Diversamente giovane
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 03/11/2011
  • Character: Se stesso (filmati d'archivio)

The Last Sequence

The Last Sequence
5.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 22/04/2003
  • Character: Himself (voice) (archive footage)
A documentary on Fellini’s lost alternate ending for 8½

Bellissimo: Images of the Italian Cinema

Bellissimo: Images of the Italian Cinema
6.5/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/1985
  • Character: Himself
A documentary about the Italian cinema as art form and industry.

Walt Disney e l'Italia - Una storia d'amore

Walt Disney e l'Italia - Una storia d'amore
6.9/10

Notes on 'City of Women'

Notes on 'City of Women'
6.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/04/1982
  • Character: Himself
This 1980 on-set documentary features an extensive look behind the scenes of the film.

Sur les traces de Fellini

Sur les traces de Fellini
6.7/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/2013
  • Character: Himself (archive footage)

The Secret Diary of Amarcord

The Secret Diary of Amarcord
7.1/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/1974
  • Character: Self
A tongue-in-cheek documentary that goes "behind the scenes" during the production of Federico Fellini's film AMARCORD (1973).

Towards the Moon with Fellini

Towards the Moon with Fellini
6/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/03/1990
  • Character: Himself
A rare, comical and up-close behind-the-scenes look at the late Italian director Federico Fellini, as he directs his last film, "La Voce Della Luna".

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