Reviews (10)

Antonioni As A Mature Auteur
I still remember the first time I watched this film in a small art house in Taiwan ten years ago. It was an amazing experience. I came out into the warm and bright sunshine, shaking and totally thrilled. The daring eight-minute long take near the end really sums up the film, in which Antonioni asks a question that has been with us since the beginning of human existence: Is freedom nothing but an illusion? Antonioni, without a doubt, stands tall among the most honest, original, and skillful filmmakers such as Ozu, Tarkovsky, and Resnais. I thank God (if He is really up there) for giving us these artists.

One of the best films ever made.
Jack Nicholson plays David Locke, a successful but jaded reporter in a mid life crisis. His mixed up mid Atlantic origins, failing marriage and dissatisfaction with his work come to a head in a small hotel in an obscure town in a war torn African country. The only other guest is the enigmatic business man Mr Robertson who confesses to having no family or friends only a list of appointments. The mid-life crisis fantasy turns into reality for Locke when Robertson dies from a heart attack. Locke switches passport photos, assumes the other man's identity and heads off to keep the apointments.

The list of apointments in the dead man's diary lead Locke on a journey across Europe. He is pursued by a team of assassins who, believing him to be the real Mr Robertson, want to kill the man selling guns to the rebels in their country. Also on the trail are the police together with his wife who is the only other person in the film to have realised the identity swap. Despite the state of her marriage, (she has taken a lover) she still cares about him and wants to warn about the danger that he faces.

No mid life crisis film would be complete without the younger woman with beautiful eyes and no past herself who falls for the leading man. Maria Schneider plays this role very well providing both an innocent acceptance and a sophisticated understanding of Locke's game.

Very few actors could have played the part of Locke as well as Nicholson. He brings an air of detachment to the part that fits in with the character's behaviour. He is taking part in another man's life but as a spectator.

As well as the storyline, the film is shot with the artistic poise and exquisite technique that I always enjoy when I see the work of director Antonioni. From the scenes in the African dessert to the final moments in a small sun baked Spanish town, the film is a joy to view. At the end of the film comes one single camera shot that is quite magical. The scene starts in Nicholson's hotel room and slowly homes in on the barred window. We zoom towards the window and then fly out through the bars into the square outside. Then slowly, the camera, now clearly on the other side of the bars pans around the square before returning to view the window from the outside. At the time, this was the longest and technically the most demanding camera shot ever attempted.

Antonioni As A Mature Auteur
I still remember the first time I watched this film in a small art house in Taiwan ten years ago. It was an amazing experience. I came out into the warm and bright sunshine, shaking and totally thrilled. The daring eight-minute long take near the end really sums up the film, in which Antonioni asks a question that has been with us since the beginning of human existence: Is freedom nothing but an illusion? Antonioni, without a doubt, stands tall among the most honest, original, and skillful filmmakers such as Ozu, Tarkovsky, and Resnais. I thank God (if He is really up there) for giving us these artists.

Objective Examination Of Identity and the Self
In this highly formal excercise of cinema, Antonioni implements what is known as the, non-subjective or objective camera style, or as Antonioni refered to it, the "wandering camera." In the very first shot of the film, the camera pans across the rural African village and casually picks up Locke. We view Locke in a long shot as he pulls up in a jeep and exits to ask for directions, just then the camera resumes panning into an alleyway, away from the action and away from the protagonist. This technique is applied throughout the picture and raises philosophical and cinematic questions. Whose point of view are we observing? What does it mean to have the camera and the action function as separate entities?

Antonioni, whom I never found to be a "sound concious" director, creatively manipulates sound in this picture. In a startling sequence involving, Locke and Robertson, Locke uses a tape recorder to play back a conversation between the two men while Locke is working on a passport photo. In a single take, the camera again begins to wander away from the recorder unto a patio where we are now physically seeing the two men continuing this conversation. The men enter the house (there is a cut to the door) to have a drink. The camera now pans away back to original table where Locke was seated and there he is, still working on the passport, with the recorder beside him playing the conversation. <

This is my personal favorite Antonioni film and I regared it as his most important and one of the most important pieces of existentialist cinema. If you enjoyed this film try, Memories Of Underdevelopment by Thomas Alea.

A removal from what we call living...
Unlike Antonioni's two attempts at capturing the personal alienation brought about by the cultural changes of the 60s--Zabriskie Point and Blow-Up--The Passenger is a signficantly more grounded film that focuses as well on alienation, but uses a diversity of foreign cultures to underline one man's alienation from life regardless of location.

The two films prior to The Passenger, also set outside the director's native country, but now obviously dated, tried using specific individual cultural settings (America and England) to highlight the emptiness of human behavior in the face of shallow cultural values. The Passenger is a decidedly more timeless film because instead of focusing on a specific culture, it wisely focuses on an individual, a globe-trotting reporter, whose own focus is on war and revolution in third world nations.

David Locke begins to grow weary of his life that constantly exposes him to the negative forces between and within nations all too common in today's world (another reason this film is still tremendously fresh and powerful today). When another man with a similar appearance suddenly dies in a small remote African village hotel Locke himself is staying in, he assumes the other man's (Robertson's) identity and follows an international trail to keep the appointments in Robertson's little black book. This takes him from Africa to Germany to Spain.

Without giving too much away here, it becomes all too clear that Locke--now Robertson--wants to escape himself. Antonioni, in collaboration with brilliant scripter Mark Peploe, moves us with Locke/Robertson from place to place as he blindly follows his nose, or, more accurately, runs from other noses following him--one of which is his own. Another of them belongs to his wife who begins to believe her husband is still alive somewhere. Still others are those of the police. But the most dangerous noses are those of some of the same people Locke, while a reporter, passively interviewed. Now, as Robertson, his role is not so passive anymore.

In his haste to escape, Locke finds that Robertson was involved in a dangerous business that could result in the ultimate escape. This is a great film that fuses thriller elements with drama that penetrates because we see and understand what Locke thinks and does. Jack Nicholson's portrait of the escapee is right on the money; he sounds, at least half the time, as though he's not really sure that what he's saying is true, or that he can believe it--exactly what someone running from himself would sound like.

Antonioni emphasizes the isolation of people from each other in interesting visual ways. He often shoots scenes with the camera at a noticeable distance from the actors; we are physically removed from the action, and with this distance, there is the distinct feeling of what we see as observers being not really action, but a kind of indistinct or unclear version of action. As well, the camera intermittently closes up on Locke when he is doing nothing, or waiting, or is stuck in a rut (literally, in a sand rut when his vehicle is snagged in the African desert). These close-ups are a very effective counerpart to the distance shots; the first removes us from what could possibly be critical action, and the second hits us in the face with the opposite.

A real shame this is not on DVD. As of this writing (October 2003), the only DVD version is a Japanese Region 2 NTSC disc, very hard to find. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

More famous for the soundtrack
Zabriskie Point is probably more famous for the soundtrack than it is for the movie. The main attraction of the soundtrack was three Pink Floyd songs, written before the album, Atom Heart Mother. It also contains a nice 7 minute Jerry Garcia acoustic instrumental. The soundtrack album was always a must have for any Pink Floyd/Grateful Dead fan. The odd thing is that this movie is almost devoid of music. The movie starts and ends with a Pink Floyd track, and most of the Garcia track is played during the psychodelic love scene. Other than that, there are only snippets of the songs from the soundtrack album. There are large stretches of the film where there is no music at all. You would think that a movie that was supposed to be a reflection of the times in America would need a background of music, since music was so important to the whole scene. Forget about the music....is it a good movie? Not really. It starts out good, with students discussing politics. But, the debate sounds false, like something an outsider would write. It almost reminds me of how Dragnet would portray hippies; a parents view of how young people were acting. Then the movie goes off on a tangent about the hero stealing a plane. Most of it has nothing to do with the times. There are some beautifully filmed sequences in the movie. However, alot of it is just a travelogue, with long, silent passages, or just the drone of an engine. The whole thing might have worked better if there was background music to pull it all together. The love scene is very good. And the ending is pretty spectacular (but kind of a let down after reading all the raves about it). But this a great example of how the music from Pink Floyd adds so much power to the scene. Note that this scene was featured on the Oscars telecast a couple of years ago. The soundtrack was originally released as a single LP. There is a new version of the soundtrack that contains a second CD. The second CD contains 30 minutes of Jerry Garcia and 25 minutes of Pink Floyd music that was not used in the movie. It is a shame. The music could have gone a long way to making this a better movie. Last interesting thing to note is that a lot of the reviews for this movie are just as arty, pretentious and vacuous as the movie itself.

