IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities (Nov 2018)

8½ and the Pitfalls of the Remake

  • Alyssa Acierno

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22492/ijah.5.2.06
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 2
pp. 81 – 87

Abstract

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This article seeks to provide an archetypal instance of the problematic phenomenon of film remaking. In analyzing Fellini's 8½ and Marshall's remake of it, Nine, the article defines film remaking as a variable concept pulled in every direction by the remaking director's acumen and their views on the film's role in the world of local cinematic industries, critics and audiences. It also seeks to address a fundamental critical issue in the discussion surrounding the remake: the cultural differences between the source film's audience and the remake's target audience. This article takes an interest chiefly in the manner in which cultural and historical differences that separate the source film (8½) from the remake (Nine) determine the director's expectations regarding the film's target audience. And, moreover, how those expectations are instrumental in the film's fundamental characteristics.

Keywords