Il deserto rosso (1964)

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (writer) &
Tonino Guerra (writer)

Release Date:

8 February 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Cold, rain, and fog surround a plant in Ravenna. Factory waste pollutes local lakes; hulking anonymous ships pass or dock and raise quarantine flags...

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Ship | Bright Color | Cult Director | Extramarital Affair

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Monica Vitti	...	Giuliana
Richard Harris	...	Corrado Zeller
Carlo Chionetti	...	Ugo
Xenia Valderi	...	Linda
Rita Renoir	...	Emilia
Lili Rheims	...	Telescope operator's wife
Aldo Grotti	...	Max
Valerio Bartoleschi	...	Giuliana's son
Emanuela Paola Carboni	...	Girl in fable
Bruno Borghi
Beppe Conti
Julio Cotignoli
Giovanni Lolli
Hiram Mino Madonia
Giuliano Missirini	...	Radio telescope operator

Also Known As:

Red Desert (UK) (USA)
Deserto rosso (Italy) (alternative spelling)
Le désert rouge (France)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 (video rating) (1995) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Film Duemila

Trivia:

Richard Harris agreed to star in Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (1965) in December 1963 whilst still in the middle of making this film. Harris walked off Michelangelo Antonioni's film as it went further behind schedule to ensure that he did not miss Major Dundee's start date of 5 February 1964. Harris said that Il deserto rosso (1964) had to be completed without him and a double was used for his character in some of the long shots.

Quotes:

Giuliana: I feel my eyes tearing up. What should I do with my eyes? What should I watch?
Corrado Zeller: You ask what you should watch. I ask how I should live. It's the same thing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Antonioni's masterwork

Stunning. Antonioni's masterwork of color and sound captured on film. Mental breakdown amidst the stale, harsh setting of an industrial wasteland. Possibly the most unique, visionary, cerebral film ever made, from one of its greatest directors.