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La Notte

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Posted on November 27, 2020 at 19:33:05
Victor Khomenko
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 I don't know how many times we have seen it over the years... but each time we are both riveted to that gorgeous black and white screen.

Everything about it is superb - the scrips, the actors, the director, the camera, the mood.


 

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A perfect film--- but the other films forming the trilogy also are. , posted on November 28, 2020 at 06:32:00
tinear
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Location: Kansas City, KS
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 Have you seen, "Il Grido?" It immediately preceded. The cinematography (black and white, of course) is worthwhile on its own. I think I also mentioned earlier how good, "Story of a Love Affair," is? Lucia Bosé is iconically beautiful.

 

RE: A perfect film--- but the other films forming the trilogy also are. , posted on November 28, 2020 at 06:56:11
Victor Khomenko
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 I am sure we have seen Il Grido, as we have a long love affair with Antonioni. All the trilogy films are very deer to us, and we try not to abuse their company. So we decided to watch L'Eclisse tonight, but I am not sure about L'Avventura, as I hold it in an almost religious respect - I almost have to get ready for it.

Monica Vitti is a very old love of ours, I think our first encounter with her was in "La ragazza con la pistola", that was shown widely in USSR.


 

Vitti was in all three of those films--- but isn't it strange she still, posted on November 28, 2020 at 09:54:00
tinear
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Location: Kansas City, KS
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 is relatively unknown? I watched, "L'Avventura" a few weeks ago. So many wonderful and strange moments--- like when the lover confronts the man painting in front of the church.

Mastroiani, Delon, Ferzetti--- the last not anywhere near the reputation of the other two, but for this and many other roles, he was perfectly cast as the macho, well-educated, and passionate lead. Later on, did you recognize him in Sergio Leone's, "Once Upon a Time in the West?" He was the railroad baron!

 

Binging on Antonioni, posted on November 29, 2020 at 10:57:29
Victor Khomenko
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 It is very hard to move on, leaving him behind. Last night it was L'Eclisse, and tonight I am not yet sure, most likely the L'Avventura, one of my old time favorites. I have always loved the De Chirico paintings, and that film gives me ample opportunity to relive them.

I really don't know why people did not madly fall in love with Monica after the Trilogy - she is mesmerizing there.

Next probably Il Grido, and then whatever else the Criterion has. Plus there is La Ragazza Con La Pistola on Youtube!

I think the only Antonioni film that did not work for me was Identification of a Woman, but perhaps we should give it another try.


 

"Identification of a Woman:" no one's perfect! "Le Amiche," however, I can, posted on November 29, 2020 at 14:02:53
tinear
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Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
 heartily recommend for early Antonioni!

I think MUBI is now featuring "Girl with a Pistol:" an armed and dangerous Vitti? I can't resist.

I have to mention Dino Risi's all-but-forgotten masterpiece starring Vittorio Gassman, a very young Trintignant, and... the always charming Catherine Spaak. "Il Sorpass" is a gem--- with the bonus of having a Lancia as co-star...

 

Il Sorpasso, posted on November 29, 2020 at 14:52:25
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 I remember that one, we should see it again... and also the original Profumo di donna, the one so shamelessly copied by Al Pacino. As usually is the case the original is far better... even not being a masterpiece... Gassman is great there. No tango... sorry! :)


 

Girl with a Pistol... , posted on November 29, 2020 at 14:55:12
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 My wife and I were dating at that time, and I just returned from a long excursion, so I called her... we chatted and she mentioned that movie playing in theaters... so we went. It is a great fun Sicilian comedy with young Monica.


 

BTW..., posted on November 29, 2020 at 14:56:22
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 My wife is sending you her regards... she remembers you well.


 

So why should we see it?, posted on November 30, 2020 at 15:49:57
Billy Wonka
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Contributor
  Since: October 15, 2013
 Is it about a garage mechanic, a nun, a corporate titan, or a burned-out electrical engineer?

Heaping adjectives is not advancing your cause. Be informative, not lyrical or poetic.



 

But... I have no cause, posted on December 1, 2020 at 06:25:43
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 I am not a plot man... that can be easily found on line. To me the individual reactions are more important.


 

These two in the queue, Red Desert last night, posted on December 1, 2020 at 06:37:08
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 This was the last Antonioni's work featuring Monica Vitti, and his first color film.

I have to admit, the word "color" scares me when considering the director's B&W films - given their perfection it is natural to see the color as an unnecessary embellishment. And to me it was a distraction. I thought the film lost some directness.

I know it has received plenty of acclaim... but personally I am reluctant to grout it with the other three. To me they tend to stand alone.


 

It expresses the alienation that the upper-middle and , posted on December 1, 2020 at 14:24:53
tinear
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Location: Kansas City, KS
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 upper classes felt, post-WWII. Economy rebounding, consumerism rampant--- but marriage, the bedrock of bourgeois society and an accurate gauge of social health, was floundering. Also, Italy went all in to fascism--- and after that catastrophe, there was a collapse in general mores. After all, Italy was an extremely Catholic country--- and the Church had a go-along, get-along relationship with it.

Two great European actresses, Jeanne Moreau (the wife) and Monica Vitti (the interest), perfectly embody this cynical result, with Marcello Mastroianni providing the male role, linking the two women's worlds.

But as anyone familiar with Antonioni knows, it is the style--- the cinematography, editing, and music--- that tell the story: he is the most visual of great directors.

 

Il Sorpasso - a fantastic find!, posted on December 1, 2020 at 19:12:50
Victor Khomenko
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Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 We enjoyed it totally.


 

Yeah, the other three are a trilogy. "Red Dessert," however, , posted on December 2, 2020 at 09:07:12
tinear
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Location: Kansas City, KS
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 I think can be forgiven for... giving meaning to "Red!"

The sickening colors added a lot to the feeling of the film, I'd say--- and can you imagine his future works, "The Passenger" or "Blow-up" in B&W?

Those scenes of the partiers on the dock are about as decadent a picture of society as I can picture--- Pasolini w/out the ultra-vulgarity and therefore more "approachable."

 

Yeah, the other three are a trilogy. "Red Desert," however, , posted on December 2, 2020 at 09:07:49
tinear
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Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
 I think can be forgiven for... giving meaning to "Red!"

The sickening colors added a lot to the feeling of the film, I'd say--- and can you imagine his future works, "The Passenger" or "Blow-up" in B&W?

Those scenes of the partiers on the dock are about as decadent a picture of society as I can picture--- Pasolini w/out the ultra-vulgarity and therefore more "approachable."

 

Gassman: in "Il Sorpasso" he creates a timeless character, an, posted on December 2, 2020 at 09:11:01
tinear
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Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
 embodiment of the Italian man, a stereotype, certainly, but a living and breathing one.

 

I kept thinking Bunuel, posted on December 2, 2020 at 10:53:12
Victor Khomenko
Manufacturer

Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 The Discrete Charm, with their endless walks along the deserted road.

Now that you mentioned it... I dunno... A B&W Passenger? Heck, you can easily try that with modern technology! :) Might be intriguing. I have a superb Sony projector that I never use, and 110" screen... I think there is a B&W setting there.


 

Did you watch Ettole Scola's commentary on it?, posted on December 2, 2020 at 10:54:47
Victor Khomenko
Manufacturer

Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 If not, definitely listen, it is very interesting.


 

Tks--- will find (I bought the disc years ago 'cause it wasn't available , posted on December 2, 2020 at 11:23:02
tinear
Audiophile

Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
 streaming but for a little while ago).

 

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