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Movies / On DVD / Fellini I'm a Born Liar
Fellini I'm a Born Liar

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Fellini I'm a Born Liar (2003)

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Reviews Counted:39

Fresh:28

Rotten:11

Average Rating:6.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini created one of cinema's most distinct, influential, and lasting bodies of work over the course of his legendary career. Fellini's films explored the director's... Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini created one of cinema's most distinct, influential, and lasting bodies of work over the course of his legendary career. Fellini's films explored the director's innermost fears, dreams, and desires with uncompromising originality, and forever changed cinema in the process. In this documentary from Damian Pettigrew, audiences get to hear from the director himself, who was interviewed just months before his passing in October 1993. Fellini isn't a theorist, and that's what makes his discourses so entertaining. He proves that his films were true expressions of the subconscious, without the over-intellectualizing that plagued the work of so many of his peers. In addition to clips from 8 1/2 and LA DOLCE VITA, Pettigrew presents behind-the-scenes footage of Fellini directing SATYRICON and AMARCORD. This footage provides greater insight into the director's almost comically two-dimensional view of actors, who he treated more like puppets than actual human beings. Corroborating this are several actors who worked with Fellini on different projects, including Donald Sutherland, Terence Stamp, and Roberto Benigni. A must-see for film aficionados, I'M A BORN LIAR only adds to the director's already boundless mystique and charm. [More]

Starring: Federico Fellini, Donald Sutherland, Terence Stamp, Roberto Benigni

Starring: Federico Fellini, Donald Sutherland, Terence Stamp, Roberto Benigni, Italo Calvino

Director: Damian Pettigrew

Director: Damian Pettigrew
Screenwriter: Damian Pettigrew, Olivier Gal
Studio: First Look

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Reviews for Fellini I'm a Born Liar

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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Shockingly unilluminating, even dull.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/20/03
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle

Pettigrew's movie functions nicely as a posthumous couch trip, with Fellini explaining the soulful puppetry of his art without pulling the curtain up far enough to let you catch him pulling the strings.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/11/03
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/02/03
Boston Phoenix

While I'm a Born Liar assumes too much knowledge of Fellini's oeuvre and place in film history to be of much use as an general introduction ... the legendary director's enthusiastic participation makes it a must-see for buffs.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/11/03
Michael Tunison
Michael Tunison
Boxoffice Magazine

Only those who are familiar with or curious about Fellini’s work will find it a rewarding experience.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
09/11/03
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

If you know little about Fellini, this is not the place to start. Begin with the films.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
05/02/03
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film, for all its frustrating qualities, does bring us closer to this intriguing, seductive and admittedly devious artist.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
05/01/03
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

No review available.

comment Comment
04/09/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Includes generous clips of Fellini's great 8½ (1963) which is, to this day, clearly a more compelling Fellini biography than anything Pettigrew could have come up with.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/02/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Offers us a close-up look at a director who was foremost a visual master, capable of creating the kind of unsettling images that haunt you forever.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
05/02/03
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

Fellini came close to painting his thoughts directly onto the screen. Born Liar honors this approach by putting lyricism ahead of clarity. You get the feeling that the maestro would appreciate the results.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
07/24/03
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News

It almost seems that documentarian Damian Pettigrew didn't have enough Fellini material to draw from.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
08/29/03
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A fitting tribute to the born liar.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/04/03
E! Online

Little appears to be filmed for the movie itself, or at least within the last decade, and the caliber tends to be less than a Bravo profile.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/23/04
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/15/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Rather earthbound in light of its fantastical subject, but it makes up for its lack of style through sheer access to the artist near the end of his life.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
04/22/03
Kevin Lally
Kevin Lally
Film Journal International

The best documentary yet about the great Italian master.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/10/03
Matt Langdon
Matt Langdon
Filmcritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle

Pettigrew assumes that Fellini was a genius, and while this film won't convince any skeptics, the maestro's fans can sink into it like a hot bath.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
04/10/03
John Powers
John Powers
L.A. Weekly

A movie that will be treasured by those who love Fellini, just as surely as it will confound and bore anyone not particularly familiar with or fond of the great Italian director.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
04/11/03
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News
 
 
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