And the Ship Sails On (1983)

In 1914, a luxury ship leaves Italy in order to scatter the ashes of a famous opera singer. A lovable bumbling journalist chronicles the voyage and meets the singer's many eccentric friends and admirers.

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (story), Tonino Guerra (story)

Stars:

Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Victor Poletti

11 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Freddie Jones	...	Orlando
Barbara Jefford	...	Ildebranda Cuffari
Victor Poletti	...	Aureliano Fuciletto
Peter Cellier	...	Sir Reginald J. Dongby
Elisa Mainardi	...	Teresa Valegnani
Norma West	...	Lady Violet Dongby Albertini
Paolo Paoloni	...	Il Maestro Albertini
Sarah-Jane Varley	...	Dorotea
Fiorenzo Serra	...	Il Granduca
Pina Bausch	...	La Principessa Lherimia
Pasquale Zito	...	Il Conte di Bassano
Linda Polan	...	Ines Ruffo Saltini
Philip Locke	...	Il Primo Ministro
Jonathan Cecil	...	Ricotin
Maurice Barrier	...	Ziloev

Storyline

In July 1914 a luxury cruise ship leaves Italy with the ashes of the famous opera singer Edmea Tetua. The boat is filled with her friends, opera singers, actors and all kinds of exotic people. Life is sweet the first days, but on the third day the captain has to save a a large number of Serbian refugees from the sea, refugees who has escaped the first tremors of WWI.

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Plot Keywords:

disillusionment | year 1914 | grand duke | austro hungarian empire | opera singer | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Music

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Fiorenzo Serra.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Orlando: They tell me: "Do the news, tell what happens!"

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

Gloria all'Egitto
from 'Aida'
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi

User Reviews

Fellini's Touch in Every Frame

There is no mistaking a Fellini film, even when you only catch the last 30 minutes, as I did when channel surfing. I made an effort to catch the full film next time it was shown, and was rewarded with a stunning feast. Not one of Fellini's best (or worst excesses) depending on your opinion of Fellini, but images that will stay with me for many years. Like Ken Russell, Fellini can always be depended on to go way over the top and never do anything by halves.

The story of a group of rich aristocrats, opera singers, hangers on and just plain rich accompanying the body of a great opera singer to her cremation on the island of her birth in 1914, is shown in Fellini's stylised fashion as an allegory on the decline of Europe in WWI. The opulent excess of the doomed rich lifestyle, which no matter how hard they tried, was never regained, contrasts with the workers slaving in order to enable the rich to enjoy that elegant privileged lifestyle. The scene where the passengers tour the boiler rooms, standing on a cat walk to look down on the stokers shovelling coal into the boilers and trilling arias while the stokers took off their caps to show respect, made me hope the catwalk would collapse and plunge the passengers into the furnace.

The stylistic storytelling reminded me of "Oh what a lovely War" Joan Littlewood's depiction of WWI as a series of songs and dances by a seaside concert party. If you want reality, you can look out of the window every day and see reality. Sometimes a surrealist view puts a different window on things. The stupendous finale of the movie is enough to make the film worthwhile if nothing else.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian German Serbian Russian

Release Date:

7 October 1983 (Italy)

Also Known As:

And the Ship Sails On

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rai 1, Vides Produzione, Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1