And the Ship Sails On Blu-ray

Firstly, a HUGE thanks to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential. We are always trying to expand Patron benefits... you get access to the Silent Auctions and over 10,000 unpublished screen captures (in lossless PNG format, if that has appeal for you) listed HERE. Please consider helping with $3 or more each month so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you so much. We aren't going to exist without another 100 or so patrons.

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'And the Ship Sails On" or "Et vogue le navire')

France / Italy 1983

In this late-career highlight from Federico Fellini, the ringmaster-auteur trades his customary spectacles—the cinema, the circus, and the variety-show stage—for that of the opera, in a quirky, imaginative fable set on the high seas. A motley crew of European aristocrats (and a lovesick rhinoceros!) board a luxurious ocean liner on the eve of World War I to scatter the ashes of a beloved diva, only to sail into the headwinds of history when they cross paths with a group of Serbian refugees and an Austro-Hungarian warship. Fabricated entirely in Rome’s famed Cinecittà studios with the help of production designer Dante Ferretti, And the Ship Sails On reaches spectacular new visual heights with its stylized re-creation of a decadent, bygone era.

***

In 1914, a cruise ship sets sail from Naples to spread the ashes of beloved opera singer Edmea Tetua near Erimo, the isle of her birth. During the voyage, the eclectic array of passengers discovers a group of Serbian refugees aboard the vessel. Peace and camaraderie abound until the ship is descended upon by an Austrian flagship. The Serbians are forced to board it, but naturally they resist, igniting a skirmish that ends in destruction.

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 10th, 1983 (Venice Film Festival)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Presently only available in Criterion's Essential Fellini Blu-ray package with 14 films (15-Blu-rays) Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 50 - Region 0 - NTSC	Criterion - Spine # 50 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:08:00	2:09:18.751
Video	1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.27 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,324,807,637 bytes Feature: 39,019,327,488 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.08 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DVD:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)	LPCM Audio Italian 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.83:1 Edition Details: • 6-page liner notes with Fellini comments DVD Release Date: September 28th, 1999 Keep Case Chapters: 39	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,324,807,637 bytes Feature: 39,019,327,488 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.08 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Fellini Racconta: Diary of a Film (51:27) PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including two lavishly illustrated books with hundreds of pages of content: notes on the films by scholar David Forgacs, essays by filmmakers Michael Almereyda, Kogonada, and Carol Morley; film critics Bilge Ebiri and Stephanie Zacharek; and novelist Colm Tóibín, and dozens of images spotlighting Don Young’s renowned collection of Fellini memorabilia Collector’s set designed by Raphael Geroni, with new illustrations by Abigail Giuseppe Blu-ray Release Date: November 24th, 2020 Custom Blu-ray Case (see below) Chapters 39

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (November 2020): Criterion have transferred Federico Fellini's And the Ship Sails On to Blu-ray as part of their 14 films (15-Blu-rays) package of Essential Fellini that includes Toby Dammit 1968, Variety Lights 1950, The White Sheik 1952, I vitelloni 1953, La strada 1954, Il bidone 1955, Nights of Cabiria 1957, La dolce vita 1960, 8½ 1963, Juliet of the Spirits 1965, Fellini Satyricon 1969, Roma 1972, Amarcord 1973, And the Ship Sails On 1983 and Intervista 1987. This is the 13th Blu-ray in the Essential Fellini package.

"Restoration of And the Ship Sails On (Federico Fellini, 1983) completed in 2019 by Istituto Luce - Cinecitta 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.
Sound restoration supervision by Federico Savina."

The disparity between this new restored 1080P transfer from the 20-year old non-anamorphic DVD is massive. The SD had artifacts where the new 1080P may look a shade waxy, but there is plenty of grain textures. It's really 'nolo contendere'.

NOTE: We have added 30 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Italian language. The authentically flat audio supports the film as does the score by Gianfranco Plenizio (Hotel Rwanda) supporting the varied emotions of the film. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The only extra on this Criterion Blu-ray is a 1983 Television documentary Fellini Racconta: Diary of a Film combing behind the scenes footage of the making of And the Ship Sails On with extensive interview footage of director Federico Fellini telling the story of the making of the film.

NOTE: The deluxe packaging, includes two lavishly illustrated books with hundreds of pages of content: notes on the films by scholar David Forgacs, essays by filmmakers Michael Almereyda, Kogonada, and Carol Morley; film critics Bilge Ebiri and Stephanie Zacharek; and novelist Colm Tóibín, and dozens of images spotlighting Don Young’s renowned collection of Fellini memorabilia collector’s set designed by Raphael Geroni, with new illustrations by Abigail Giuseppe.

Federico Fellini's And the Ship Sails On has a meandering, unspecified plot, but relies on Fellini's menagerie of eccentric characters - many belonging to a disaffected bourgeoisie class and it is part musical, drama and comedy with a fabulous unforgettable ending. Totally brilliant - especially in this dramatically improved a/v. This is another integral part of Criterion's upcoming Essential Fellini Blu-ray package... which is the front-runner for best of the entire 2020 year.

Gary Tooze

ON THE DVD (1999): This is not one of Criterion's more sterling efforts. Weak image in many respects (non-anamorphic, black borders around image, thin, hazy, artefacts etc...). Unusually bloated subtitles and no digital extras add to the mediocrity.

I'm not aware of a better transfer so for Fellini complete-ists (and yes, I am one) this is the one to buy at present.

Menus / Extras