Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio (The Temptations of Doctor Antonio). 1962. Italy. Directed by Federico Fellini. Screenplay by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano. With Peppino De Filippo, Anita Ekberg. 4K digital restoration. In Italian; English subtitles. 55 min.
Despite the success of La Dolce Vita (1960), Fellini endured attacks for the film’s depiction of material excess and moral bankruptcy. His response is this humorous episode from the anthology film Boccaccio ’70. When a sexually repressed man meets the buxom Anita Ekberg (the femme fatale in La Dolce Vita)—in gigantic form, no less—the result is an endless and comical nightmare. This film, Fellini’s first in color, marked the first time the director made dreams and hallucinations a central part of his cinematic world.
Toby Dammit. 1968. Italy. Directed by Federico Fellini. Screenplay by Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi. With Terrence Stamp. 4K digital restoration . In Italian; English subtitles. 44 min.
Loosely adapted from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “Never Bet the Devil Your Head,” this visual feast of a film—a chapter in the anthology film Tre passi nel delirio (Spirits of the Dead) —follows its title character, an English actor (Terrence Stamp) who has arrived in Rome to make what is referred to as a “Catholic Western.” Looking more like a druggie than a hunky leading man, the movie star is slowly consumed by visions as he embarks on a path of self-destruction.