L' Eclisse [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In this challenging drama by Michelangelo Antonioni, his characteristic long, significant periods of silence punctuate the message that people just cannot seem to communicate with each other. Capping off Antonioni's previous two films (L'avventura and La Notte) in much the same style, this tale involves a woman, Vittoria (Monica Vitti), who has just suffered the break-up of an imperfect relationship with a staunch intellectual (Francisco Rabal). Piero (Alain Delon), a stockbroker, casts his romantic gaze in Vittoria's direction and the woman gradually relents and they begin a tentative affair. There is much to appreciate in this man who is not overly intellectual and is blessedly free of complications, and the same can be said of Vittoria. Yet their innermost fears play upon both of them in ways that go against an honest expression of their love -- and against a lasting relationship. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Audio commentary by Richard Pena, program director of the film society of Lincoln Center, in New York
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Michelangelo Antonioni: The Eye That Changed Cinema
  • Elements of Landscape
  • 32 page booklet featuring new essays by film critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Gilberto Perez, along with reprinted excerpts from Antonioni's own writings about his work

AWARDS

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Special Jury Prize - 1962

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Monica Vitti - Vittoria
       Alain Delon - Piero
       Lilla Brignone - Vittoria's Mother
       Francisco Rabal - Riccardo
       Rosanna Rory - Anita
       Cyrus Elias - Intoxicated Man (uncredited)
       Louis Seigner - Ercoli

• Director:

  Michelangelo Antonioni

• Producer:

  Raymond Hakim, Robert Hakim

• Screenwriter:

  Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, Elio Bartolini

• Cinematographer:

  Gianni Di Venanzo

• Composer (Music Score):

  Giovanni Fusco

• Editor:

  Eraldo Da Roma

• Production Designer:

  Piero Poletto

• Costume Designer:

  Bice Brichetto

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Claudio Maielli

• First Assistant Director:

  Franco Indovina, Gianni Arduini

REVIEW:

• Michelangelo Antonioni furthers the ambitious efforts of his two preceding films with L'eclisse, making it a fitting conclusion to his early-'60s trilogy. With this in mind, the film's motifs seem familiar -- again Antonioni employs a cold, unromantic view of life and love centered on a dubious heroine. Yet even if L'eclisse doesn't explore any new territory, thematically or technically, one cannot deny its power. If anything, Antonioni refines his themes and techniques for this film, making Monica Vitti's central character undeniably infatuating, and complementing his lumbering pacing with a wealth of meticulously composed images. In fact, the way Antonioni makes such a fraught film of such an arid script makes L'eclisse his most impressive yet. Still, this same gift for sublime nuance is admittedly challenging, almost too challenging for its own good: masterfully crafted or not, the long sequences and barren plot test one's patience, particularly when the emphasis shifts away from Vitti's male encounters. The film's merits far eclipse these minor complaints, however. The opening sequence -- when a confused Vitti struggles to escape Francisco Rabal's obsessive character -- sets the precedent for the remainder of the film, with its unsure characters, desperate aura, and hovering ambience. The film's conclusion operates similarly, communicating its confusion lyrically, body language contradicting speech; it becomes even more striking when Antonioni employs a final haunting silence, ending the film with an epic, despair-laden montage sequence. Given its reduced narrative and obsessive emphasis on Vitti's enigmatic sense of sadness, L'eclisse's strength -- its ambiguity -- is also its most frustrating characteristic. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi