tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post8308374608568903294..comments2023-10-11T03:42:59.033-07:00Comments on The Criterion Contraption: #98: L'AvventuraMatthew Dessemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-85382677112207279562014-01-21T15:18:31.502-08:002014-01-21T15:18:31.502-08:00Hey man, great post. Keep writing. Hey man, great post. Keep writing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-11047514892337609152012-06-10T12:06:23.347-07:002012-06-10T12:06:23.347-07:00Anonymous,
It's been a while since I wrote th...Anonymous,<br /><br />It's been a while since I wrote this and I don't remember the commentary well, but it's entirely possible that I didn't credit Youngblood and should have. I'll revise.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-78945511968543951362012-05-13T12:10:25.219-07:002012-05-13T12:10:25.219-07:00You make two points--one about the relationship be...You make two points--one about the relationship between Lea Masari and the actor playing her father and their relationships to surrounding architecture, and one about the tableau of several actors on the island that approaches self-parody--that Youngblood in his commentary also makes. Even if you arrived at your observations independently, it would behoove you to acknowledge his prior comments.<Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-4664035736211118512010-12-16T08:51:36.040-08:002010-12-16T08:51:36.040-08:00Antonioni's films for me are like a voyeuristi...Antonioni's films for me are like a voyeuristic experience; vicariously living through characters' experiences. I agree with an earlier comment about L'Avventura being more like a Hollywood version of an Antonioni work, but I find it to have an interesting balance of the existential formality of L'Ecclise and a more structured plot development of "Hollywood" type Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14738708073742140635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-52604703630198347412010-08-30T13:34:57.298-07:002010-08-30T13:34:57.298-07:00Sid,
Could you be more specific? What's your...Sid,<br /><br />Could you be more specific? What's your take on these characters?Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-54595713209367383562010-08-30T02:10:53.344-07:002010-08-30T02:10:53.344-07:00Great essay on the camera techniques.
But the cha...Great essay on the camera techniques.<br /><br />But the character analysis misses by miles (specially Claudia and Sandro). Least you should be open to ambiguities in the camera narations like these.Sidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-46369161082549599962010-07-10T09:46:25.532-07:002010-07-10T09:46:25.532-07:00After reading your entire blog, this felt like a g...After reading your entire blog, this felt like a good space to wonder.<br /><br />How on earth will you ever finish such a heroic task? I'm rooting for you, but Criterion is still producing DVDs. The list is getting longer!<br /><br />Regarding L'Avventura, I might want to see it, but then again, I might not. It just seems like a dead genre of the past, and I'm not sure I would Whifferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00958746417746671614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-4701347524078194642010-07-04T18:58:47.638-07:002010-07-04T18:58:47.638-07:00Actually, truth be told, younger directors probabl...Actually, truth be told, younger directors probably got the last idea i mentioned from the French new wave, but even still, Red Desert is an expressionist masterpiece.<br /><br />As for Gus Van Sant, he is not on Antonioni's level. No American art film director is in my view. They tend to imitate the style but they are light on content, and even the style isn't as complex or refined. <Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-19470130047013934782010-07-04T18:39:07.130-07:002010-07-04T18:39:07.130-07:00If Mann did pick up ideas from Antonioni, he used ...If Mann did pick up ideas from Antonioni, he used them rather superficially. The point of Mann's films is not alienation or estragement, even if they are themes in the background.<br /><br />I'd say a guy like Bela Tarr is very influenced by Antonioni, but he is more sentimental. That sentiment, combined with long shots, probably comes from Tarkovsky.<br /><br />Theo Angelopoulos is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-16845924259842190652010-06-29T09:41:05.795-07:002010-06-29T09:41:05.795-07:00La Dolce Vita- Federico Fellini, whose films are a...La Dolce Vita- Federico Fellini, whose films are anything but a windshield smearAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-3023294504999657642010-06-28T11:09:20.860-07:002010-06-28T11:09:20.860-07:00Jeffrey,
That's a great quote. Better to spa...Jeffrey,<br /><br />That's a great quote. Better to spawn interesting failures than dull successes, I think.<br /><br />Shawn,<br /><br /><em>Mullholland Dr.</em> evokes <em>L'Avventura</em> in the scene where Betty remakes Rita to look like her; compare the shot of Claudia trying on the dark-haired wig (part of a progression—she tries on her friend's shirt, tries on her boyfriend, &Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-6527050577595629352010-06-28T06:01:50.393-07:002010-06-28T06:01:50.393-07:00I don't get your Lynch comparison. Are you say...I don't get your Lynch comparison. Are you saying , with MD, Lynch also is making a point about a lost golden age? Its not clear. Im not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so the Gilda poster doesnt help. Your text implies where it should explain your point. Maybe im not getting it because I still don't understand MD. It's one of my favorite films, but I have loved it without taking Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-55392420656207741402010-06-05T15:00:11.948-07:002010-06-05T15:00:11.948-07:00One of the best quotes I've seen in the last c...One of the best quotes I've seen in the last couple of years went something like this: 'Antonioni is the difference between Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, between Spartacus and 2001, between Breathless and Contempt.' So, I agree with the idea that Antonioni's influence on other filmmakers has probably been more important than his individual films themselves.