Synopsis
The Decline of the West in C# Major
An orchestra assembles for a rehearsal in an ancient chapel under the inquisitive eyes of a TV documentary crew, but an uprising breaks out.
Orchestra Rehearsal
Cast
Director
Writers
Editor
Cinematography
Assistant Directors
Camera Operator
Production Design
Set Decoration
Visual Effects
Composer
Sound
Costume Design
Studios
Countries
Primary Language
Spoken Languages
Alternative Titles
Репетиция Оркестра, Репетиция на оркестър, Orchesterprobe, Ensayo de orquesta, Orkesteriharjoitus, Répétition d'orchestre, חזרת התזמורת, Zenekari próba, オーケストラ・リハーサル, ორკესტრის რეპეტიცია, 오케스트라 리허설, Orkestro repeticija, Próba orkiestry, Ensaio de Orquestra, Orkesterrepetitionen, 管弦乐队的彩排
Releases by Date
Theatrical
-
USA
22 Feb 1979
-
Italy
06 Jun 1979
-
FranceU
Releases by Country
France
06 Jun 1979
- TheatricalU
Italy
22 Feb 1979
- Theatrical
USA
01 Oct 1978
- Theatrical
Popular reviews
More-
Chaos! Destruction! Uprising! Insanity!
I could easily write an entire book about this film.
The reasons why Fellini decided to make a film of this nature could be a handful. The whole orchestra reflects a collective protagonist, identified by personalities and their metaphysical connection with the instruments they play instead of names themselves. What matters is not the profession, but the spiritual connection you have with it. Assemble professions and personalities, and you have a society. Put all of these people under an authority and an uprising will occur, be it human or God.
History of mankind... Biblical Israel and Nazi Fascism are not the only perfect examples (the blow to Nazism is obvious). We all are.
I could have…
-
Oh my God.
This is essentially what Climax would have been like had it been written and directed by Christopher Guest and that's something I never would have imagined I needed.
Orchestra Rehearsal is genius. It's a beautiful example of the egos and chaos that is so obvious to musicians such as myself. I knew those clarinet players. I knew the cellists. I knew the oboe guy. These personalities are the plague of music ensembles, but provides so much of the heart behind them. No one likes each other, but we at least share a passion for our instruments and the man we hate most: the conductor.
This movie was 100% for me and earned a ticket to my list of favorite films of all time.
-
This film has no right being as good as it is.
What happens when a bunch of hot headed egotistical artists are crammed into one room with cameras literally and figuratively shining a spotlight on them? Beautiful madness. I’ve had difficulty getting into some of Fellini’s movies in the past, but Orchestra Rehearsal takes a simplistic plot, 2 locations, and misleadingly rudimentary filmmaking techniques to make a deeply engaging and inquisitive film, one where Fellini juxtaposes the art of filmmaking and music. In doing so, truths about art as a whole erupt to the surface as the film itself gets crazier and crazier. I definitely feel like this Fellini film doesn’t get enough praise but I guess it’s not as ambitious or visually appealing as his other work, but I think that’s why I enjoyed it more.
8.7 / 10
-
-
Not Fellini at his strongest, but I thought this was still pretty funny, especially with how the musicians tend to anthropomorphize their instruments during the interviews and also get into heated discussions, such as whether the violin should be considered male or female.
The film reminded me of what's going on with the writer's and current actor's strike. The conductor could easily be a stand-in for the studios, but I'm sure you could say it about any creative endeavor where unions are involved. The musicians want their wages of course, but they also don't want to be constantly hounded by the conductor, who is like a drill sergeant (think J.K. Simmons level of aggression). The musicians want to replace him with a metronome because they are just plain tired of following the rules. But what if the metronome is no better?
-
Part of the Composed by Nino Rota collection.
——————————————
RIP Nino Rota 1911 - 1979
Rota:
I am on the whole happy; but as a man, how can one be happy in the midst of the unhappiness of other people? The feeling that underlines my music is aimed at giving those who hear it at least a moment of serenity.
I have avoided trusting music with the task of interpreting [films] literally. I hope I have managed to accentuate the character of melancholy and human participation that, it seems to me, constitutes the most heartfelt and poetic side of the film
I don't believe in the difference of classes and levels in music. In my opinion, the definition of light, semi-light,…
-
Orchestra members rebel against their conductor. A concert room gradually becomes a site of anarchy and vandalism. In 72min, Fellini seizes the entirety of the human predicament —that ancient political cycle of order, revolution, chaos, competing groups, and order again —by pitting, not answering, the nature of sociocentric and individualistic moralities against each other.
Individuals need societies, and societies need individuals. Or in Fellini's case, the orchestra needs musicians, and vice versa. But what happens when your conductor is a difficult, tyrannical dictator? What about when he represses individual identity in order to favor the function of the group? Will the whole, if forced to live in a conservative, oppressive unit, not eventually devolve into dissent and revolt? And if individuals are left…
-
''Neurosis really is a leech. We will all fall victim.''
Rabidly anti-egalitarian.
Fiercely anti-feminist.
Lamenting of society's attempts to defy human nature.Orchestra Rehearsal is Fellini's Spenglerian statement on Western decline...
We see yonic rot manifesting on ancient walls.
Ancient walls that, under the weight of modernity, crumble to dust.We see the inevitable chaos brought about by the death of natural hierarchy.
The need for leadership, social norms, and a common culture.We see egalitarianism as a toxic force in society and the arts.
And hedonism as a necessary but dangerous creative force.We see a deadly, romantic fascism clashing with a cold, brutalist totalitarianism.
Both of which are a desperate attempt to restore order in the wake of… -
Anyone who tells you not to bother with Fellini’s later works either hasn’t seen Orchestra Rehearsal or, frankly, is not to be trusted (or might just be afraid to lose their cinephile card for claiming that a seventy-minute film can be this bloody good). Positively Buñuelian, and for my money, Fellini’s funniest outing (the ending had me laughing so hard I actually missed the last few lines); as playful as it is [redacted]. Go in blind and I promise you will come out with new eyes.
(Watched this on Arrow’s streaming channel because it wasn’t included in Criterion’s Essential Fellini collection. Pfft. “Essential” my eye.)
-
Após a má recepção de Casanova, Fellini se recolhe a uma espécie de homenagem ao seu compositor de sempre, Nino Rota, morto pouco depois do lançamento italiano do filme. Filme em tom menor, com duração condizente e piscadelas aos melômanos, mas que capta, ao mesmo tempo, a turbulência da Itália da época, com atentados terroristas e o famoso caso de Aldo Moro, sequestrado e assassinado entre março e maio de 1978. Unir duas coisas tão díspares como a música erudita e a turbulência política é tarefa para um gênio do cinema como Fellini (penso que Bellocchio também conseguiria algo notável, embora certamente deixasse o contexto político mais evidente e determinante). Em uma cena muito tocante, um músico fala da delicadeza…
-
This was the final Fellini film that I had not seen before and it is certainly his most overtly political work. Made as a mocumentary about a television crew making a documentary about an orchestra rehearsing a Nino Rota composition, Fellini’s regular cinematographer Guiseppe Rotunno shoots the film from the video camera operator’s point of view with the questions for the interview subjects coming from an offscreen Fellini.
The rehearsal room is an old 13th century church (three cardinals are buried under the floor) that had been used as a concert venue but is now slated for demolition (Fellini built the film’s two sets on his usual Cinecittà sound stage). After a sequence where various orchestra members are interviewed, boosting…
-
