Federico Fellini as Auteur: Seven Aspects of His Films offers a comprehensive auteurist study of the renowned Italian director. Film scholar John C. Stubbs dispenses with a traditional film-career review of the man, focusing instead on the key elements of the filmmaker’s style, the influence of Carl Jung and dreams, the autobiographical depiction of childhood and adolescence, the portrait of the artist, the filmmaker’s working relationship with his wife, Fellini’s comic strategies, and his adaptation of works by others. Each of the aspects is fully contextualized. This examination of the critical elements in Fellini films offers a better understanding of the artistry that is uniquely Fellini. 

John C. Stubbs is a professor emeritus of English and film studies at Virginia Tech and has taught a wide range of courses.  He has previously authored three books, including two dealing with Fellini, and has published articles on Fellini and other filmmakers in Cinema Journal and Literature/Film Quarterly.

“Federico Fellini as Auteur adds new and important criticism to the literature on the filmmaker. Where John C. Stubbs does not follow the tradition of the one film/one chapter format employed by most auteur authors, he opens wide the discussion on interesting topics. Here, Stubbs shines and provides analysis that no other scholar has done better or more thoroughly. When he is good, he is very good, and his sensitivity to the nuances of Fellini’s films is admirable: no trendy jargon, just good, honest criticism that makes the reader see Fellini in a new light.”—Peter Bondanella, author of The Films of Federico Fellini
 
“Federico Fellini as Auteur is a significant piece of scholarship that is unlikely to be surpassed for quite some time. John C. Stubbs presents the most thorough, comprehensive, and in-depth treatment to date of the entire cinematic oeuvre of Fellini. Insightful and informed by a deep knowledge and dedication to ‘auteurship,’ Stubbs goes far beyond what one usually finds in film studies. Absolutely first-rate.”—John P. Welle, University of Notre Dame