Fellini Satyricon (1969) In the pantheon of all-time revered and celebrated film directors, you'd still find only a few of them who'd earn the phrase "esque" attached to their last name.......
'Fellini-esque' became an all purpose adjective for describing any movie with stunning visuals, bizarre people and a circus-like fantasy atmosphere.......in short, any movie that bore no relation to the real world around us, but appeared to spring directly from deep inside the subconscious of its director.
Given the enormous expense and logistics of making a feature film for a mass audience, few directors were rarely given the opportunity to go wild 'n crazy and make their own 'Fellini-esque' movie. Too much money on the line and too much pressure for a box-office return-on-investment.....
Federico Fellini never labored under any such restrictions.......and 'Satyricon', his frenzied phantasmagoria of ancient Rome, stands among his most 'Felllini-esque' excursions into all the dreamscapes escaping from his own head.....
And it couldn't have arrived at a better time than 1969, where it found a receptive, ready-and-waiting audience among counter-culture youth, still delirious from sitting in the first row during multiple viewings of "2001: A Space Odyssey".......
And for sheer cinematic splendor, Fellini did not disappoint.....filled with dazzling and disturbing imagery, his Ancient Rome is a galaxy far, far away from the Hollywood Rome of "Ben Hur", "The Robe" and "Cleopatra". Fasten your seat belt, cause this is a sometime dreamy, sometime nightmarish ride through the alien worlds of Planet Fellini.'
I wouldn't even begin to explain what you'll see here. It's pointless to comprehend or understand any character or turn or plot that unfolds over the 129 minute running time......just drink it all in........you can always try figuring it out later......or don't bother at all.
All through the film, you can sense Fellini casting an amused sardonic eye on his astonishing pageant of a civilization steeped in unbridled sex, depravity, cruelty and violence......and in true Fellini fashion, populated by a vast mob of unforgettable faces....(and bodies....)
Only true cinema adventurers should have a go at "Fellini Satyricon".....an audience only comfortable with mainstream movies might think they stumbled through somebody's pepperoni pizza-induced bad dream.
For BQ, a trip to the wondrously strange outer space of Planet Fellini is a 4 star (****) voyage I'd never dream of missing......
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