Rating: 
Summary: Not A La-Strada-Feeling. No Screen That Striked Me. Flat!
Review: ...I own this movie, and I have not watched it fully out. Every time I turn it on I feel that Fellini is trying to show us every detail, and for me they are not psychologically deep enough, no screen that captured my mind. This is totally not a La-Strada-like picture, please do not make the mistake as I buying this with the expectation from La Strada, you should watch it before you buy. And don't get me wrong, there are other good Fellini's films too like Satyricon.
Rating: 
Summary: A typical Fellini - beautiful as usual
Review: excellent film. be sure to pay close attention to the scene where two older guys make "great" music with their bare hands and wine glasses...
Rating:
Summary: Underrated Fellini film is a dazzler by all means
Review: The problem with people who've watched past Fellini films expect the same cinematic effect from his later ones. There's a certain magic that exists in the first few Fellini films you've watched. He makes you create movies in your own mind through a flowing series of fantastic images. Fellini's films don't really say too much in contrast to Bergman or Bunuel or even his pupil Wertmuller save for his constant jabs with the aristocracy and organized religion. Most of his films are made to serve the purpose of essential cinema. One just has to watch and enjoy the scenery like does a painter's obra maestra. And that is where his genius in artistry lies. He's not like other colleagues of his who are burdened with social responsibility to weave images out of their moral consciousness. Such is the case of And The Ship Sails On. This is one movie that dazzles both the eye and ear. Sit back and relax and let yourself be glided through this experience in Felliniesque phantasmagoria. True enough, the Criterion version does not offer extras which may make one think twice about the price of the disk. But then, a Fellini DVD is worth more than a lot of others of the same price range. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: a though provoking film
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.The film's original title is "E la nave va" It follows the story of an ocean liner going into the Mediterrainian Sea to scatter the ashes of a famous singer near the island she grew up on. The film takes place just before the start of World War I. The assassination of Ferdinand is mentioned as just having happened partway through the film. They later take on Serbian passengers and the crew suspect them of being spies. Unfortunately, there are no special features on this DVD. The film has some interesting scenes. The beginning scene reminded me of the first scene in the 1997 version of Titanic witht he black and white slow silent footage of the ship. Later the film seuges from black and white into color in a manner similar to a scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris which was released by the Criterion Collection on DVD exactly 1 day before the release of Steven Soderbergh's remake of Solaris. The film has some some humorous scenes one of which is a man singing in a bass tune, causing a chicken to fall asleep. This is a must for anyone interested in Italian cinema.
Rating:
Summary: a though provoking film
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film. The film's original title is "E la nave va" It follows the story of an ocean liner going into the Mediterrainian Sea to scatter the ashes of a famous singer near the island she grew up on. The film takes place just before the start of World War I. The assassination of Ferdinand is mentioned as just having happened partway through the film. They later take on Serbian passengers and the crew suspect them of being spies. Unfortunately, there are no special features on this DVD. The film has some interesting scenes. The beginning scene reminded me of the first scene in the 1997 version of Titanic witht he black and white slow silent footage of the ship. Later the film seuges from black and white into color in a manner similar to a scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris which was released by the Criterion Collection on DVD exactly 1 day before the release of Steven Soderbergh's remake of Solaris. The film has some some humorous scenes one of which is a man singing in a bass tune, causing a chicken to fall asleep. This is a must for anyone interested in Italian cinema.
Rating:
Summary: A typical Fellini - beautiful as usual
Review: excellent film. be sure to pay close attention to the scene where two older guys make "great" music with their bare hands and wine glasses...
Rating:
Summary: What a great film
Review: I really loved this movie-it's funny, moving, and completely inventive. This is my first impression after just watching it at face value, and NOT reading into it (in response to the previous reviewer). Maybe to some it's slow moving, but I found it very enjoyable and constantly entertaining. I really found nothing wrong with this film-it is an engaging look at a variety of characters and stories, and is very touching. You should buy this movie (or at least see it!).
Rating:
Summary: SLOW AND TEDIOUS...LOAD UP ON CAFFEINE, YOU'LL NEED IT!
Review: My goodness, what a crashing bore! After my first viewing of this film, I couldn't believe how boring and bad this was. Then, I read the positively glowing reviews here and on the IMDB site, so I decided to watch it again in case I missed something. Unfortunately, it was just as bad, if not worse, a second time. Compared to his quasi-perfect "Nights Of Cabiria", you'll wonder what went through Fellini's head when he made this. The acting is far from professional, the Italian dubbing is truly atrocious, and the surrealist concept makes the whole thing look like a cheap high school project (check out the papier-mache rhino). There are some moments that, had they been sustained, would have helped make this movie much better. But they were too few. The opening sequence is absolutely fabulous, for example, and shows some real imagination. But once the dialog starts flowing, it's downhill from there. I'm sure that many who read this review will state that I simply didn't "get it". My reply is that they're trying to read too much into this film with their explanations of what the ship actually represents and the disdain of the upper-class towards...oh, such puffed-up pretentious hogwash! Get over yourselves! This is not a symbolism movie by any means. It's just a cheap poorly-executed film. Considering that it was made in 1984, I find it surprising this remastered and re-struck print would have skips in it. Not a good thing. Also, there are no extras with this disc. There's a chapter search function and the English subtitles are optional, but that's it. No trailers, no interviews. Unless you enjoy being bored, skip this one altogether and save your money for something better. Of all the Criterion DVDs I own, this is the first to disappoint. I hope it's also the last.