A Flawed Classic
Poor Antonioni! People that took him and the film apart in 1970 -- and now -- seem to forget Antonioni was never a master of plot or performance, but texture and color. Z\"Zabriskie Point" stands up better today then 1970, since the decades gives the viewer a distance. Yes, the leads are blanks and the dialogue weak, but it's an IMPRESSION of American youth in revolt. Not answers. People who claim it's "boring" are the actual boring people. There are so many fantastic and unique images that any film watcher should be able to appreciate Antonioni's vision. And imagine a big studio today giving 7 million dollars (at the time a chunk of change) to a minimalist film artist. Appreciate this folks, because now studios wouldn't dare finance this film. And that end....Wow! Oh, nice music too.

...
Actually you needn't to say any word about this movie, you see and you experience pure nature, pure freedom, the power of the own intention breaking through all limits. Amazing!

one of the finest movies ever made
A great film that focuses on and exposes many things about what is wrong with amerikkka, especially the oppression of women. The final climatic scene is pure wish fulfillment as Daria through pure force of will does with her minds what all of humanity wishes to do to this rotten system. Great music too. Buy it, watch it, and wait for the day that it will be triumphantly broadcast 24 hours a day in celebration!

The only point is in the title
This has to be one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen. The plot seemed random at best, with gaping holes and many contrived scenarios. The anti-police/anti-establishment propaganda was laid on so thick and one-sidedly that nobody could really have ended up taking this movie seriously.

I guess this movie was made simply to exploit the growing number of naive flower-power morons around at the time and other types who would relate to the "heroes" of the story: the plane-stealing idiot and the vacant girl. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Cloudscapes form a Great Director
The great Italian director, Michelangelo Antonioni spins four dreamy tales into an uneven confection concerning passion and connectivity. Though not as bitter as La Notte or L'Avventura (two of his masterpieces), in this film Antonioni seems more pensive and nostalgic for the tragedy of passing time and lost love. A great cast fills the landscape of lovers trying to connect and passions boiling beneath the surface, some fulfilled, others disappointingly engaged. John Malcovich wanders through the film as a narrator connecting the threads of the four stories (the direction assisted by Wim Wenders due to Antonioni's age and the after effects of a stroke), and the international cast of Peter Weller, Irene Jacob, Vincent Perez, Sophie Marceau and Jean Reno are perfectly tuned in to the director's icy, haunting style. A brief cameo by Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau (stars of La Notte) is touching and sad. This film is a must for Antonioni's fans, his scene composition and camerawork are still among the best of any living director.

Whole Lotta Brooding Goin' On
I think a more apt title for this film would be "Who is John Malkovich and why is he following me?" Leaving that mystery aside, BYC has obvious merits. It's visually evocative and pleasing, as all Antonioni is (though not on the richly symbolic order of L'Avventura or the other films in the "tetralogy"); and from the standpoint of a heterosexual male, you can't beat the triple whammy of Sastre, Marceau and Jacob. Beyond that, however, I found it to be pretentious and overly-ponderous, as if it were a parody of all things bad in foreign films, in the same way that a parody of an American movie would be overproduced with scant character development and an excess of car chases, gunplay, and explosions.

Tschuess to Philadelphia
I believe elmoderno saw some forein films, but it was obviously useless for him. He didn't understand a word in the film. This is the reason why most of Russians laughing at Americans adolescence maximalism and inability to think about and understand really deep and serious European films. They can't even hide their narrow-mindedness, as we can see. Every person can read the texts (it can be texts in the books and in the films and anywhere else as well - all our world is the text for reading and understanding) using some interpretative codes, which he has by force of his education and his environment. So this is not the question of Wim Wenders absolute Genius - this is the problem of personal ability for reading and understanding the meanings which contain the text (the film in this case)!

A Short Guide to Beauty vs. Meaning
There are those who appear to have difficulty understanding or appreciating this film.

BEYOND THE CLOUDS obscures meaning with its beauty for many viewers. However, perhaps the director wishes us to exercise our imaginations and understandings beyond the perception of surface beauty.

It is difficult in spots. The scene where the young male lover can barely get himself to touch his girlfriend, then leaving in disgust, is disturbing. It is reminiscent of the painful moments in Antonioni's 1964 color film, 'Red Desert.'

Yet all of Antonioni's films, as other viewers have here and elsewhere indicated, are throbbing with meaning underneath their often quiet surfaces.

Some of the cafe style speech of some of the characters in these four strung-together tales is considered a little too 'New Age,' and superficial in tone. True, that which sounds like pseudo-philosophy can be irritating...

However, such stretches do appear in Antonioni's other films. The director ventures to depict such ramblings in order to reveal their social and psychological style, 'music,' and their possible real meaning. Perhaps they take a little thought for the viewer. An Antonioni film is a real experience. Watching BEYOND THE CLOUDS more than once may be necessary, in order to come around to the director's point-of-view.

Perhaps approaching this film as a lengthy contemplation or meditation, rather than just a clever stretch of footage, is the best approach. It is difficult to appreciate right away, like most of Antonioni's films, because it is deeper than it seems on first viewing.

Some have been annoyed with the apparent lack of unity of these four tales. Yet look again. Perhaps an underlying unity in this film eluded you on first viewing. Perhaps perceiving needs a chance to gestate, and grow.

Others have been annoyed with the choices of 'pop' music the director chose to line his film with. Yet we have come to lose sight of the issue of 'layers of meaning' in a film or other works of art. We no longer wonder why a director chooses his music: we simply condemn him for his choices outright, and at first hearing, without thinking.

Still others condemn the film for what they perceive as gratuitous soft-core nude scenes. Perhaps they are. Yet, perhaps they mean to say something else within the context of BEYOND THE CLOUDS.

I think this thoughtful, demanding, and beautiful film is one of the best bargains on the 'art' film market today (or any other day.) It is definitely worth owning and watching more than once...

I hope this helps.

BEYOND THE CLODS . . .
...some of us, I bet, are getting a little tired of the childish Antonioni bashing that seems to go on. Antonioni bashing not just here, but all over the place...

... I resonate completely with the Amazon.com reviewer who asserted about one other Antonioni film, that it's no surprise that in the age of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), there is little appreciation for the subtleties, delicacies, and
savoir faire of the patient, conscientious, understanding, intuitive, unpretentious, careful, and wise efforts of Michelangelo Antonioni. . .

... the truth is Antonioni's subtle work is TOO good. By some sort of all-too-common common flip-flop neanderthal logic, jewels like BEYOND THE CLOUDS run afoul of lesser minds who are be predisposed to insist it isn't good ENOUGH ...

. . .I think people are afraid of being thought of as thoughtful, and therefore "dangerous," in this day and age. Hence they bash quiet films like BEYOND THE CLOUDS.

...well, I've seen BEYOND THE CLOUDS six times before I bought my copy the other day. It is fit to stand beside Antonioni's RED DESERT as one of the most beautiful color films ever made. Without a Monica Vitti to "guide" us through the film, perhaps the four subtle tales of love, loss, trauma, and reflection that make up BEYOND THE CLOUDS take a few viewings to truly appreciate. But that's what many serious critics say of ALL Antonioni's films...

...sip like a fine wine. Smile at the adult children who look down on BEYOND THE CLOUDS. Rest in the hope they all come across the experiences they need to come around to an appreciation of Antonioni, via intelligence and a newfound understanding...

