Michelangelo Antonioni, R.I.P.

[dirac]

Michelangelo Antonioni has died at age 94.

It was all part of the director’s design. As Mr. Antonioni explained, “The after-effects of an emotion scene, it had occurred to me, might have meaning, too, both on the actor and on the psychological advancement of the character.”

Mr. Antonioni broke other conventions, too. Many of his cuts, scene lengths and camera movements were highly idiosyncratic, and he frequently posed his characters in a highly formalized way. He employed point-of-view shots only rarely, a practice that helped erect an emotional shield between the audience and his puzzling characters.

[papeetepatrick]

I've always loved L'Avventura and Blow-Up and to some degree Red Desert. The Jack Nicholson The Passenger was very impressive and eerie as well. Liked Zabriskie Point considerably less. I'm going to read this obituary and others, as I know much less about him than Fellini and Pasolini.

Incredible he and Bergman died the same day, though.

"he frequently posed his characters in a highly formalized way. He employed point-of-view shots only rarely, a practice that helped erect an emotional shield between the audience and his puzzling characters."

Yes, and I remember Larry McMurtry's little book Film-Flam Man, in which he talks a great deal about his own screenplay for Last Picture Show, having a lot of trouble with Antonioni. He said Alan Rudolph was influenced by Antonioni in Welcome to L.A.--true, he hated that and I loved it. I also wonder if Cassavetes might have been strongly influenced by Antonioni, especially for Faces. I know a number of people who don't like Antonioni, but I can't see that he's as pretentious as they claim, at least not the best films.

[bart]

Incredible he and Bergman died the same day, though.

Yes, that actually seems a little eerie. They were so different. But if you were being introduced to the world of European film in the early 60s, you tended to see the 2 of them in the same series. I felt (at the time) that I was receiving a kind of emotional education about European style, sophistication, lust, ennui, and hopelessness from L'Aventura, Il Notte, Eclipse, and Red Desert. Not to mention the luxuriously slow pacing. The images were grand; the stories not so engaging.

I didn't see much after Blow Up, but I've been thinking of the unforgettably beautiful and compelling images of women in these films: Vitti, Moreau, the very young Redgrave.

[dirac]

Incredible he and Bergman died the same day, though.

Rather like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

I cannot say I feel the same sense of loss that I do regarding Bergman. But Antonioni was a true innovator and even if you don’t like him, others you do like learned from him and so he’s unavoidable in the way Godard is unavoidable. I admired L’Avventura very much and I still think it holds up well. La Notte had its moments, but L’Eclisse and Red Desert bored and irritated me, although the latter is lovely to look at. (A major part of the problem for me was Monica Vitti, a strong contender IMO for the Most Boring Screen Beauty award.)

I haven’t seen Zabriskie Point in many years, but I recall it as being not so bad, although my expectations were low to begin with. I didn’t see the point to Blow-Up, thought it was much ado about nothing, although it was pretty.

[papeetepatrick]

(A major part of the problem for me was Monica Vitti, a strong contender IMO for the Most Boring Screen Beauty award.)

I plead guilty to vapidity and superficial taste...I loved her attitude of laziness and found her voluptuous in the extreme, with a version of Mediterranianism comparable to Sophia Loren and Melina Mercouri. I probably thought that meant her acting was good--wouldn't put it past me.

Thanks for mentioning about Adams and Jefferson, dirac., I didn't know that.

Blow-up may have been mainly about Swinging London, Vanessa Redgrave, Veruschka, and David Hemmings and Sarah Miles. This could definitely be called a form of much ado about nothing, but the decadence was done up in a pretty nicely stylized way, I thought.

[SanderO]

He may not have been everyone's cuppa tea, but then again who is? He did some very provocative films which I enjoyed at the time. I haven't re visited them. But once again... thanks Mr Antonioni. RIP.