Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni (born
September 29,
1912) is an
Italian modernist film director whose films are widely considered as some of the most influential in film aesthetics.
Antonioni was born in
Ferrara,
Emilia Romagna.
He graduated in economics at the
University of Bologna. He went to
Rome in
1940 where he attended specifical studies at
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in
Cinecittà. There he met some of the artists with whom he cooperated in the future years; among them
Roberto Rossellini.
Antonioni's first major success was
L'Avventura (1960), which was followed by
La Notte (1961) and
L'eclisse (1962), which made up an informal trilogy on the theme of alienation. His first color film
Il deserto rosso (1964), also explores modernist themes of alienation, forming what is often referred to as a tetrology. Actress
Monica Vitti appeared in the four films of the tetrology, portraying female characters struggling to adjust to the isolating conditions of modernity. His first English-language film,
Blowup (1966), was also a major success. Though it dealt with the challenging theme of the impossibility of objective standards, it became popular, partially because, by current standards, it was sexually explicit, and partially because it featured
Vanessa Redgrave. The park scenes from the film were set in
Maryon Park,
Charlton, London.
Zabriskie Point (1970), his first film set in America, was much less successful, even though its soundtrack incorporated such popular artists as
Pink Floyd (who wrote new music specifically for the film), the
Grateful Dead, and the
Rolling Stones.
The Passenger (1975), which starred
Jack Nicholson, received critical praise as well. Though he continues to direct, Antonioni has never recaptured the wide appeal of his earlier work. In 1995, however, he was given an
Academy Award for lifetime achievement.
He described himself as a
Marxist intellectual, but some authors advance some doubts about his effective adherence to Marxism. In contrast with his contemporaries, including the neorealists and also
Federico Fellini,
Ermanno Olmi and
Pier Paolo Pasolini, whose stories generally dealt with the lives of the working class and the misfits and outcasts of society, Antonioni's most notable films revolved around the elite and the urban bourgeois. However, contrary to what these critics say, his films depict his wealthy characters as empty and aimless, rather than romanticizing them.
La Notte depicts the disintegration of a wealthy married couple who can no longer connect meaningfully;
L'Avventura depicts the story of a woman who goes missing during a yachting trip, and whose fiance and best friend subsequently develop a sexual relationship but are unable to develop genuine love for each other;
Blowup depicts the superficial world of a 1960s fashion photographer in the "mod" scene, who in the end proves indifferent when called upon to report a potential murder. In a similar vein,
Zabriskie Point is often interpreted as a criticism of American capitalism, and, though seemingly critical of bourgeois American
hippies, sympathetically depicts their desire for escape. Antonioni's films also tend to be sensitive to the beauty of landscapeswhich adds not only to the visually stunning quality of his work, but also to his depiction of the rich as arrogant lost souls vainly attempting to impose their finite will upon an unyielding and sublime nature. Thus, despite his critics, Antonioni's films ruthlessly dissect the rich with a disapproving Marxist sensibility, even as his camerawork displays a fascination for the ornate settings of the wealthy class.
Ingmar Bergman once remarked that he admired some of Antonioni's films for their detached and sometimes dreamlike quality. His films tend to have spare plots and dialogue, and much of the screen time is spent lingering on certain settings--such as the ten-minute continuous take in
The Passenger, or the many scenes in
La Notte which show the female character simply wandering the city silently observing other people. His films are full of visual beauty, and are perfectly calculated to capture the alienation of the characters, often accomplished in a spare, slow-moving style.
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Gente del Po (
People of the Po, 1943)
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Nettezza urbana (
Dustmen, 1948)
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Oltre L'oblio (1948)
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Roma-Montevideo (1948)
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L'Amorosa menzogna (1949)
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Sette cani e un vestito (1949)
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Bomarzo (1949)
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Ragazze in Bianco (1949)
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Superstizione (1949)
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La villa dei mostri (
The House of Monsters, 1950)
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Cronaca di un amore (
Chronicle of a Love, 1950)
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La Funivia del Faloria (1950)
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I vinti (
The Vanquished) (1952)
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La signora senza camelie (
Camille Without Camellias) (1953)
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Tentato Suicido (
When Love Fails) - episode in
L'Amore in Città (Love in the City, 1953)
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Le amiche (
The Girl Friends, 1955)
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Il grido (
The Cry, 1957)
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L'avventura (
The Adventure) (1960)
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La notte (
The Night) (1961)
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L'eclisse (
The Eclipse) (1962)
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Il deserto rosso (
The Red Desert) (1964)
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I Tre volti (
The Three Faces of a Woman) (1965)
"Il provino" segment
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Blowup (1966)
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Zabriskie Point (1970)
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Chung Kuo (1972) (documentary)
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Professione: reporter (
The Passenger) (1975)
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Il Mistero di Oberwald (
The Mystery of Oberwald, 1980)
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Identificazione di una donna (
Identification of a Woman, 1982)
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Volcanoes and Carnival (1992)
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Beyond the Clouds (
Par Dela Les Nuages, 1995) (co-credited with
Wim Wenders)
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Eros (2004) -- segment "Il filo pericoloso delle cose" ("The Dangerous Thread of Things")
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Lo sguardo di Michelangelo (2004)
Tren de sombras (español)*
Antonioni Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)Unfinished Business: Screenplays, Scenarios, and Ideas, ISBN 156886051X.
Introduction by Thomas J. HarrisonBlow Up... and Other Exaggerations: The Autobiography of David Hemmings, by
David Hemmings. ISBN 186105789X.
My Time With Antonioni: The Diary of an Extraordinary Experience, by Wim Wenders. ISBN 0571200761.[This is a diary of the filming of Antonioni's
Beyond the Clouds. This is an small paperback edition. However, the French, German and Italian editions of this diary are expensive books with a great collection of beautifully printed pictures taken on the set by Wim Wenders and his wife. See the next item]
Avec Michelangelo Antonioni. Chronique d'un film, by Wim Wenders. ISBN 2851813692.[This is the French edition of Wenders' book, including color and black and white pictures taken on the set by Wim Wenders and his wife]
Antonioni, or, The Surface of the World, by Seymour Chatman. ISBN 0520053419.
The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni, by Peter Brunette. ISBN 0521389925.
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Michelangelo Antonioni Archive : Michelangelo Antonioni Archive
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M.Antonioni : Tribute site
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Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database*
Essay on La notte*
Michelangelo Antonioni @ pHinnWeb*
French Michelangelo Antonioni*
Autobiographical interview with/by Michelangelo Antonioni in Cahiers du Cinema from 1960
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Interview with Antonioni from 1969*
The Passenger Meets History, by Robert Koehler*
Eros: una pequeña metáfora en sí misma*
Review of The Passenger in its 2005 re-release. SlantMagazine.com*
Review of The Passenger in its 2005 re-release. Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times, 11/04/2005*
Review of The Passenger in its 2005 re-release. Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 10/28/2005*
Review of The Passenger in its 2005 re-release. Rex Reed, New York Observer, 10/27/2005
