antonioni

I haven't seen the early stuff in eons.

Forgot to look for this. I did notice the first time Jack says "What the fuck are you doing with me?" (under the tree), it's clearly dubbed as his lips aren't moving, which suggests it was done to make the line resonate in the last hotel scene.

Second time I'd seen The Passenger (first since mid to late '80s); hadn't remembered hardly anything but the famed next-to-last shot ... I do think it stands with Blowup at a minimum; i'll probably work my way backwardish through his oeuvre now. Nicholson's probably never given a more somber and natural performance, even in his '69-75 Arthouse Bogart run (which this capped). I though Maria Schneider was speaking English phonetically, but her movements seem similarly stilted (when she puts her hand on Jack's shoulder, elbow stiff).

My brain was asleep early on -- what was Jack burning in his yard in the flashback, besides tree limbs, if anything?

I thought that was the reflection of the assassain.

I see Ebert upgraded the pan from his original review, so he is getting smarter (in some cases).

Still, I wanna see it again.

Tracer Hand otm. The filmmaker can't expect us to do his work for him PLUS give us the most somnolent raw materials.

i don't think it's a boring film, and i also don't tend to try to remake "boring" into a superlative, a positive quality. certain films may displaced my interest from the sort of things you ususally focus on in films (character psychology/goals, etc.) onto other things (milieu, intricacies of visual and sound design) but that doesn't make them boring, just compelling in different ways from the norm.

ok, well i'm not sure what needs to be filled in as to why he "does what he does." it's pretty clear at the beginning that he's just had it with his assignment, and his life. as for the identity he assumes, if everything was revealed as or during he assumed it, it'd be an incredibly boring movie. most (tho not all) about the dead guy is revealed to the viewer in the same way that nicholson's character receives it, and thus, there's a story (a thriller, even).

the schneider character is a total blank in terms of psychology--she doesn't even have a name, a backstory, anything.

not entirely, she claims she's an architecture student. but it isn't really that important, she's basically the "mysterious female" type as in most thrillers/mysteries.

we can choose to fill in such blanks in many ways (or to interpret the blanks as having some greater metaphysical, political, etc. meaning) but the fact that the blanks are flaunted so obviously perhaps makes such activity seem a bit pointless, as far as a longtime critic is concerned.

there isn't much to "interpret," there's a lot there in the film. i think if antonioni had spelled out things more, it'd be a much weaker movie.

anyway, yeah, Passenger making the rounds finally. Jack finally let it loose again .. Saw it two weeks ago, after only seeing it previously on VHS .. absolutely blown away. so glad to finally see this sucker on the big screen (only have "I Vinti", "Identification of a Woman" and the China documentary left to see before I die!!) Started re-reading the Rohdie bfi book. too late right now to read this thread .. but .. The Passenger, god yes

http://www.sonyclassics.com/thepassenger/index_content.html

Also, Jack Nicholson reading two articles by Antonioni on L'Avventura's DVD is a hoot, esp the one that amounts to "A thinking actor is my enemy." (Jack haw-haws this during brief Passenger reminiscences.)

Dave Kehr in the NY Times:

Eros

This three-part film on sexual themes with segments by Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni received mixed reviews when it was released theatrically last April, but its DVD release is remarkable for the one great extra it contains: "Michelangelo Eye to Eye," a 19-minute short directed by Mr. Antonioni and included here out of the sheer goodness of Warner Home Video's heart.

Largely silent, with the exception of some choral music by Palestrina that rises slowly during the film's last five minutes, "Eye to Eye" depicts the 93-year-old Italian filmmaker (effectively rendered mute by a stroke in 1985) as he pays a visit to a work by another Michelangelo: the sculptor's marble statue of Moses, created for the tomb of Pope Julius II. No words are pronounced, and none need to be as Mr. Antonioni's slowly moving camera caresses the curves and textures of the monumental artwork while it closes in on his own aging, almost translucent flesh. Crosscutting between his own clouded eyes and the frozen, eternal regard of the sculpture, the director establishes a dialogue across time. The artist ages; the art does not. This wise, reverberating piece contains unspoken volumes. $27.98, R.

http://bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=83

I was kind of amazed that BAM sold out the big theater at 7 on a Sunday, and nearly did at 9:30.