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Last night I watched Fellini’s 8 1/2 for the second time. Although I enjoyed the movie the first time around, I think I was too focused on the dialog, figuratively and literally since I require the subtitles. This time, I ignored much of the dialog and really payed attention to the visual aspects of the film. Fellini, as compared against many modern filmmakers, makes incredible use of as many informational ‘axes’ has he can find in the visual domain. For instance, in one scene the emotional state of the character is described by the movement of his feet (his face is out of frame). A tremendous amount of attention is given to detail that contributes to the overall aesthetic of a scene, thus increasing the amount of information that can be delivered to the viewer; information beyond the dialog and superficial appearances. For example, modern filmmakers appear to have a fetish with presenting reality. However, in doing so they sacrifice additional information bandwidth that can be delivered to the viewer by dispensing with convention. The hyperreal and surreal provide additional dimensions of information that can be delivered in parallel with the ‘real’. Fellini leverages this dimension by experimenting with non-traditional modes of visual exposition. There seems to be intent behind seemingly mundane actions such as the way a woman is running her hands across a sheet or the way a person is kicking their feet while sitting. In addition, he merges fantasy and in-film reality in sometimes difficult to delineate patterns.

My overall impression was that far more information was being delivered to me, due to this efficient use of the artistic space, when watching 8 1/2 then is present in more traditional styles of films. In the traditional filmmaker’s reluctance to ‘overload’ the film-reality with ‘unreal’ or exaggerated elements they place arbitrary limits on the types and amount of information that is conveyed to the viewer.