... I've watched my recently acquired VHS copy of BEYOND THE CLOUDS six times already in the past few days. It is divinely worth it, and my love for it grows with each viewing...

...get your own copy, and do the same...

... the flower, unmolested, blooms and shows all its colors. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Brillaint Antonioni. A must!!
For years this film was not available, and when it was made available, only in a dubbed format. The VHS I am reviewing from is fine, but not excellent. DVD engineeers need to get at this film, it is most important in understanding the other two films of Antoninoni, which, with Eclipse, constitute a loose trilogy, with Eclipse as the last entry.The other two: L'Avventura and La Notte, both available on DVD.

The performances here are electrifying, as Monica Vitti and Alain Delon bring out in stark ways the meaninglessness of the so-called high vibration Italian tech world they live in. The conclusion is not be missed, for there is nothing like it in all of cinema.

Try to get a tape, and pray for the DVD to come forth!

Criterion or some other company must get this and re-release it.

Antonioni's Eclipse is a masterpiece!
Michelangelo directed a trilogy of sorts in the 1960s, beginning with his breakthrough film L'Avventura, continuing with La Notte, and ending with my personal favorite, L'Eclisse (The Eclipse). All were preoccupied with the theme of alienation, and all featured more or less neurotic and disaffected performances from the striking actress Monica Vitti (as a blond in L'Avventura and L'Eclisse, and as a brunette in La Notte). L'Eclisse begins with the Vitti character's romantic breakup, and continues with her affair with a young stockbroker. The affair is destined for failure, however, as she ultimately finds it impossible to experience meaningful contact with other people. There are several notable sequences in the film - the dull fatigue of the opening breakup scene, raucous and frenetic scenes in the stock market, even Vitti and her friends dressing up and dancing as African natives! The most striking for me, however, is the final several minutes, in which the lovers have agreed to meet but neither shows up, and we see a series of deserted spots (mostly locales from earlier scenes) in a mounting crescendo of emptiness and apathetic horror. The stark and impersonal "modern" sixties architecture, headlines about nuclear terror, and a quietly eerie and horrific musical score combines to make this one of the most powerful sequences ever filmed. It shocks me to learn that when originally released in America the sequence was cut as extraneous!

It's a shame that this masterpiece is currently out of print. There are copies floating around that are dubbed from British sources, and there are also some from an American release several years ago, which had generally very good picture and subtitle quality. I can only hope that someone, maybe Criterion, chooses to release L'Eclisse on DVD - I would give my right arm to get it! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This 1966 masterpiece by Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger) is set in the heady atmosphere of Swinging London, and stars David Hemmings as an unsmiling fashion photographer hooked on ephemeral meaning attached to anything: art, sex, work, relationships, drugs, events. When a real mystery falls into his lap, he probes the evidence for some reliable truth, but finds it hard to reckon with. Vanessa Redgrave plays an enigmatic woman whose desperation to cover something up only seems like one more phenomenon in Hemmings's disinterested purview. This is one of the key films of the decade, and still an unsettling and lasting experience. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (92)

Interesting film, but................
Okay, here's the truth about this film. If you are not into slow-plot movies, then you won't like this movie. Sometimes while watching the movie you wonder whether there is a plot at all. I had read the short story "Blow-Up" by Julio Cortazar which this movie is based on before watching the movie. And I thought that the plot of the movie was minimized greatly to show quiet scenes. All one really remembers of this film is watching this good looking guy (Hemmings) wrestle around on the floor with a couple of naked models, Hemmings developing pictures and looking at them over and over again until he realizes what he has been looking at all along (a dead body)..and a bunch of mimes in the end playing tennis with an imaginary balls.

Okay, so the first time you watch the movies it can be quite boring unless you are in the right mood. But the second time I saw it it was on DVD instead of VHS and the pictures and scenes are so fun to look at that you finally realize what director Antonioni was creating...A pituresque film...The plots become more interesting...

But here's the next thing..You should watch this film alone...This is not a good date film....Because you may be in the mood to watch it...but she might not...All I know is that this is a film you really have to be in the mood for. It can really make a date crumble...This should be seen with an sophisticated, intelligent person...

Julio Cortazar's story was mainly about a man who takes a picture and becomes obsessed with a woman he has photographed. After examining the picture day in and day out he finally realizes he has been staring at her because she seems to be staring at something...And then he realizes that she is looking at something laying on the ground some distance away...A body... Antonioni's film uses this plot in his film but expands on it with imagery and the story of this swinging 60s man.

Anyway, watch it, on DVD of course, cause it looks better, definitely worth owning if you like this kinda stuff.

A tad inflated.
Very influential "art" film of the 1960's, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. At first blush the setting seems to be Swinging London, but the city is curiously abandoned: empty roads, empty parks, empty cafes. Is this by design? Or merely illustrative of Antonioni's lack of funds? And those who DO populate the city seem more like art-house ideograms rather than Swinging Londoners. In other words, here somber, there somber, everywhere somber somber (e.g., mimes; zombies watching a Yardbirds concert; a painter who doesn't even pretend to know what his paintings mean . . . and such). This isn't London; it's Resnais (slightly more frenetic Resnais). The worst that can be said of the movie is that it probably hasn't aged well . . . starting with David Hemmings' white jeans. Viewers who were born any year after this movie was made will respond to the mini-orgy scene and the pot-party scene with an exasperated, "Oh, so what!" and get bored fast. But it's important to recognize Antonioni's daring, perhaps especially if what titillated Sixties' audiences seems tame in 2001. In large measure, Antonioni (and other avant-garde auteurs, of course) opened the doors to freer cinematic expression with movies like *Blow-Up* -- and all on the coattails of MGM, in this case! And while the Sixties "commentary" is now hopelessly dated, the way our fashion-photographer hero stumbles onto an unseen murder is ingenious, and the presentation of it is worthy of a master. I also love that spooky park, with its ceaselessly whispering trees. All in all, a fun "puzzle picture", tailor-made especially for college grads. Not by any stretch one of the era's more rigorous masterpieces -- such as the director's own L'Avventura -- but still important.

WARNING - DEFECTIVE AUDIO
DESPITE LOTS OF EFFORT, TROUBLE-SHOOTING, AND ASSISTANCE FROM HIGH-TECH-PROFICIENT FRIENDS, I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO GET THE AUDIO TRACK FOR THIS FILM TO PLAY. I HAVE HAD NO SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH ANY OTHER DVD I OWN OR HAVE RENTED. SO BE WARNED, DO NOT PURCHASE THIS DVD UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT YOUR DVD-PLAYER WILL PLAY IT. [Ironically, all the other special features on this DVD, including the trailers and a voice-over commentary track, have fully-functional audio tracks. It's just the main feature - THE FILM ITSELF - that has no audio!]

The Antonioni step
A phothographer (David Heminngs) gets a slapshot and he believes there's a murder in that picture.
The reality is elusive , and watch about your senses seem to reveal you . Nothing is like it seems . The hidden message underneath the script .
Antonioni has beencalled the master of the silence . And in this case , in his first american film he challenges our ancient beliefs , what we usually mean as common sense . What's the truth and where does it begin our disturbed or prejuiced perceptions about the real world . Obviously there's a bit message aboutthe drugs world in this statement.
The ending sequence in what we see? a mude tennis game is not pnly a sincere tribute to the timeless genius of the mimo art - Marcel Marceau - , but a clear reference about we state as truth many times what other senses vaguely pretend establish .

Movies as litmus tests
Another film that brings out the moral venality in Amazon "reviewers". I particularly love the one who was "forced" to watch it in a friend's film class & found it a "waist" of time. Let's see...the waist is where things ingested pass through on their way to the digestion process. But I doubt he was being that profound.

Then there are the ones who find the film dated, London too empty & the main character a horrible nasty. Well folks, it's true there are no friendly wizards, cute goblins or funny ogres in this one, so it may taste like harsh medicine to some. But Blow-Up was a real slice of the 1960s, take it or leave it. Not just the "life-style" (clothes, decor & behavior) which is perfectly rendered (& is probably what dates the film the most) but the sheer fragmentation of time & space, of event & response. This was Antonioni's particular area of expertise: space & emptiness filled with random human collisions supposedly suffused with "meaning".

