7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A motley crew of European aristocrats board a luxurious ocean liner on the eve of World War I to scatter the ashes of a beloved diva.
Starring: Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Victor Poletti, Peter Cellier, Elisa MainardiForeign | 100% |
Drama | 85% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Essential
Fellini.
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.
And the Ship Sails On is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Criterion only sent check discs for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer that may be included in an insert booklet, but the actual film includes some introductory text which offers the following information:
Restoration of And the Ship Sails On (Federico Fellini, 1983) completed in 2019 by Istituto Luce - Cinecittà and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Cineteca Nazionale at the Istituto Luce - Cinecitta laboratories from the original 35mm picture negative made available by Rai Cinema and from a positive track printed from the optical soundtrack negative.And the Ship Sails On features a deliberately off kilter production design that emphasizes artificiality, especially in terms of some of the backdrops, and this presentation's generally sterling detail levels help to emphasize that artistic choice. Fine detail is often exceptional on some of the luxe fabrics seen on upholstery, props and costumes on the ocean liner. The palette seemed just a tad cool and at times slightly yellowish to me once the film transitions from black and white, and some may wish for slightly more suffusion, but in terms of general color reproduction, there are a number of undeniable positives, including some striking primaries. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation and I noticed no problems with regard to distracting damage or age related wear and tear. Cinecitta accent
Sound restoration supervision by Federico Savina.
And the Ship Sails On offers one of the stronger sounding LPCM Mono tracks in this set, though there is still a perhaps surprising amount of hiss in some of the quieter moments. That said, this has a much fuller sounding midrange which supports both the musical aspects as well as things like the ship's foghorn blasting early in the story. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Fellini from his "hyperbolic" films onward (wherever you want to start that "era") is one of those filmmakers who simply needs to be surrendered to, without asking questions, and that's probably very much the case with regard to And the Ship Sails On. This may be the very paradigm of a "shaggy dog story", but it's a visually sumptuous and often bizarrely entertaining canine, so to speak, at least for those properly initiated into the often odd, dreamlike worlds that Fellini so often exploits. Technical merits are generally solid and the lone supplement appealing. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Luci del varietà
1950
Fellini's Intervista
1987
Lo sceicco bianco
1952
1953
Giulietta degli spiriti
1965
The Swindle
1955
Le notti di Cabiria
1957
Fellini's Roma
1972
1954
1969
1973
1960
Skepp till Indialand / A Ship Bound for India
1947
Hamnstad
1948
2003
Kvinnors väntan / Secrets of Women
1952
Kvinnodröm
1955
Nära livet
1958
Otto e mezzo / Federico Fellini's 8½
1963
Gycklarnas afton
1953