<br /Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03722180261798235298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-61466474297718974162010-06-04T17:22:22.799-07:002010-06-04T17:22:22.799-07:00JJ: Sure, well, it first occurred to me watching w...JJ: Sure, well, it first occurred to me watching while watching ZABRISKIE POINT and THE PASSENGER. (which DO have explosions, shootings and sort of a car chase! :) Seriously, the images of Californian urban sprawl and the LAPD struck me as similar to HEAT, COLLATERAL, THE INSIDER....<br /><br />As far as visual elements, the way Mann photographs modern cities in MANHUNTER, THIEF, HEAT, THE Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-66327907411543922032010-06-04T13:53:33.534-07:002010-06-04T13:53:33.534-07:00Anonymous,
I wouldn't have made the Michael M...Anonymous,<br /><br />I wouldn't have made the Michael Mann connection, mostly because the thought of Antonioni shooting an action sequence is completely unbelievable. Are there visual elements in Mann you'd point to as being particularly Antonioni-like, or a specific film you're thinking of?Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-59687741639741276432010-06-04T13:51:13.177-07:002010-06-04T13:51:13.177-07:00Legato,
The deep focus in L'Avventura is craz...Legato,<br /><br />The deep focus in <em>L'Avventura</em> is crazy good and underrated, I think.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-78391302800010790292010-06-04T13:43:19.812-07:002010-06-04T13:43:19.812-07:00Stuart,
L'Avventura bears rewatching but it&#...Stuart,<br /><br /><em>L'Avventura</em> bears rewatching but it's pretty stubborn in its refusal to entertain.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-70343850058890848492010-06-04T13:28:55.705-07:002010-06-04T13:28:55.705-07:00Mathias,
Thanks, man, glad you liked it. I think...Mathias,<br /><br />Thanks, man, glad you liked it. I think the next National Review Cruise should go from Cyprus to Gaza City.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-31256193992172876952010-06-04T13:26:21.321-07:002010-06-04T13:26:21.321-07:00Cub Pup,
I did watch the commentary, and found it...Cub Pup,<br /><br />I did watch the commentary, and found it pretty insightful. I'll admit that I didn't pay too much attention to the discussion of portals, because it seems like many commentary tracks for many films point that out (<em>I Know Where I'm Going!</em> certainly does). It makes sense that Antonioni would have used that trope more systematically and meticulously than Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1828495715285689612010-06-04T13:20:44.931-07:002010-06-04T13:20:44.931-07:00Mark,
Yes, I liked the commentary as well--and th...Mark,<br /><br />Yes, I liked the commentary as well--and the <em>Psycho</em> comparison is apt, in that I can't imagine what it would have been like to watch the film with no expectations. Or with the wrong expectations, since judging from the trailer, this was marketed in the U.S. as something along the lines of <em>...And God Created Woman</em>, just another European sex romp.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-50393150898927440362010-06-04T13:12:11.147-07:002010-06-04T13:12:11.147-07:00Anonymous,
My impression was that you are right o...Anonymous,<br /><br />My impression was that you are right on both counts: Nicholson's impression while working with him was that Antonioni had a high opinion of him, but in fact, at least judging from the way he wrote about actors in the essay, Antonioni did not.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-16122064427143091152010-06-04T10:06:25.091-07:002010-06-04T10:06:25.091-07:00JJ sez: Yeah, Lynch was clearly influenced by it, ...JJ sez: Yeah, Lynch was clearly influenced by it, but I'd argue Antonioni's deepest influence was on Micheal Mann. Who combined his modernist visuals and sense of urban alienation with slam-bam, hard-boiled noir characters and dialouge, and huge kinetic action setpieces--to great artistic dividend.<br /><br />And I suspect Gordon Willis watched a few Antonioni films too before his glory Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-75274957893274481062010-06-03T10:31:57.970-07:002010-06-03T10:31:57.970-07:00A not actually funny story that seems to fit into ...A not actually funny story that seems to fit into Antonioni's encroachment of modernity. I only first saw this movie a year or so ago and I was expecting this very tough formal style considering his reputation, you should read Bergman's comments. But as I watched it I thought the style was down right Hollywood and didn't notice much of the extraordinary things in his camera work. Thelegatonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-21507149259175129762010-06-03T10:13:35.606-07:002010-06-03T10:13:35.606-07:00For whatever reason I wasn't crazy about L'...For whatever reason I wasn't crazy about L'Avventura when I watched it. Normally I can willingly sacrifice entertainment value for artistic value, but Antonioni's genius didn't really hit me until the final shot, at which point I realized I needed to re-watch it (still haven't done so unfortunately). I also much prefer L'Eclisse, which is a top-ten film of mine, mystery meathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15845132454718808261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-18530272751450883332010-06-03T08:39:40.344-07:002010-06-03T08:39:40.344-07:00Sometimes you depress me, Matt. Because I'll b...Sometimes you depress me, Matt. Because I'll be all happy, and doing what I'm doing, and then read this, and read <i>this</i>: "Maybe all he saw to do was catalog wreckage. But what wreckage, and what a catalog."<br /><br />And wonder... <i>There's a good chance I'll never write anything that good</i><br /><br />But as I was saying: great stuff. (I LOVED the National Matthiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09619696729617824184noreply@blogger.com