Well, we certainly have adopted different attitudes today, haven't we? Everything with its socio-political subtext. The big problem, I think, with a movie like Blow-Up is that it doesn't easily let you pick which Side to Be On. It's very European in that way (Old Europe, to use current parlance).

Hey folks, when you look at a De Chirico (you should, you know), do you find the streets too empty, the perspectives too stark & arbitrary? ... Read more

Reviews (14)

YOU SHOULD OWN THIS BEAUTIFUL FILM ! ! !
(rev. 10/4/03)

I don't care if its the orange-tinted DVD copy, or whatever, you have to own at least one copy of this film. It is so very beautiful, and bears repeated viewings. I've seen it forty times, and this is a conservative estimate.

It doesn't even matter that you can't "understand" it (watch anything enough times, and you'll start to "understand" it.)
Many people who can't fully "understand" (whatever that word really means) this film, like myself, watch it repeatedly. Perhaps its beauty IS of the stark, minimalist 60s variety. No matter. With the way the director has framed -- and paced -- the shots in RED DESERT, even if the film wasn't in color, it would still be beautiful.

For better understanding of this film, see Cassavete's WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, and compare.

I cannot say enough about the inherent intelligence of this film. Every scene, the nature of Antonioni's pacing, the length with which he lingers on a shot, the sort of script he uses, and the way he has his actors speak their lines -- bespeaks a kind of maturity and intelligence that is a credit to the director, and a flattery to the viewer.

RED DESERT is, in its own way, a rivetting breath of fresh air. It is a distinct clearing of the senses, to experience a beautiful, mature, intelligent film that treats viewers as though they were grown-ups complete with fully-functioning brains.

One way to appreciate/perspect the value of this film, is to consider that it was made just two years after Antonioni's better-known black and white film L'AVVENTURA was declared one of the 'Top Ten Films of All Time' in the famous 'Sight and Sound' film magazines' critics poll.

And I have already implied how privileged and gratified one ought to feel at being presented the gift of Antonioni's world of color (he uses Goethe's theory of color, by the way.)

Go ahead. Rent this film. You'll then know what I mean. And you will want to OWN a copy. You'll see it's worth the price for the chance to ALWAYS HAVE THIS FILM AROUND YOU just to relish its sheer beauty and color at intervals. I wish everyone the rare cinematic pleasure this film has afforded me.

(HINT: I own two different VHS prints of this beautiful masterpiece. Sense the dedication: its called, Practice What You Preach.)

you should own this beautiful film
(rev. 10/4/03)
I don't care if its the orange-tinted DVD copy, or whatever, you have to own at least one copy of this film. It is so very beautiful, and bears repeated viewings. I've seen it forty times, and this is a conservative estimate.

It doesn't even matter that you can't "understand" it (watch anything enough times, and you'll start to "understand" it.)
Many people who can't fully "understand" (whatever that word really means) this film, like myself, watch it repeatedly.

Perhaps its beauty IS of the stark, minimalist 60s variety. No matter. With the way the director has framed -- and paced -- the shots in RED DESERT, even if the film wasn't in color, it would still be beautiful.

For better understanding of this film, see Cassavete's WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, and compare.

I cannot say enough about the inherent intelligence of this film. Every scene, the nature of Antonioni's pacing, the length with which he lingers on a shot, the sort of script he uses, and the way he has his actors speak their lines -- bespeaks a kind of maturity and intelligence that is a credit to the director, and a flattery to the viewer.

RED DESERT is, in its own way, a rivetting breath of fresh air. It is a distinct clearing of the senses, to experience a beautiful, mature, intelligent film that treats viewers as though they were grown-ups complete with fully-functioning brains.

One way to appreciate/perspect the value of this film, is to consider that it was made just two years after Antonioni's better-known black and white film L'AVVENTURA was declared one of the 'Top Ten Films of All Time' in the famous 'Sight and Sound' film magazines' critics poll.

I have already implied how privileged and gratified one ought to feel at being presented the gift of Antonioni's world of color (he uses Goethe's theory of color, by the way.)

Go ahead. Rent this film. You'll then know what I mean. And you will want to OWN a copy. You'll see it's worth the price for the chance to always have this film around just to relish its sheer beauty and color at intervals. I wish everyone the rare cinematic pleasure this film has afforded me.

(HINT: I own two different VHS prints of this beautiful masterpiece. Sense the dedication: its called, Practice What You Preach.)

Cinematography brilliant, sadly the film isn't.
Antonioni is probably the best visual director of all time, and it certainly shows in this film, with stunning imagery throughout. However, the film content suffers in that it drags like L'Avventura and never really keeps you focused, like his best film in my opinion, La Notte does.

Vitti gives an excellent performance, however she just never seems to find that niche in the film where audiences can grab a hold of her, and actually care about her. Richard Harris is wasted in this film, and the dubbing of his voice is terrible. The visual quality of the DVD is only passable, and there are no extras.

There were many moments in the film I really was impressed by, however as a whole, it just isn't one to keep in my collection. One to definitely watch once.

Spiritual Desert of the Modern
This film is as stark as they come. It begins with lingering shots of an industrial waste land and a confused Monica Vitti wandering aimless within it. Vitti we slowly find out has had some sort of break down and each sequence of the film serves to elaborate the distance she has fallen away from reality. She attempts to find relief from her mental anguish by having an affair with a man who seems to intuitively understand her but the affair does not bring peace to her troubled state of mind. Though Antonioni's first color film this is not what I would call a "beautiful" film. What is striking about Antonionis use of color is how he uses it like a painter uses color and thats to express emotions. For instance Richard Harris' apartment has grey walls but the morning after when Vitti wakes up the walls are a soft pink. It is a striking effect to use colors to describe emotional states. Perhaps this is the scene the other reviewer found to be "beautiful". Most of the film is striking only because it is so stark. Never before or since has any film maker lingered on such ugly things like smoke stacks and industrial waste and the rusting hulls of ships as Antonioni does here. Antonioni purposely makes the world ugly in order to stress that for Vitti at least the world feels uninhabitable. I can think of three great films in the 1960's that dealt with a womans breakdown: Bergman's Persona, Polanski's Repulsion, and this one. Polanski no doubt admired Antonionis color palette and in Rosemary's Baby applies some of the same techniques. I think perhaps the people who will most enjoy this film will be lovers of modern painting, especially European painters of the post war period like Tapies--a painter whose work is often evoked in this film as well as other Antonioni films. Antonioni composes his shots like a painter and is ever sensitive to the way his figures are defined by what he surrounds them with as much as what they do or say. Always an interesting experience to watch an Antonioni but his films do take patience and are definitely for people who already have a taste for existential meditation whether it be in the novel, the museum or in the cinema. I would not suggest starting with this film if you are new to this director. L'Avventura and La Notte are the two I would begin with.

The Last of Antonioni's Italy
When Red Desert was released, even the most ardent Antonioni fans expressed grave concern. Then Michelangelo abandoned Italy. In hindsight (always a precarious vantage point), this film is in many ways far superior to his subsequent work (the once popular 'Blow-Up' has dated terribly). The problem with the film is Monica Vitti's character. Is she psychotic? If so, it makes everything she experiences suspect. Richard Harris is suitably stolid as her befuddled husband. In later years, Harris confessed that he found Antonioni to be a "pseudo-intellectual." This, from the Man Called Horse! But what does the film try to say about our industrialized world? Antonioni was obviously fascinated by it and by its implications, as contemporary interviews suggest. But his film seems to present it as a nightmare - through which poor Monica Vitti stumbles, bewildered. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

BEAUTIFUL!
I have patiently (and gratefully !) viewed my Facets Video VHS OBERWALD print/edition 2 or 3 times now.

It's beautiful!

I encourage anyone to acquire it. Especially if you are an Antonioni fan.

