Michelangelo Antonioni (born September 29, 1912 in Ferrara, Italy) is an Italian film director whose films are widely considered as some of the most influential in film aesthetic. September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Ferrara is a town, an archiepiscopal see and a province in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, capital city of the province of Ferrara. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ...

Life

He graduated in economics at the University of Bologna. He reached Rome in 1940 where he attended specifical studies at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Cinecittà. Here he met some of the artists with whom he cooperated in the future years; among them Roberto Rossellini. The University of Bologna (Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is the university of Bologna, in Italy. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome Italy. ... Roberto Rossellini (May 8, 1906 - June 3, 1977), was an Italian film director. ...

Work

Antonioni's first major success was L'Avventura (1960), which was followed by La Notte (1961) and L'Eclisse (1962), which comprised a trilogy on the theme of alienation. His first color film "Il Deserto Rosso" (1964), also explores modernist themes of alienation forming what is often referred to as a tetrology. Actress Monica Vitti appeared in the four films of the tetrology, portraying disconnected female characters struggling to adjust to the isolating conditions of modernity. His first English-language film, Blowup (1966), was also a major success. Though it dealt with the challenging theme of the impossibility of objective perception, it became popular, partially because it was sexually explicit by the current standards of film, and partially because it featured Vanessa Redgrave. Zabriskie Point (1970), his first film set in America, was much less successful, even though its soundtrack incorporated such popular artists as Pink Floyd (who wrote new music specifically for the film), the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones. The Passenger (1975), which starred Jack Nicholson, while critically lauded, was not particularly successful either. Though he continues to direct, Antonioni has never recaptured the wide appeal of his earlier work. In 1995, however, he was awarded an Academy Award for lifetime achievement. Vanessa Redgrave, CBE (born January 30, 1937) is a British actress, member of the Redgrave acting dynasty, and human rights activist. ... Pink Floyd (formed in 1965 in Cambridge, England) is an English rock music band, noted for progressive compositions, philosophic lyrics, sonic experimentation, cover art and elaborate live shows. ... Bold text The Grateful Dead was an American psychedelia-influenced rock band. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Jack Nicholson at Cannes, (2001) Jack Nicholson (born John Joseph Nicholson on April 22, 1937, New York City) is a highly successful, iconic American method actor known for his often dark, comedic portrayals of neurotic characters. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Themes

He described himself as a Marxist intellectual, but some authors advance some doubts about his effective adherence to Marxism. In contrast with his contemporaries, including the neorealists and also Federico Fellini, Ermanno Olmi and Pier Paolo Pasolini, whose stories generally dealt with the lives of the working class and the misfits and outcasts of society, Antonioni's most notable films revolved around the elite and the urban bourgeois. However, contrary to what these critics say, his films depict his wealthy characters as empty and soulless, rather than romanticizing them. La Notte depicts the disintegration of a wealthy married couple who can no longer connect meaningfully; L'Avventura depicts the story of a woman who goes missing during a wealthy yachting trip, and whose fiance and best friend subsequently develop a sexual relationship under the pretence of looking for her, but are unable to develop genuine love for each other; Blowup depicts the superficial world of a 1960s fashion photographer in the "mod" scene, who in the end proves indifferent when called upon to report a potential murder. In a similar vein, Zabriskie Point is often interpreted as a criticism of American capitalism, and, though seemingly critical of bourgeois American hippies, sympathetically depicts their desire for escape. Antonioni's films also tend to be sensitive to the beauty of landscapes--such as the California desert in Zabriskie Point, or the rocky islands in L'Avventura--which adds not only to the visually stunning quality of his work, but also to his depiction of the rich as arrogant lost souls vainly attempting to impose their finite will upon an unyielding and sublime nature. Thus, despite his critics, Antonioni's films ruthlessly dissect the rich with a disapproving Marxist sensibility, even as his camerawork displays a fascination for the ornate settings of the wealthy class. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Federico Fellini (January 20, 1920 – October 31, 1993) was an Italian film-maker and director and one of the key film auteurs of the second half of the twentieth century. ... Ermanno Olmi ( born July 24, 1931 ) is a noted italian director. ... Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (March 5, 1922, Bologna-November 2, 1975, Ostia, Rome) was an Italian poet, intellectual, film director, and writer. ... Hippies (singular hippie or sometimes hippy) were members of the 1960s counterculture movement who adopted a communal or nomadic lifestyle, renounced corporate nationalism and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, and/or Native American religious culture, and were otherwise at odds with traditional middle class Western values. ...

