Review by Gary Tooze

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• A Dream of Women, a 31-minute documentary on the making of the film (30:25 in 1080P)
• Notes on CITY OF WOMEN, a 61-minute documentary about Fellini’s film (1:00:18 in 1080P)
• Dante Ferretti: A Builder of Dreams, a 22-minute documentary about the great production designer behind the film (21:20 in 1080P)
• A 12-minute video piece with filmmaker Tinto Brass discussing the picture (11:07 in 1080P)
• The original Italian and French theatrical trailers (3:37 / 1:27 in 1080P)
• Substantial booklet containing writing on the film, vintage excerpts, and rare archival imagery

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Description: Federico Fellini’s epic 1980 fantasia introduced the start of the Maestro’s delirious late period. A surrealist tour-de-force filmed on soundstages and locations alike, and overflowing with the same sensory (and sensual) invention heretofore found only in the classic movie-musicals (and Fellini’s own oeuvre), La città delle donne [City of Women] taps into the era’s restless youth-culture, coalescing into nothing less than Fellini’s post-punk opus.
Marcello Mastroianni appears as Fellini’s alter ego in a semi-reprise of his character from 8-1/2, Snàporaz. As though passing into a dream, the charismatic avatar finds himself initiated into a phantasmagoric world where women — or an idea of women — have taken power, and which is structured like an array of psychosexual set-pieces — culminating in a bravura hot-air balloon that decisively sticks the “anti” up into “climax”.

A great adventure “through the looking-glass,” as it were, of Fellini’s own phallic lens and life-long libidinal ruminations, La città delle donne sharply divided critics at the 1980 Festival de Cannes, some of whom had merely anticipated a nostalgic retread of the earlier Mastroianni works. What they were greeted with, and what remains today, is, in the words of Serge Daney, “a victory of cinema”. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present La città delle donne on Blu-ray and DVD in Gaumont’s glorious new HD restoration.

 

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

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Masters of Cinema really stack the deck with supplements. A Dream of Women is a 1/2 hour documentary on the making of the film - like all the extras is presented in 1080P and from Gaumont. Notes on CITY OF WOMEN is an hour long documentary about Fellini’s film. There is a third documentary - this one about Dante Ferretti, the famous production designer notable for other Fellini films like Ginger and Fred as well as more recent Scorsese works like The Aviator and Shutter Island. It is called A Builder of Dreams and runs 20-minutes. There is a 11-minute video interview with filmmaker Tinto Brass discussing the picture and Fellini. MoC include the original Italian and French theatrical trailers as well as a substantial booklet containing writing on the film, vintage excerpts, and rare archival imagery.

BOTTOM LINE:
City of Women is Fellini through-and-through - quite sexy and... surreal although not as carnival-esque as some of his other works. Mastroianni makes it very fun - as do the gals. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but suspect one should be in the right, receptive, mood for maximum appreciation. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray adds so much value with over 2-hours of extras. Those who know what to expect from the latter Fellini efforts should indulge and enjoy the atmosphere of ecstasy, ego and lust. Recommended!