L'eclisse (1962)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (scenario and dialogue) &
Tonino Guerra (scenario and dialogue) ...

Release Date:

20 December 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A young woman meets a vital young man, but the love affair is doomed because of the man's materialistic nature.

Plot Keywords:

Stock Market | Translator | Rome | Psychological Drama | Lobby

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Piero
Monica Vitti	...	Vittoria
Francisco Rabal	...	Riccardo
Louis Seigner	...	Ercoli
Lilla Brignone	...	Vittoria's Mother
Rosanna Rory	...	Anita (as Rossana Rory)
Mirella Ricciardi	...	Marta

Also Known As:

Eclipse (USA)
L'éclipse (France)
The Eclipse (UK)

Runtime:

118 min | Hungary:125 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Rome Stock Exchange, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cineriz

Trivia:

Final part of the unofficial "Incomunicability Trilogy" also including L'avventura (1960) and La notte (1961).

Quotes:

Vittoria: Why do we ask so many questions? Two people shouldn't know each other too well if they want to fall in love. But, then, maybe they shouldn't fall in love at all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Michelangelo Antonioni storia di un autore (1966) (TV)

Lack of Communication, Emptiness and Loneliness in the Big City

In the suburb of Rome, the translator Vittoria (Monica Vitti) breaks her engagement with her boyfriend, the writer Ricardo (Francisco Rabal), after a troubled night. Vittoria goes to downtown to meet her mother (Lilla Brignone), who is addicted in Stock Market, and she meets the broker Piero (Alain Delon) in a day of crash in the Stock Market. The materialist Piero and the absent Vittoria begins a monosyllabic relationship.

"L'Eclisse" is a love story in the world of Michelangelo Antoniani, where the lack of communication, emptiness and loneliness in the big city prevails over the human feelings. The first ten or fifteen minutes with Vittoria and Riccardo alone in his apartment, practically without any words (actually very few words are spoken), is amazing, showing a couple whose love and relationship is completely exhausted. The scenes in the Stock Market of Rome are also very impressive. Monica Vitti, the favorite actress of Antonioni, shows a stunning beauty and her alienation of feelings is expressed by her face and few words along the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Eclipse" ("The Eclipse")