Style

Ingmar Bergman once remarked that he admired some of Antonioni's films for their detached and sometimes dreamlike quality. His films tend to have very spare plots and dialogue, and much of the screen time is spent lingering on certain settings--such as the ten-minute continuous take in The Passenger, or the many scenes in La Notte which show the female character simply wandering the city silently observing other people. Though his films are full of visual beauty, and are perfectly calculated to capture the alienation of the characters, the spare, slow-moving style by which this is accomplished is off-putting to some viewers. Ingmar Bergman ▶ (help· info) (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA in Unicode notation) (born July 14, 1918) is a Swedish stage and film director who is one of the key film auteurs of the second half of the twentieth century. ...

Filmography

• Gente del Po (People of the Po, 1943)
• Nettezza urbana (Dustmen, 1948)
• Oltre L'oblio (1948)
• Roma-Montevideo (1948)
• L'Amorosa menzogna (1949)
• Sette cani e un vestito (1949)
• Bomarzo (1949)
• Ragazze in Bianco (1949)
• Superstizione (1949)
• La villa dei mostri (The House of Monsters, 1950)
• Cronaca di un amore (Chronicle of a Love, 1950)
• La Funivia del Faloria (1950)
• I vinti (The Vanquished, 1952)
• La signora senza camelie (Camille Without Camellias, 1953)
• Tentato Suicido (When Love Fails) - episode in L'Amore in Città (Love in the City, 1953)
• Le amiche (The Girl Friends, 1955)
• Il grido (The Cry, 1957)
• L'avventura (The Adventure, 1960)
• La notte (The Night, 1961)
• L'eclisse (The Eclipse, 1962)
• Il deserto rosso (The Red Desert, 1964)
• Prefazione - episode in I tre volti (The Three Faces of a Woman, 1965)
• Blowup (1966)
• Zabriskie Point (1970)
• Chung Kuo (1972)
• Professione: reporter (The Passenger, 1975)
• Il Mistero di Oberwald (The Mystery of Oberwald, 1980)
• Identificazione di una donna (Identification of a Woman, 1982)
• Volcanoes and Carnival (1992)
• Beyond the Clouds (Par Dela Les Nuages, 1995) (co-credited with Wim Wenders)
• Eros (2004) -- segment "Il filo pericoloso delle cose" ("The Dangerous Thread of Things")
• Lo sguardo di Michelangelo (2004)

LAmore in Città (English: Love in the City) is a 1953 film composed of six different segments, each with a different writer or director. ... LAmore in Città (English: Love in the City) is a 1953 film composed of six different segments, each with a different writer or director. ... Lavventura (The Adventure) is an Italian film written and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. ... La notte is a 1961 Italian feature film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti. ... Leclisse (The Eclipse) is a 1962 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. ... The red desert (Il deserto rosso in Italian) is a Michelangelo Antonioni movie filmed in 1964 starring Monica Vitti, Richard Harris and others. ... Blowup is a 1966 British-Italian art film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, his first to feature an English language screenplay and also the first British film to feature full frontal female nudity (although expurgated in the VHS videotape release). ... Zabriskie Point is a 1970 film by Michelangelo Antonioni. ... © Makoto Shinkai / CoMix Wave Kumo no Mukou Yakusoku no Basho (雲のむこう、約束の場所, Beyond the Clouds, The Promised Place. ... Wilhelm Ernst (Wim) Wenders (born August 14, 1945) is a German-born film director, author and producer. ... Eros film poster Eros is a 2004 film consisting of three short films: Wong Kar-wais The Hand, Steven Soderberghs Equilibrium and Michelangelo Antonionis The Dangerous Thread of Things. ...

Bibliographies

• Antonioni Bibliography (via UC Berkeley)

Books

Unfinished Business: Screenplays, Scenarios, and Ideas (see at Amazon) Introduction by Thomas J. Harrison

External links

• Michelangelo Antonioni Archive : Michelangelo Antonioni Archive
• M.Antonioni : Tribute site
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• Michelangelo Antonioni at the Internet Movie Database
• Michelangelo Antonioni @ pHinnWeb
• French Michelangelo Antonioni