E la nave va (1983)

Director:

Federico Fellini

Writers:

Federico Fellini (writer) and
Tonino Guerra (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 1983 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music | War

Plot:

In July 1914 a luxury liner leaves Italy with the ashes of the famous opera singer Tetua. The boat is filled with her friends...

Plot Keywords:

Refugee | Singer | Opera | Sea | WWI

Awards:

10 wins

Cast

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

Also Known As:

And the Ship Sails On (USA)
E la nave va di Federico Fellini (Italy) (closing credits title)
Et vogue le navire... (France)

Runtime:

132 min | Argentina:128 min | Sweden:118 min | USA:128 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | German | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Italy:T | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:0 (canton of the Grisons) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)

Trivia:

According to an excerpt from the book “I, Fellini”, Fellini was uncertain about casting 'Freddie Jones (I)' in the role of Orlando, mainly for the fact that he would be a British type within a Mediterranean setting. When he saw an advertisement for an ice cream carrying the brand name Orlando on the sign of a bus, Fellini took it as a favorable omen and Jones got the part.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Autumn of the Magician (2009)

A gallery of Europeans before the volcano erupts.

"E la nave va" is one of the best films made by Fellini, which I see as the best film director ever. Just two personal comments about it. First, I have seen it in 1985, when in Romania a dark dictatorship saved hard currency by preventing foreign films to be imported. It was presented during a festival arranged by the Italian Embassy. Combine the local cultural desert and the post-modern style of this film and you'll understand why, after the film ended, I wanted to have just a walk-on part on it. My wife just proposed to pay the projectionist to run it again. The second comment is about a strange premonition Fellini had about the conflict in Serbia/Yougoslavia. Each time I see "E la nave va", I'm deeply moved about the ending, masterly contrasting bold opera music and the vanishing of a certain Europe.