Antonioni: S/D

Il Grido-Apparently this is the one Kael really loved. Kind of an atypical film from him, seeing as it focuses on the working classes. This is also the first time he didn’t do a basic genre film per se, although it does forecast downbeat 70s road movies like The Last Detail and Payday. Possibly Antonioni’s darkest and most brutal film. So SEARCH of course

Red Desert- My biggest problem with this one is Monica Vitti, who at times appeared to be trying too hard to sell her character as “crazy”. That said, the film is a dazzling collection of images and has a few great set pieces, like the story about the girl and the beach, the seduction scene, and especially the sequence in the shack. Starting out silly, and developing into a little nightmare, I wouldn’t have minded if they had stretched that whole sequence into a movie of it’s own (ala The Exterminating Angel). This film is kida like Antonioni scooping Juliet of The Spirits, but better. SEARCH, particularly if you get a chance to see it in a theatre.

La Notte- I’ve come around a little on this. There was a speaker beforehand who mentioned that some considered this film to be Antonioni’s answer to La Dolce Vita, which makes sense, given the participation of Mastrianni and a few parallel scenes. I had forgotten how great the party sequence (which takes up the last half of the film) was, and Vitti’s performance was one of her most appealing. Moreau’s walk around town seemed like filler though, although overall her performance is fine (besides, who else could convey her character’s highs and lows as eloquently?) SEARCH.

This series has been quite something so far. This week brings L´Eclisse, Blow-Up (both of which I like very much), and a rerun of Red Desert.

I have Beyond the Clouds outta the library (I liked it when it came out).

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, September 6, 2007 1:55 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i took this out of my library & couldnt even get through it; something abt john malkovich as a stand-in 'director' character having a sex scene w/ sophie marceau is really o_O 2 me (tho i guess this storyline was wenders creation?)

the making-of doc on the dvd is p good tho, looks like everyone had a ball making it so idk good 4 them~

something abt john malkovich as a stand-in 'director' character having a sex scene w/ sophie marceau is really o_O 2 me (tho i guess this storyline was wenders creation?)

I remember reading a comment on another forum re:this scene w/the poster having the same problem until they remembered that IRL at the time Marceau was still involved with Andrzej Zulawski, who was a bit older & ergo made that scenario in the film more plausible or at least not such a stretch for Marceau to perform.

That making of doc is wonderful. Mastroianni is so animated, it's kind of a shock he'd be gone not long after.

I loved L'Avventura, was disappointed by La Notte and L'eclisse even more so, and really didn't like Blow-Up. Where should I watch next, if anything?

ha ha *What

Red Desert, or maybe one of the early ones.

Oh, and The Passenger!

Identification of a Woman was mesmerizing... gonna check out Red Desert and The Passenger asap.

S: L'avventura, Red Desert, The Passenger, Identification of a Woman

D: Blow-Up, La Notte, L'Eclisse

tbd: Zabriskie Point + all the others