Orchestra Rehearsal

Federico Fellini in a playful, albeit minor key. Made in 1979, this allegorical comedy chronicles an orchestra rehearsal. While the cameras of a documentary film crew roll, tensions amongst the musicians and their conductor reach a chaotic crescendo, ending in instrument-smashing anarchy. It's all, well, Fellini-esque, with eccentric, colorful characters, and broadly-played comedy. Interesting mainly as a coda to this legendary director's career, this is still a little flat, and therefore recommended only for libraries with extensive foreign film collections. (K. Lee Benson) [Blu-ray Review—Feb. 20, 2018—Arrow, 72 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, R, Blu-ray: $34.95—Making its Blu-ray debut, 1978's Orchestra Rehearsal features a fine transfer. Extras include a visual essay (23 min.), a segment with film scholar Richard Dyer on composer Nino Rota (21 min.), and a gallery on Felliniana. Bottom line: a lesser Fellini film makes a handsome debut on Blu-ray.]