Essential Fellini Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Essential Fellini Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 9, 2022

It may not quite match the treatment Criterion afforded a certain iconic Swedish director with their frankly almost overwhelming Ingmar Bergman's Cinema release, but Essential Fellini should pretty easily serve as either an absolutely first rate introduction to or a nostalgic reacquaintance with one of Italy's most legendary filmmakers. Fourteen beloved if sometimes controversial Fellini films have been aggregated in this set, along with a bonus disc offering a special devoted to Marcello Mastroianni, and while Criterion only provided check discs for the purposes of this review, from the looks of things online, this is another beautifully packaged set from the label with a number of non-disc swag packaging bonuses.

For reviews of the films included in this set, please click on the following links. Note that an asterisk (*) denotes that Svet Atanasov did the review, otherwise I did, though even my "new" reviews may include links to some of Svet's reviews of previous Criterion editions.

Variety Lights Blu-ray review

The White Sheik Blu-ray review

I Vitelloni Blu-ray review*

La Strada Blu-ray review*

Il Bidone Blu-ray review*

Nights of Cabiria Blu-ray review

La Dolce Vita Blu-ray review

8½ Blu-ray review

Juliet of the Spirits Blu-ray review

Fellini Satyricon Blu-ray review

Roma Blu-ray review

Amarcord Blu-ray review*

And the Ship Sails On Blu-ray review

Intervista Blu-ray review

Essential Fellini Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Essential Fellini Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

Essential Fellini Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements included on each disc are detailed in the above linked reviews. Additionally, Disc 15 of this set features:

• Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember (HD; 3:18:15) is a fantastic long form conversation with the icon, who speaks directly to the camera (with a couple of very odd interruptions by supposed assistants), and who recounts his long, legendary career, which more or less gives viewers a ClifNotes history of Italian filmmaking history.

Essential Fellini Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even if you're still wending your way through Ingmar Bergman's Cinema, you might want to take a chance on Essential Fellini for a bit of a palette cleanser. This is an incredibly appealing collection of the master's films with solid technical merits and absolutely outstanding supplements. Highly recommended.