Hitchcoc Once again a character played by Monica Vitti is bored out of her skull. She has beauty and advantages and yet her existence (at least to her) is not worthwhile. As is the case with most Antonio femmes, she hooks up with a man who offers her nothing, other than his good looks. The first ten minutes or so shows the deterioration relationship between the two of them. She begins to search for greener pastures. There is a subplot involving the Italian stock marker, where she comes upon a young man whom she is attracted to. He is stockbroker who falls on hard times when there is huge bubble in the market and many of his clients are in deep do do, including Vitti's mother. He is frustrated because when they make money, he gets on credit, but when they lose it, they are on his doorstep. There are lots of scenes of basic imprisonment and shadows. The young woman makes plans, but those plans never come to fruition. Marvelously shot in black and white. Great long shots as the character wanders streets, walking, walking, walking.

blanche-2 This is the last of Antonioni's Incomunicability trilogy that began with "La Notte," "Avventura," "La Notte," and finally "L'Ecclisse," (The eclipse).Normally I have a problem with this kind of film. They move slowly, seem to be style over substance, and pretentious. "L'Ecclisse" is an exception in that it really is saying something.Knowing Antonioni's point of view gives some insight as to what's behind "L'Ecclisse." We cannot make a real connection with another person due to too much technology. We cannot connect any longer to the natural world and are doomed to be out of tune with it now. The beginning of this film is almost completely free of dialogue. Vittoria (Monica Vitti) and her fiancée, Riccardo, have been up all night discussing their relationship. She no longer loves him, but she can't tell him why.Vittoria visits her mother, who hangs out most days at the stock exchange in Rome. There she meets her mother's stockbroker, Piero (Alain Delon), a handsome, ambitious young man. They are attracted to one another, though he wants to act on it and she resists. Eventually she gives in. They are opposites. She is quiet, mysterious, and confused; he is part of the modern world, talkative, ambitious, and busy.Images are important -- images of modern life, new buildings, the Stock exchange, and primitive images, Vitti's dance, the dead plant. It all culminates in the final sequence. L'Eclisse is unlike a typical film in its emphasis on the discontentedness of modern life and its nontraditional approach. It may be hard to adjust to. But if you can, it's well worth it.

gavin6942 A young woman (Monica Vitti) meets a vital young man (Alain Delon), but their love affair is doomed because of the man's materialistic nature.Director Martin Scorsese described how the film haunted and inspired him as a young moviegoer, noting it seemed to him a "step forward in storytelling" and "felt less like a story and more like a poem." He adds that the ending is "a frightening way to end a film... but at the time it also felt liberating. The final seven minutes of L'Eclisse suggested to us that the possibilities in cinema were absolutely limitless." Scorsese is easily the most knowledgeable filmmaker out there (he would be the best critic, second to none, even Kael or Ebert). I must agree with him. While I'm not terribly familiar with Italian films of the 1960s (yet), there is something about this one that is quite beautiful.

Sindre Kaspersen Italian screenwriter, film editor and director Michelangelo Antonioni's eight feature film which he co-wrote with his frequent collaborator Tonino Guerra, Italian screenwriter and poet Elio Bartolini (1922-2006) and Italian sociologist and writer Ottiero Ottieri (1924-2002), is the third part of his trilogy of stylistically similar films and was preceded by "L'Avventura" (1960) and "La Notte" (1961). It was screened In competition at the 15th Cannes Film Festival in 1962, was shot on locations in Rome, Lazio and Verona in Italy and is an Italy-France co-production which was produced by Egyptian-born producers Raymond Hakim (1908-1980) and Robert Hakim (1907-1992). It tells the story about Vittoria, a young literary translator who ends her relationship with a writer named Riccardo. While trying to tell her mother, who is not paying attention, about her decision, Vittoria encounters a stockbroker named Pierro. Pierro takes a liking to Vittoria and all though recently having gotten out of a romantic relationship, Vittoria tries to evolve a relationship with him.Distinctly and precisely directed by Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007), this contemplative fictional tale which is set against the backdrop of the increasing economic growth in Italy during the early 1960s, draws an incisive and heartrending portrayal of a young man and a young woman's endeavour to establish a romantic relationship. While notable for it's naturalistic urban milieu depictions, the stellar production design by production designer and art director Piero Poletto, black-and-white cinematography by Italian cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo (1920-1966) and the fine editing by Italian film editor Eraldo Da Roma, this character-driven and dialog-driven drama which examines themes like interpersonal relations, interpersonal communication, alienation and love contains an efficient score by Italian 20th century composer Giovanni Fusco (1906-1968).This rhythmic, somewhat romantic and at times significantly atmospheric story where the distance between the characters and the violence within the frames and the use of light creates a poignant underlying tension, depicts a condensed study of character and is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure and the compelling acting performances by French-Swiss actor Alain Delon and Italian actress Monica Vitti. An eloquent and memorable modernist film which gained the Special Jury Prize at the 15th Cannes International Film Festival in 1962.