Useful to note, OBERWALD was originally done on video tape. OBERWALD was probably Antonioni's first full-length videotaping effort. It thus has a different look and feel than regular multi-frame film stock.

Antonioni's use of color filters for certain scenes and/or subelements of scenes, will interest, please (some of the results of the color filtering are beautiful), and fascinate many viewers.

OBERWALD is less famous than other Antonioni efforts. It is likely to be a later acquisition for many Antonioni video collectors. Its beauty and color usage is comparable, however, to two of his other color films, Red Desert and Beyond the Clouds.

...ie, if you love the beauty, magic, and color of Red Desert and Beyond the Clouds, get OBERWALD, also...you will HARDLY be disappointed!

...OBERWALD, and this print, are hardly only for 'completist' Antonioni viewers/collectors and fans...

Some of the exquisite color scenes and sequences of OBERWALD are memorable/unforgettable, and are recalled with rich appreciation, after only a few viewings.

This film is also desirable for other reasons. It is comparably wordier than many of Antonioni films. It has a rather full script, with plenty of good dialogue. It is interesting to watch a modernist (and masterful) film maker work occasionally with a full script, and rely less for interpretable values on abstract stretches of silence.

The melodramatic conclusion to this film may surprise some Antonioni viewers. It is, after all, a Jean Cocteau script!

(OBERWALD is adapted from Cocteau's 'The Eagle Has Two Heads,' an historical romance...but don't let that throw you. Whether or not you like Cocteau, or historical romances, you will STILL love OBERWALD. I am but a lesser fan of Cocteau. I am an even lesser fan of historical romances, and I STILL think OBERWALD is EXCELLENT.)

Viewers will also be astonished at Monica Vitti's appearance. Vitti was 50 years old at the making of this film. She looks 30!

The subtitles are also in color, quite clear and visible, hardly interfere with the beauty of the film, easy on the eyes, and suffer from minimal problems (spelling, grammar.)

The box states 129 mins. for film length. Author Sam Rohdie also lists the same length in minutes for the film itself. This Facets Video edition is likely to be quite complete.

GET this valuable and beautiful Antonioni film, before it goes out of print, out of stock, or endures some other frustrating phase of unavailability!

I am quite pleased to own my Facets Video VHS copy.

It is well worth the price. You'll be glad you procured it.

-moosbrugger ... Read more

Description

Antonioni's study of alienation and moral decay chronicles a day in the life of a middle-class couple whose marriage has been destroyed by mutual indifference and impenetrable loneliness. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Wonderful Film, Annoying DVD
This is truly a wonderful film. Moreau, Mastroianni and Vitti are perfect in Antonioni's expression of banality and dispassion in the modern age. Those put off by Antonioni's work, due to vagueness and slow pacing, will find "La Notte" extremely approachable. Also, I was amazed to how similar "La Notte" is to Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." The portraying of the emptiness of the main characters marriage not through dialog but imagery, the story structure, the wealthy friends party (end of "La Notte," beginning of "EWS"), the personal odysseys Moreau and Mastroianni venture on to spark up passion in their lives are all reminiscent of Kubrick's last film. I haven't heard of Kubrick being influence by Antonioni or not, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

Being that "La Notte" is such a visual treat, it is frustrating that the Fox Lorber DVD is so poorly put together. It skips, the audio often doesn't sync up with the actors mouths, there is a hiss that keeps on going on and off, and there are many scratches and smudges throughout. Oh well. Hopefully Criterion will pick this one up and do to "La Notte" what they did for "L'Avventura." That is the treatment this film deserves.

Marvelous cast by most compicated actor,actress and director
Giovanni Pontano is a writer, who is going through an existantial crisis along with an inspirational one. His relation with his life Lidia isn't any better, the two have problems communicating, a problem the writer has with the rest of world as well. On the day of the publiction Giovanni's latest book, the couple visit the Marxist editor Tomasso, who is in hospital dying of cancer. Later a long and tedious all-night party with various erotic encounters at the home of Milanese industrialist who wants to buy Giovanni's serve to underline the growing emptiness of their marriage. At the end of the night they found nothing more than a tenuous solution...

The film is a physological drama about the uncertainity of the modern man's feelings where various themes interlace : the solitude, the enemy, the money, the money, etc. symbols of empty and crazy world.

Jeanne Moreau's day-to-evening walk in the city is a commonpoint with nearly all Antonioni films; film character observes the society giving up all securities against people.

Monica Vitti, acts as the daughter of the industrialist; sharing the solitute of her secure life guaranteed by her father but an empty world and looking for the solution or something interesting in Mastroianni/Moreau characters that seem different but sharing the same problems in different way actually..

Yes, the DVD IS watchable
Several respondents here have criticized the transfer quality, citing cropping, hisses, wobbling, etc. Most of the "cropping" is attributable to television overscan, and you notice it more on this DVD because Antonioni makes such deft and unusual use of the far edges of the screen. There are DVD players available which can help compensate for overscanning, a problem originating from standard television sets and not this particular DVD. Regarding hisses, those recurring, distant industrial sounds you hear are on the original soundtrack. Undoubtedly they are meant to serve an emotional mood. One respondent reports that the image is so jumpy he couldn't watch the film; I simply didn't have the same viewing experience. A number of Criterion releases have more image wobble than this one. In fact, I'm impressed by the great sound and picture quality of this DVD. It's a huge improvement over the muddy version which Bravo used to broadcast, and notably cleaner than theatrical prints available in the US in the 1990s. While not perfect, this DVD delivers the aural and visual clarity which Antonioni deserves.

Antonioni at the top of his form.
La Notte was released over forty years ago, yet it is modern in the way it is filmed and the themes it portrays, testimony to Michelangelo Antonioni's skill as one of the great directors in film history. Antonioni communicates to us not only through the dialogue and artistry of the actors, but also through the images he painstakingly creates for us in each scene. It is a satisfying experience for viewers to have so much to work with as we construct meaning and truth value from what we see and hear.

In the opening scenes Giovanni Pontano, played by the young and brilliant Marcello Mastroianni, and his wife Lidia, portrayed by the great french actress Jeanne Moreau, visit a friend in the hospital and learn that he is dying. Lidia's discomfort is palpable as she moves about the room restlessly and hardly says anything. At last, she excuses herself and leaves the room and the hospital. The patient, a writer as is Giovanni, discusses Giovanni's new book. The patient has read fifty pages and hopes to finish the book before he dies. We sense that Giovanni is more interested in his friend's critical appreciation of his book than he is concerned about the health of the dying man.

This self-centeredness of Giovanni is confirmed when he leaves his friend to join Lidia. A disturbed young and attractive woman patient at the hospital, whom Giovanni had met briefly before visiting his friend, approaches Giovanni again and makes sexual advances toward him. The pair move quickly to the young woman's hospital room where they squirm about briefly on her bed before being interrupted by two nurses who are aware of the young woman's habits and tendencies.

When Giovanni meets Lidia outside the hospital he confesses to her, as they drive away in their car, what has happened. In this scene we get a sense of the history of this troubled couple. Giovanni is the worst sort of womanizer; that is, he is the kind who feels compelled to tell his wife of his various sexual escapades. She knows him better than he knows himself and passes off lightly what she has been told. Much of what happens later in the film is foreshadowed by the hospital visit and discussion in the car.

From the hospital Giovanni and Lidia return to their apartment and seem restless. They have been invited to the party of a rich industrialist, they decide not to go, and then change their minds while having drinks at a nightclub.

At the party Giovanni immediately is attracted to the industrialist's eighteen year old daughter Valentina, played well by Monica Vitti. Valentina is not only beautiful, but also provocative. She exudes energy and excitement and Giovanni is drawn irrestibly to her even though his actions can be seen by Lidia, who has finally arrived at her breaking point. She is used up and burned out. It appears as if her marriage is over, but La Notte only leaves us with appearances. The film may be over, but the troubled marriage may struggle on.

