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The swansong of the great Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (La dolce vita, 8½), The Voice of the Moon emerged without fanfare: it played the Cannes Film Festival out of competition after its Italian premiere and failed to secure distribution in North America and the UK. This new restoration from the original negative seeks to right that wrong and provide the film with a second chance...

Adapted from a novel by Ermano Cavazzoni, The Voice of the Moon concerns itself with Ivo Salvini (Roberto Benigni, Life Is Beautiful), recently released from a mental hospital and in love with Aldini (Nadia Ottaviani). As he attempts to win her heart, he wanders a strange, dreamlike landscape and encounters various oddball characters, including Gonnella (Paolo Villagio, Fantozzi), a paranoid old man prone to conspiracy theories.

Concluding a career that had stretched back more than fifty years, The Voice of the Moon combines the nostalgia of Amarcord (the film is set in Emilia-Romagna countryside of the director s youth), the surreal satire of City of Women and the naïf-adrift-in-a-brutal-world structure of La strada. Plenty for Fellini fans to get their teeth into.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original 1.0 mono sound (uncompressed on the Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles
Towards the Moon with Fellini, a rarely seen hour-long documentary on the film s production, featuring interviews with Fellini, Roberto Benigni and Paolo Villagio
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Pasquale Iannone

Well this is great news I guess. Has anyone actually seen this? I'm going to hopefully not be an outlier and say that I actually like late Fellini. I'd have preferred Casanova, which exists here in the US in the worst transfer I've ever seen. Regardless I'll be interested in seeing this.

I've only heard negative things about the film, but I've wanted to see it for many many years. I enjoy late Fellini a little less than "8 1/2" and earlier, but I always enjoy being introduced to the worlds he creates. I'm super excited about this release.

Excited that the restoration is by Arrow, and that gives me more confidence in the color.

I've always had a soft spot for this (same with Kurosawa's "Madadayo," another messy swan song), and it's the only time I found Benigni bearable.

Drucker wrote:Excited that the restoration is by Arrow, and that gives me more confidence in the color.

Same here. I'm never been especially curious about the movie because it doesn't have a particularly good reputation, but that might be the opportunity to give it a spin.

I'm in.

I've seen it twice, the 1st one i Loved it. Second not.
Paolo Villagio died at the begining of this month.