Eclisse

UPC: 037429202623

Studio: Criterion

Summary: 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

Category: Drama

Awards: Special Jury Prize – Cannes Film Festival

Features: New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary by Richard Pe?a, 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

Eclisse

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 03/15/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 125 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Subtitles: English

Chapters: Side #1 -- L'Eclisse
1. Credits [2:10]
2. Break-Up [16:40]
3. Stock Exchange [7:24]
4. The Pull of Africa [10:10]
5. Dogs on the Loose [5:23]
6. Verona [8:04]
7. The Market Crashes [14:18]
8. Aftermath [1:00]
9. Concern for Mother [4:54]
10. Distressed Clients [3:40]
11. Stolen Car [6:37]
12. The Drunk's End [4:05]
13. An Advance Denied [3:13]
14. Afternoon Rendezvous [5:54]
15. Vittoria Consents [5:20]
16. The Day After [9:25]
17. "And the Day After..." [2:06]
18. Eclipse [7:46]
19. Color Bars [7:35]
Side #2 -- L'Eclisse - Bonus Features
1. Filmmaking Philosophy [3:41]
2. Beginnings [4:45]
3. Searching for a Style [2:57]
4. Monica Vitti/L'Avventura [6:11]
5. La Notte [2:15]
6. L'Eclisse [2:10]
7. Red Desert [7:21]
8. The Late Sixties: International Success [9:03]
9. The Seventies: New Frontiers [3:13]
10. The Eighties: New Challenges [2:55]
11. Reflections on Cinema [6:30]
12. Ceaseless Creativity [4:43]

Jason Birchmeier

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

Cast and Crew: Cyrus Elias  Actor 
Louis Seigner  Actor 
Michelangelo Antonioni  Director 
Michelangelo Antonioni  Screenwriter 
Tonino Guerra  Screenwriter 
Raymond Hakim  Producer 
Robert Hakim  Producer 
Elio Bartolini  Screenwriter 
Giovanni Fusco  Composer (Music Score) 
Monica Vitti  Actor 
Alain Delon  Actor 
Lilla Brignone  Actor 
Francisco Rabal  Actor 
Rosanna Rory  Actor 

Country: France,Italy