La Notte is not a story in a traditional sense, but more a series of episodes that take us deeper into the lives of Giovanni and Lidia. Mastroianni and Moreau are talented actors, as is Vitti, and Antonioni's direction is superb, down to the last small detail. Taking our eyes off the screen even for a minute is a mistake. Of course, having the DVD gives us the advantage of being able to go back and pick up some of the details we might have missed.

Those viewers who enjoy La Notte are almost certain to want to see Antonioni's masterpiece, L'Aventura, filmed a year earlier in 1960. Both of these early films of the master demonstrate Antonioni's immense skill as a filmmaker. The art and craft of moviemaking has been advanced under Antonioni's capable direction.

Just discovering the genius of Antonioni
I am a newcomer to this realm of genius film making and I corroborate the eloquent and articulate observations by the reviewer from Minnesota. I simply want to add that after seeing and studying my first two Antonioni films (l'Avventura and La Notte) I am struck by the fact that just about any frame from these movies resembles a Cartier-Bresson photograph. There are so many levels of satisfaction in these films, intellectually and artistically. They are crafted like a great literary work, as mentioned by another reviewer, in the sense that no detail is accidental or superfluous. And like reading a great book, you get back what you put into it in terms of observation. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Stark and Beautiful
I've given this a rating of 4 rather than 5 based on the DVD production, rather than on the film--which I'd rate a full 5. The image on disc needs cleaning up--spots and little jerks are sometimes distracting; and there are no helpful extras--a commentary at least would have been very helpful. But the subtitles are good and readable, and the movie itself is wonderful.

The story is grim enough in outline--a rebuffed lover spirals down into despair, and he spirals down into a society with no safety net. But the black and white countryside, the roadside gas station, the villages, the shack where the prostitute lives, all these are hauntingly photographed. And each character is a surprise, so that the film feels populated by a whole world of very real people, not 'written' characters. There are a couple of moments in the story that can break your heart--such as when the main character sends his little daughter away--but the film is not at all depressing; you feel moved, but also elated at the brilliance of the filmmaking--and maybe a little awestruck if, like me, you grew up in the US midwest and never suspected that out in the big world, people were making truly adult films back in the 1950s, films that are as rich and satisfying as a good novel. The concluding sequence opens the story up and gives it almost epic scope, as the character returns to the village he left, to find himself in the midst of an anti-government riot--though by now, the rioters' issues are meaningless to him.

I'm not enough of a film expert to compare this intelligently with Antonioni's later masterpiece, "L'Avventura" (which I've probably misspelled), except to say that if you love that film, you really must see this one; and, if you found that later film obscure and too slow-paced, give this one a try before deciding Antonioni isn't accessible. This one will really pull you in.

No L'Avventura, But Very Good
I've only seen one other of Antonioni's films--L'Avventura--so I'm no authority. (I'm very much looking forward to seeing more though.)
This is a very fine film. While the inability of Aldo to communicate with women, and find succor in committed or romantic love, is very interesting, this film seems to me to be more about some of the changes happening in rural Italian society, progress that Antonioni expresses as having a very negative impact on working people.
The scenery is bleak and barren. Antonioni often has the camera pulled back, so that you see the whole of the human figures futilely moving among featureless buildings or arid ground. The cinematography, the camera shots themselves of the landscape as well as of the human figures, is excellent. There are a number of interesting angles used through windows of couples separating. The acting is of a uniformly high standard.
I was reminded of Modern Times. In that film, Chaplin was always on the move, and largely oblivious to the social forces working around him--much of the time he is forcused on simply getting a job, as is Aldo. Aldo can't find permanent work, despite being a gifted mechanic. The police are often lurking in the background, enforcing petty and occassionally cruel laws.
While its not as good as L'Avventura--which is more mysterious and ambiguous and less polemical--its a terrific film, well worth watching.

Il Grido (The Outcry)
Il Grido is an unusual vehicle for Steve Cochran who appeared in gangster flics in the 50's - and was famous for affairs with Jayne Mansfield, Mae West, Mamie Van Doren and Joan Crawford. His private life seemed to mirror his screen personna but his acting prowess becomes evident near the end of his life in Il Grido. A strange account of a man's decline from the Italian working class to aimless drifting in an ever engulfing bleak landscape. His encounters with women depict the volatility of his well-meaning but purposeless character, Aldo, but his anguish only becomes evident when leaving his young daughter- sensing they will never meet again. As her train departs, Aldo's anguish becomes wrenching and is the beginning of his eventual dissolution.

A thoughtful challenging movie for its poetic imagery and cinematic imagery. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Spiritless, unnecessary and boring
Being a master in all technological aspects, Antonioni is simply a bore. Yes, isolation of modern society is his theme, so what? Russians wrote about that ages ago, and Antonioni sure adds nothing to what has already been said about the matter.

This film is tremendously boring.

Those who love clean camera angles can very easily concentrate on those, so the film has its uses. The angles are very nice.

Acceptance through Imagination
A director's search for a female character to inspire his nextfilm is frustrated by his loss of two lovers. The first leaves him foranother woman. The second presents him with the unexpected result of a previous relationship. Bastardy makes wholehearted commitment difficult in both relationships. The theme of uncertain parentage extends, especially in the film's first half hour, to how one scene follows from another. Which director, Antonioni or his character, is calling the shots? They find agreement in the greater theme: how love and sex form an oblique angle to one another. Antonion wrote, directed, and edited this film. His mastery of the medium is evident everywhere. American viewers can finally see a key piece in the progress of a great artist's work. ... Read more

Description

Richard Harris and Monica Vitti star in writer/director Michelangelo Antonioni's masterpiece. An alienated Italian wife searches for meaning in the industrial lunar landscape of Northern Italy, to no avail. Highly acclaimed as a masterpiece of visual form and the winner of the International Critics Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival in 1964. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

YOU SHOULD OWN THIS BEAUTIFUL FILM ! ! !
(rev. 10/4/03)

I don't care if its the orange-tinted DVD copy, or whatever, you have to own at least one copy of this film. It is so very beautiful, and bears repeated viewings. I've seen it forty times, and this is a conservative estimate.

It doesn't even matter that you can't "understand" it (watch anything enough times, and you'll start to "understand" it.)
Many people who can't fully "understand" (whatever that word really means) this film, like myself, watch it repeatedly. Perhaps its beauty IS of the stark, minimalist 60s variety. No matter. With the way the director has framed -- and paced -- the shots in RED DESERT, even if the film wasn't in color, it would still be beautiful.

For better understanding of this film, see Cassavete's WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, and compare.

I cannot say enough about the inherent intelligence of this film. Every scene, the nature of Antonioni's pacing, the length with which he lingers on a shot, the sort of script he uses, and the way he has his actors speak their lines -- bespeaks a kind of maturity and intelligence that is a credit to the director, and a flattery to the viewer.

RED DESERT is, in its own way, a rivetting breath of fresh air. It is a distinct clearing of the senses, to experience a beautiful, mature, intelligent film that treats viewers as though they were grown-ups complete with fully-functioning brains.

One way to appreciate/perspect the value of this film, is to consider that it was made just two years after Antonioni's better-known black and white film L'AVVENTURA was declared one of the 'Top Ten Films of All Time' in the famous 'Sight and Sound' film magazines' critics poll.

And I have already implied how privileged and gratified one ought to feel at being presented the gift of Antonioni's world of color (he uses Goethe's theory of color, by the way.)

Go ahead. Rent this film. You'll then know what I mean. And you will want to OWN a copy. You'll see it's worth the price for the chance to ALWAYS HAVE THIS FILM AROUND YOU just to relish its sheer beauty and color at intervals. I wish everyone the rare cinematic pleasure this film has afforded me.

(HINT: I own two different VHS prints of this beautiful masterpiece. Sense the dedication: its called, Practice What You Preach.)

you should own this beautiful film
(rev. 10/4/03)
I don't care if its the orange-tinted DVD copy, or whatever, you have to own at least one copy of this film. It is so very beautiful, and bears repeated viewings. I've seen it forty times, and this is a conservative estimate.

