8½ fingerprintMasterful craft, immersive world.
Spectacular
Builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
Profoundly sad and moving
Some sharp wit and absurdist humor
Not a comedy at heart.
The mind, show business, and a real life story
Lived-in and easy to get lost in. Holds up on a rewatch.
Standout direction, characters, and performances
Layered plot that rewards full attention.
Standout cinematography, visual style, and editing
A distinctive visual signature.
Spectacular
Builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
8½ is spectacular. The story builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
Profoundly sad and moving
Emotionally, it's profoundly sad, moving, and wondrous.
Some sharp wit and absurdist humor
Not a comedy at heart.
Expect some sharp wit and absurdist humor.
The mind, show business, and a real life story
Lived-in and easy to get lost in. Holds up on a rewatch.
Its world is built around the mind, show business, and a real life story. The setting feels lived-in and easy to get lost in. It holds up on a rewatch. It leaves some questions open.
Standout direction, characters, and performances
Layered plot that rewards full attention.
The direction, characters, and performances stand out. The plot is layered and rewards full attention.
Standout cinematography, visual style, and editing
A distinctive visual signature.
Look and sound: the cinematography, visual style, and editing stand out.
Based on the GoodWatch fingerprint: our scores for 70+ attributes of every movie. Select a row to see all of them.
A picture that goes beyond what men think about - because no man ever thought about it in quite this way!
Overall: Similar vibe.
Quick answers from GoodWatch data.
8½ is included with a subscription to HBO Max in the United States. You can watch it free with ads on Kanopy, Shout! Factory TV, and Plex. You can also rent or buy it from Apple TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Google Play Movies. All links in Where to Watch go to these licensed services.
Yes. It's widely acclaimed, with a GoodWatch score of 89/100 (IMDb 8, Rotten Tomatoes 97%, and Metacritic 93). The GoodWatch score combines critic and audience ratings.
It's rated NR in the United States.
2 h 19 min
8½ runs 2 h 19 min.
Yes. It's based on real events or a real person's life.
Not quite. Critics rate 8½ higher (95) than audiences (84). It may be more rewarding than it is crowd-pleasing.
It was made in Italian, with some German, English, French. Produced in Italy, France.
+11GoodWatch finds legal streaming, rental, or purchase options for 8½ in 25 countries. Pick any of them in Where to Watch to see the local services.
TV Tropes lists 38 storytelling tropes for 8½, including Bad Liar, Diegetic Switch, Naughty Nurse Outfit.
8.0
