DVD/Videos Reviewed - Food Films with Fellini's 8-1/2

So for 2009's New Years Eve I made plans to have a low-key evening with my girlfriend and I told her of an idea to have a dinner inspired by the movie we had already discussed watching for the evening. We were going to watch Federico Fellini's 8-1/2 to prepare for seeing Nine in the theaters soon. I looked for something to make besides a pasta that would be plain and uninspired, and I came across a dish that I knew would be a hit with her because of her love of mushrooms. I visited www.tuscanytonight.com and their recipe for Chicken Breast alla Carmine was just the ticket. With just enough time to prepare the food before she came home from her long day at work, I put the finishing touches on just as she walked in. Moments before midnight we started dinner and had the movie going on the television. The first bite of the new year was amazing. The Chicken was tender and juicy and the sauce wasn't too heavy. There were just enough mushrooms for every bit of chicken. I added some bow-tie pasta along side to savor every bit of the creme sauce.

As for the film, "8-1/2" was an amazingly visual ride through one directors journey toward making his next piece. Marcello Mastroianni Plays Guido Anselmi, a director who guides the movie audience through his conscience towards making his next film within the movie. Fellini was having a difficult time writing his next movie when the idea came about to write a movie about a writer. Proving difficult visually how to show the writers frustration, he changed it to a director because there would be a more outward appearance of the challenges he faced. A great deal of the scenes were shown as daydreams that Guido was having of what he wanted in his movie, but couldn't express them so others could understand it. The scenes were beautifully crafted and well shot. This movie has inspired many film makers and has been noted as Terry Gilliam's inspiration for all of his movies, including Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.