L'avventura (1960)

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (story)
Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 March 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Plot:

A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Island | Search | Italy | Yacht

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Sandro
Monica Vitti	...	Claudia
Lea Massari	...	Anna
Dominique Blanchar	...	Giulia
Renzo Ricci	...	Anna's Father
James Addams	...	Corrado
Dorothy De Poliolo	...	Gloria Perkins
Lelio Luttazzi	...	Raimondo
Giovanni Petrucci	...	Prince Goffredo
Esmeralda Ruspoli	...	Patrizia
Jack O'Connell	...	Old man on the island
Angela Tommasi Di Lampedusa	...	The Princess
Franco Cimino
Prof. Cucco	...	Ettore
Giovanni Danesi

Also Known As:

L'isola (Italy) (working title)
The Adventure (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (re-rating) (1995) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Aeolian Islands, Messina, Sicily, Italy

Company:

Cino del Duca

Trivia:

The film was censored heavily because of its alleged immorality. Two of the love scenes were considerably edited and others were obscured by on-screen masking devices. Antonioni was officially charged with obscenity and immorality, although the charges were later dismissed.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the sequence in which Sandro and the newspaper reporter cross a street, the shadows of the camera and the crew are clearly and prolongedly visible on the actors and on the street surface.

Quotes:

Corrado: Giulia is like Oscar Wilde. Give her all the luxuries and she will manage without the little necessities.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

A masterpiece

A real masterpiece! Antonioni at his best! He is able to capture in a unique visual style the tragedy that surrounds people and their inability to communicate. And yet they are always longing for comfort, love and forgiveness.

It starts as a mystery but it later goes in search of deep human feelings. The scenes are so rich you'd be surprised to be completely mesmerized and lost in his world.

Slow pacing, of course. But what can you expect when you are watching a movie that look like a moving painting of two hours. You simply have adjust yourself to the interior beat of this brilliant movie which opened a decade of successes in Italian cinema history.