It doesn't even matter that you can't "understand" it (watch anything enough times, and you'll start to "understand" it.)
Many people who can't fully "understand" (whatever that word really means) this film, like myself, watch it repeatedly.

Perhaps its beauty IS of the stark, minimalist 60s variety. No matter. With the way the director has framed -- and paced -- the shots in RED DESERT, even if the film wasn't in color, it would still be beautiful.

For better understanding of this film, see Cassavete's WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, and compare.

I cannot say enough about the inherent intelligence of this film. Every scene, the nature of Antonioni's pacing, the length with which he lingers on a shot, the sort of script he uses, and the way he has his actors speak their lines -- bespeaks a kind of maturity and intelligence that is a credit to the director, and a flattery to the viewer.

RED DESERT is, in its own way, a rivetting breath of fresh air. It is a distinct clearing of the senses, to experience a beautiful, mature, intelligent film that treats viewers as though they were grown-ups complete with fully-functioning brains.

One way to appreciate/perspect the value of this film, is to consider that it was made just two years after Antonioni's better-known black and white film L'AVVENTURA was declared one of the 'Top Ten Films of All Time' in the famous 'Sight and Sound' film magazines' critics poll.

I have already implied how privileged and gratified one ought to feel at being presented the gift of Antonioni's world of color (he uses Goethe's theory of color, by the way.)

Go ahead. Rent this film. You'll then know what I mean. And you will want to OWN a copy. You'll see it's worth the price for the chance to always have this film around just to relish its sheer beauty and color at intervals. I wish everyone the rare cinematic pleasure this film has afforded me.

(HINT: I own two different VHS prints of this beautiful masterpiece. Sense the dedication: its called, Practice What You Preach.)

Cinematography brilliant, sadly the film isn't.
Antonioni is probably the best visual director of all time, and it certainly shows in this film, with stunning imagery throughout. However, the film content suffers in that it drags like L'Avventura and never really keeps you focused, like his best film in my opinion, La Notte does.

Vitti gives an excellent performance, however she just never seems to find that niche in the film where audiences can grab a hold of her, and actually care about her. Richard Harris is wasted in this film, and the dubbing of his voice is terrible. The visual quality of the DVD is only passable, and there are no extras.

There were many moments in the film I really was impressed by, however as a whole, it just isn't one to keep in my collection. One to definitely watch once.

Spiritual Desert of the Modern
This film is as stark as they come. It begins with lingering shots of an industrial waste land and a confused Monica Vitti wandering aimless within it. Vitti we slowly find out has had some sort of break down and each sequence of the film serves to elaborate the distance she has fallen away from reality. She attempts to find relief from her mental anguish by having an affair with a man who seems to intuitively understand her but the affair does not bring peace to her troubled state of mind. Though Antonioni's first color film this is not what I would call a "beautiful" film. What is striking about Antonionis use of color is how he uses it like a painter uses color and thats to express emotions. For instance Richard Harris' apartment has grey walls but the morning after when Vitti wakes up the walls are a soft pink. It is a striking effect to use colors to describe emotional states. Perhaps this is the scene the other reviewer found to be "beautiful". Most of the film is striking only because it is so stark. Never before or since has any film maker lingered on such ugly things like smoke stacks and industrial waste and the rusting hulls of ships as Antonioni does here. Antonioni purposely makes the world ugly in order to stress that for Vitti at least the world feels uninhabitable. I can think of three great films in the 1960's that dealt with a womans breakdown: Bergman's Persona, Polanski's Repulsion, and this one. Polanski no doubt admired Antonionis color palette and in Rosemary's Baby applies some of the same techniques. I think perhaps the people who will most enjoy this film will be lovers of modern painting, especially European painters of the post war period like Tapies--a painter whose work is often evoked in this film as well as other Antonioni films. Antonioni composes his shots like a painter and is ever sensitive to the way his figures are defined by what he surrounds them with as much as what they do or say. Always an interesting experience to watch an Antonioni but his films do take patience and are definitely for people who already have a taste for existential meditation whether it be in the novel, the museum or in the cinema. I would not suggest starting with this film if you are new to this director. L'Avventura and La Notte are the two I would begin with.

The Last of Antonioni's Italy
When Red Desert was released, even the most ardent Antonioni fans expressed grave concern. Then Michelangelo abandoned Italy. In hindsight (always a precarious vantage point), this film is in many ways far superior to his subsequent work (the once popular 'Blow-Up' has dated terribly). The problem with the film is Monica Vitti's character. Is she psychotic? If so, it makes everything she experiences suspect. Richard Harris is suitably stolid as her befuddled husband. In later years, Harris confessed that he found Antonioni to be a "pseudo-intellectual." This, from the Man Called Horse! But what does the film try to say about our industrialized world? Antonioni was obviously fascinated by it and by its implications, as contemporary interviews suggest. But his film seems to present it as a nightmare - through which poor Monica Vitti stumbles, bewildered. ... Read more

Description

When a young woman disappears on a yachting trip, her lover and her best friend lead a futile search and then begin their own affair.Antonioni's tale of Italy's idle rich, distinguished by his remarkable way of juxtaposing subjects in their environment, redefined our views of time and space in cinema. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Best Criterion Collection DVD Thus Far; Excellent Commentary
L'Avventura is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen and this DVD does it perfect justice. The transfer is pristine reflecting the breathtaking cinematography, and the commentary by film historian Gene Youngblood illuminates Antonioni's revolutionary genius by offering awe-inspiring insight into nearly every scene of the movie. Of all the commentary offered so far by criterion this is by far the best though the film is not necessarily for everyone. The pacing is a bit slow at times for the moviegoer who enjoys films with more action and overt sexuality(though the two lead actresses have beauty enough to leave you enchanted), but L'Avventura is always interesting for fans of film who want to learn more about the technique and art of moviemaking. The documentary provides a good overview of Antonioni's career and Jack Nicholson reads documents that provide knowledge of Antonioni's philosophy of art. If you have enjoyed prior Criterion Collection editions of great films this DVD is perfect for your collection.

"L'Avventorment. . ."
"After finishing L'Avventura, I was forced to reflect on what the film meant." -director Michelangelo Antonioni.

This is the greatest film about adult romantic relationships ever made. Every topic is touched on: infidelity, jeaslousy, male preoccupation with sex, female preoccupation with resistance, the urgency of love, and the futility ("why,why,why,why...") Is there a better? Perhaps I am underinformed.

And the sheer beauty! My God, it's enough to make you forget the plot. For picturesque rocky islands and splashing surf, this must be the Ansel Adams of Palermo. This is not to mention the rest of the film. As a friend of mine said, every frame could be in a book of modern photography. Antonioni knows how to frame his shots.

Enough, please, of this film being 'Boredom Personified.' Woe to those who are thoughtless enough to resist assimilating its message. This is not a film for children - or the childish. This film is partly about the psychological issues of love and romance in the modern industrial age. It is partly about keeping the difficulties thereunto connected, in proper perspective. Those who hold such an exercise as tedious, are advised to go back to the mall.

Yet, "For those who wish to listen, it will have a value beyond words."

Literally Dazzled
Monica Vitti is very blonde, very classy, pretty. She wore her Jackie Kennedy dresses with grace. The black and white photography of her white-dot suit literally dazzled. The scene where the Sicilian men stand about Monica (Claudia) like the scenes in Hitchcock's "Birds" made me very uncomfortable. The background is Italian Neo-Realism, rocks, sand, and the juxtaposition of old Italian Architecture, art, and communist style people's housing, empty and lifeless; I confess I drank about 2 bottles of water, more than my viewing of "Lawrence of Arabia." What happened to Anna on that volcanic island? Weird, L'Avventura (1960) is ranked on many cinema lists anywhere from #1 to #10.

a great film with beautiful imagery
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Michaelangelo Antonioni's "L'Avventura" also known as "The Adventure" or "The Fling" is hailed as a masterpiece by many critics.

In the film, a group of people go on a yachting trip in the Mediterranean sea. Later, a woman in the group disappears and they begin a fruitless search. One woman helps the vanished girl's boyfriend search for her, but they soon forget about searching and fall in love with each other.