Rating:
Summary: Europe as a fantasmagoric ship of fools. Fellini's best.
Review: To my mind, "And the ship sails on" is maybe Fellini's best movie. The story is delightful, fantasmagoric allegory about the last days of Grand Old Europe, when the "old order" with its nobility and social hierarchy blows up in smoke, in 1914, with the events that lead to WWI. Fellini, though, is not interested in real events and precise history. He is a fable teller, portraying old Europe, to a grand ocean liner, set on a ceremonial voyage, to scatter the ashes of a famous opera diva, who had recently died. Upon the ship are all the rich and famous of Europe's nobility, as well as all the top musicians and opera singer-stars who joined in for the ride. Stacked in the lower compartments are the poor and the hungry, fleeing refugees brought on board as an act of compassion, that form the powder keg that will ignite the inevitable final explosion . It is impossible to describe the kaleidoscopic scenes that occur between the passangers as the ship sails on. Imbued with fantastic portrayals of musical rivalry, political intrigue, lascivious affairs, and a pervasive sense of magic tinged with irony- the entire voyage, with its lavish scenery, turns into a tragi-comic, dream-like happening, where the spectator is tickled as much as emotionally moved. Only Fellini the master could conjure such a dazzling, symbolic and unbelievably lovely spectacle of a human folly of an era. A lot of fun and a classic must.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Ship" In Search Of A Story
Review: During the first 10 minutes of Federico Fellini's "And the Ship Sails On" the viewer goes through the hisory of cinema. First we see a b&w image, but no sound. Slowly the soundtrack makes its way through with background noises. Now we have a picture with sound, then dialogue is added, and then finally color. It is a very impressive sequence and one of the few highlights of an otherwise disappointing film by one of the great directors.
"And the Ship Sails On" tells the story of a group of passengers on board a ship to shatter the remains of a famous opera singer.
One of the problems with the movie is we never get to know any of these people and we never quite understand what our guide on this cruise, a journalist, is really up to.
When we watch a Federico Fellini film we expect certain things. Grotesque characters, a caricature view of society and people, and themes of fantasy vs reality. Watch "Juliet of the Spirits", "8 1\2" or "Amarcord". It is these elements that are missing in this film. the movie makes half-baked measures at providing us with these aspects. I wouldn't say we have grotesque characters, no big busted women or people with unusualy facial features such as long noses, the film makes a minor attempt at a caricature view of the upper-class, this is done with a scenes concerning dinner and refugees, don't ask, just watch. And hints of fantasy vs reality, but I can't help but feel Fellini has tackled these issues before and did a much better job.
I'm not one of those people who thinks as one grows older their talent diminishes. That's a far too convenient criticism. Why was a movie bad? Beacause the director is old. No, no, no I'm sorry, that's simply not true. Akira Kurosawa made great films in his late years "Kagemusha" and "Ran", Andrei Tarkovsky's work was impressive right until the end with "Nostalgia" and "The Sacrifice" or Eric Rohmer and his "Tale of Four Seasons" series and Ingmar Bergman is still writing great works; "Private Confessions" and "Faithless" so don't fed me that line about age, because I'm not buying. But, what I do question is what did Fellini see here in this film. Is it meant to entertain or inform? If it is meant to entertain, I wasn't very. If it was meant to inform I not quite sure what it is it wants to say. If Fellini had went through his whole career and never made this movie no one would miss it. Fellini says nothing here that would be indispensable.
As the years went on, during the late 60s and early 70s Fellini was starting to lose fans. Some feel he was becoming too "experimental". The last two films most will agree on as his best are "Juliet of the Spirits" and "Amarcord". Films such as "Roma", "Satyricon", and "Casanova" and his work in the 80s would just divide audiences. Although whatever you may say about this film it is better than two of his other films during the time period. In "City of Women" I thought Fellini had captured the visual elements usually associated with his work but no emotional element. With "Ginger & Fred" he managed to capture neither. Here though with "And the Ship Sails On" Fellini is at least attempting. He is making a greater effort. I think his best of his later works was "Intervista" which had a nice blend of visuals and emotion. Though sadly that film has been disregarded. ** 1\2 out of *****
Bottom-line: Somewhate disappointing Fellini film that doesn't have those 'Fellini touches' we enjoy. Makes minor attempts but ultimately the film just lacks a sense of purpose.
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