Professione: reporter (1975)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Mark Peploe (story)
Mark Peploe (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 April 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

I used to be somebody else...but I traded myself in.

Plot:

A frustrated war correspondent, unable to find the war he's been asked to cover, takes the risky path of co-opting the I.D. of a dead arms dealer acquaintance.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Reporter | Identity | Hotel | Journalist

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	David Locke
Maria Schneider	...	Girl
Jenny Runacre	...	Rachel Locke
Ian Hendry	...	Martin Knight
Steven Berkoff	...	Stephen
Ambroise Bia	...	Achebe
José María Caffarel	...	Hotel Keeper
James Campbell	...	Witch Doctor
Manfred Spies	...	German Stranger
Jean-Baptiste Tiemele	...	Murderer
Ángel del Pozo	...	Police inspector
Charles Mulvehill	...	David Robertson (as Chuck Mulvehill)
Narciso Pula	...	Murderer's accomplice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Miquel Bordoy	...	(uncredited)
Jaime Doria	...	(uncredited)
Joan Gaspart	...	(uncredited)
Gustavo Re	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni

Writing credits
Mark Peploe		(story)
Mark Peploe		(screenplay) &
Peter Wollen		(screenplay) and
Michelangelo Antonioni		(screenplay)

Produced by
Carlo Ponti	....	producer
Alessandro von Norman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ivan Vandor

Cinematography by
Luciano Tovoli

Film Editing by
Michelangelo Antonioni
Franco Arcalli

Art Direction by
Piero Poletto

Set Decoration by
Osvaldo Desideri

Costume Design by
Louise Stjernsward

Makeup Department
Adalgisa Favella	....	hair stylist
Franco Freda	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Leonhard Gmür	....	assistant production manager: Germany
Lynn Kamern	....	assistant production manager
Ennio Onorati	....	production manager
Valentín Panero	....	assistant production manager: Spain
Paolo Pettini	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Enrica Antonioni	....	assistant director (as Enrica Fico)
Hercules Bellville	....	assistant director
Federico Canudas	....	assistant director
Ina Fritsche	....	assistant director
Enrico Sannia	....	assistant director
Claudio Taddei	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound mixer
Fernando Caso	....	sound effects editor
Cyril Collick	....	sound engineer
Alvaro Gramigna	....	foley artist
Alessandro Peticca	....	sound editor (as Sandro Peticca)
Franca Silvi	....	sound editor
Michael Ellis	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cesare Allione	....	camera operator
Dave Clarke	....	gaffer
Franco Frazzi	....	assistant camera
Roberto Lombardi	....	assistant camera
Michele Picciaredda	....	assistant camera
Floriano Steiner	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Franco Letti	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Lisa Bellini	....	script supervisor
Leonhard Gmür	....	location manager
Lynn Kamern	....	production assistant
Adriano Magistretti	....	production assistant
Tom Moore	....	production assistant
Valentín Panero	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
• CIPI Cinematografica S.A. (co-production)
• Les Films Concordia (associate production)

Distributors

• CFM Filmverhuur (1975) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Mongrel Media (2006) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Alpha Filmes (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Filmes Lusomundo
• United International Pictures (UIP) (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cine Audio Effects  sound effects and foley design
• International Recordings  sound recorded at
• Lee Lighting  lighting

Also Known As:

The Passenger (International: English title) (UK)
El reportero (Spain)
Profession: reporter (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, nudity and language. (edited version)

Runtime:

126 min | 119 min

Country:

Italy | Spain | France

Language:

English | Spanish | German | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Italy:T | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

4 Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Company:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion

Trivia:

In the DVD commentary, Nicholson states that Antonioni constructed the entire hotel entirely so that the final shot could be accomplished, though he suggests that the entire hotel was built on hinges instead of simply the bars outside the window. This assertion is incorrect as production photos and several books testify. The shot was made by opening the bars which were on hinges and allowing the camera to pass through and be picked up outside. What also attracted the director to this building is it used to be a church and was across the street from a bullfight ring.

Quotes:

David Locke: What can you see now?
The Girl: [looking out the window] A man scratching his shoulder, a kid throwing stones, and dust. It's very dusty here.

Movie Connections:

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

One of the best Antonioni films

Michelangelo Antonioni's films are very static, with a few dialogues. They describe boredom of bourgeois class, they're cold. Sometimes they're unbearable: either you like them or you don't.

"Professione: reporter", to me, belongs to the most interesting period of Antonioni's career (between the second half of the Sixties and the first of the Seventies). Because in these years the Italian director made his most accessible works: "Blow Up" (1966), "Zabryskie point" (1969) and "Professione: reporter" ("The Passenger", 1974). These films contain more action and more situations. They are neither more commercial nor more mainstream, but they talk about an adventure or a dream.

A journalist in North Africa switches the identity with a dead man who looks like him. He does this to escape from his life and for living a more interesting one. But he'll pay for his choice...

It's difficult to say, but this Antonioni movie (with his recurrent themes and -in a smaller way- times) has a lot of suspense, if I can say so. Once you begin to watch it, you can't give up. The funny thing is that nothing really big or special happens: sometimes it seems a road movie, sometimes it is a typical Antonioni analysis of the society. Jack Nicholson -how young he was at that time!- fills the film, his performance and his expressions are brilliant. It's also interesting the chemistry with Maria Schneider, the lady of "The last tango in Paris" -an actress who never got the fame and the recognition she deserved.

Cinematography is fantastic. But, above all, the big surprise of the film is the final shot: a 7-8 minutes take without cuts, absolute amazing. It's not describable, it's a must!