My cousin, who is half Italian says that the subtitles on this edition are word-for-word unlike older copes of the film.
The cinematography is excellent and I agree with the statement made in the supplements about each indivudual frame being worthy of use as a photograph.

The special features on the DVD are good also. On the first disc is the actual film with optional audio commentary by Gene Youngblood. The second disc has a theatrical trailer, a restoration demonstration, a 58-minute documentary on the director, and audio of actor Jack Nicholson narrating writings by the film's director, Michaelangelo Antonioni, plus Jack Nicholson's recollections on working with Antonioni on the film "The Passenger" made in 1975

Fans of Italian cinema will surely love this release and many others would like it also.

The Most Pure Film Ever Made
No film is more pure in the cinematic sense than L' AVVENTURA. L' AVVENTURA is nothing like you've seen. It may be more than 40 years old and it still feels amazingly modern and refreshing. The first time I saw it when I was 18, I hated it ... it was so slow and dull and it was impossible to relate to any of the characters. But 15 years later, I came across the DVD and the picture of Monica Vitti with the "pyramid" in the backround evoked a very strangely powerful wave of images, sounds, and words. So I decided to give the film another chance. It was too beautiful and hypnotic that I couldn't stir for nearly 2.1/2 hours. After I got up from the couch, the world never looked the same again. I woke up the following morning feeling like a new person. I think the most perfect time to watch the film is around midnight when everything is quiet and dark. Turn off your phones and lock the doors. Turn off the lights and close the curtains. Push the "play" button and then the film will transport you to a totally new world that will haunt you eternally. But I think the film will work even more powerfully and beautifully if you wait for a week or two and watch it again. Most people I know "clicked" with the film during their second or third viewing. If you find yourself puzzled or even disappointed when L' AVVENTURA ends, that's okay. Don't give up. Wait for a few more weeks or even a year; then view the film again. You won't regret it; I can promise you that. The audio commentary by Gene Youngblood is magnificent. Make sure to listen to it. L' AVVENTURA is not called the landmark film for nothing. The Criterion Collection's treatment of the film is perfect - just like the film. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Best Criterion Collection DVD Thus Far; Excellent Commentary
L'Avventura is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen and this DVD does it perfect justice. The transfer is pristine reflecting the breathtaking cinematography, and the commentary by film historian Gene Youngblood illuminates Antonioni's revolutionary genius by offering awe-inspiring insight into nearly every scene of the movie. Of all the commentary offered so far by criterion this is by far the best though the film is not necessarily for everyone. The pacing is a bit slow at times for the moviegoer who enjoys films with more action and overt sexuality(though the two lead actresses have beauty enough to leave you enchanted), but L'Avventura is always interesting for fans of film who want to learn more about the technique and art of moviemaking. The documentary provides a good overview of Antonioni's career and Jack Nicholson reads documents that provide knowledge of Antonioni's philosophy of art. If you have enjoyed prior Criterion Collection editions of great films this DVD is perfect for your collection.

"L'Avventorment. . ."
"After finishing L'Avventura, I was forced to reflect on what the film meant." -director Michelangelo Antonioni.

This is the greatest film about adult romantic relationships ever made. Every topic is touched on: infidelity, jeaslousy, male preoccupation with sex, female preoccupation with resistance, the urgency of love, and the futility ("why,why,why,why...") Is there a better? Perhaps I am underinformed.

And the sheer beauty! My God, it's enough to make you forget the plot. For picturesque rocky islands and splashing surf, this must be the Ansel Adams of Palermo. This is not to mention the rest of the film. As a friend of mine said, every frame could be in a book of modern photography. Antonioni knows how to frame his shots.

Enough, please, of this film being 'Boredom Personified.' Woe to those who are thoughtless enough to resist assimilating its message. This is not a film for children - or the childish. This film is partly about the psychological issues of love and romance in the modern industrial age. It is partly about keeping the difficulties thereunto connected, in proper perspective. Those who hold such an exercise as tedious, are advised to go back to the mall.

Yet, "For those who wish to listen, it will have a value beyond words."

Literally Dazzled
Monica Vitti is very blonde, very classy, pretty. She wore her Jackie Kennedy dresses with grace. The black and white photography of her white-dot suit literally dazzled. The scene where the Sicilian men stand about Monica (Claudia) like the scenes in Hitchcock's "Birds" made me very uncomfortable. The background is Italian Neo-Realism, rocks, sand, and the juxtaposition of old Italian Architecture, art, and communist style people's housing, empty and lifeless; I confess I drank about 2 bottles of water, more than my viewing of "Lawrence of Arabia." What happened to Anna on that volcanic island? Weird, L'Avventura (1960) is ranked on many cinema lists anywhere from #1 to #10.

a great film with beautiful imagery
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Michaelangelo Antonioni's "L'Avventura" also known as "The Adventure" or "The Fling" is hailed as a masterpiece by many critics.

In the film, a group of people go on a yachting trip in the Mediterranean sea. Later, a woman in the group disappears and they begin a fruitless search. One woman helps the vanished girl's boyfriend search for her, but they soon forget about searching and fall in love with each other.

My cousin, who is half Italian says that the subtitles on this edition are word-for-word unlike older copes of the film.
The cinematography is excellent and I agree with the statement made in the supplements about each indivudual frame being worthy of use as a photograph.

The special features on the DVD are good also. On the first disc is the actual film with optional audio commentary by Gene Youngblood. The second disc has a theatrical trailer, a restoration demonstration, a 58-minute documentary on the director, and audio of actor Jack Nicholson narrating writings by the film's director, Michaelangelo Antonioni, plus Jack Nicholson's recollections on working with Antonioni on the film "The Passenger" made in 1975

Fans of Italian cinema will surely love this release and many others would like it also.

The Most Pure Film Ever Made
No film is more pure in the cinematic sense than L' AVVENTURA. L' AVVENTURA is nothing like you've seen. It may be more than 40 years old and it still feels amazingly modern and refreshing. The first time I saw it when I was 18, I hated it ... it was so slow and dull and it was impossible to relate to any of the characters. But 15 years later, I came across the DVD and the picture of Monica Vitti with the "pyramid" in the backround evoked a very strangely powerful wave of images, sounds, and words. So I decided to give the film another chance. It was too beautiful and hypnotic that I couldn't stir for nearly 2.1/2 hours. After I got up from the couch, the world never looked the same again. I woke up the following morning feeling like a new person. I think the most perfect time to watch the film is around midnight when everything is quiet and dark. Turn off your phones and lock the doors. Turn off the lights and close the curtains. Push the "play" button and then the film will transport you to a totally new world that will haunt you eternally. But I think the film will work even more powerfully and beautifully if you wait for a week or two and watch it again. Most people I know "clicked" with the film during their second or third viewing. If you find yourself puzzled or even disappointed when L' AVVENTURA ends, that's okay. Don't give up. Wait for a few more weeks or even a year; then view the film again. You won't regret it; I can promise you that. The audio commentary by Gene Youngblood is magnificent. Make sure to listen to it. L' AVVENTURA is not called the landmark film for nothing. The Criterion Collection's treatment of the film is perfect - just like the film. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The First One Is the Best One: Uneven Trilogy About 'Eros'
'Eros' comprises three short films directed by three different directors with the same theme in common, eros.The first segment is the best one, the second comical and witty, and the last one plain embarrassing.So you see them in this order:

"THE HAND" directed by Wong Kar Wai. (5 STARS) Starring respected Chinese actress Gong Li ("Farewell My Concubine") and Chang Chen ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as the bandit leader).This story is about an apprentice tailor (Chen) who is sent to a courtesan (Li) to make a dress.The latter at her heyday treats this youth rather badly at first.Still, the man faithfully keeps on making dresess for her, watching over the woman even after she has lost the patron and her beauty too.Without showing any nudities, the film is very romantic and erotic at times, with the simple premise explored by the great photography of Christopher Doyle and the powerful acting from the leads.In