L'Eclisse (1962)

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

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (scenario and dialogue), Tonino Guerra (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Monica Vitti, Alain Delon, Francisco Rabal

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alain Delon	...	Piero
Monica Vitti	...	Vittoria
Francisco Rabal	...	Riccardo
Lilla Brignone	...	Vittoria's Mother
Rossana Rory	...	Anita
Mirella Ricciardi	...	Marta
Louis Seigner	...	Ercoli

Storyline

In the suburbs of Rome, the translator Vittoria breaks her engagement with her boyfriend, the writer Ricardo, after a troubled night. Vittoria goes downtown to meet her mother, who is addicted to the stock market, and she meets the broker Piero on a day of crash. The materialist Piero and the absent Vittoria begin a monosyllabic relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

sports car | mother daughter relationship | stock broker | italy | insomnia | 

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Taglines:

... the ache and ecstasy of love...

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #278.

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Goofs

At 1:28:30 into the film, Vittoria and Piero get wet from a sprinkler. The right side of Piero's jacket is clearly wet. A minute later when they are listening to the piano player, the back of Vittoria's blouse is still wet, but Piero's jacket is dry.

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Quotes

Vittoria's Mother: [At The Borsa] See how well Rumianca's doing?
Piero: Must have invented a new soap for the bidet.

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Alternate Versions

West German theatrical version was cut by approx. three minutes.

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Connections

Featured in Existential Zombies: Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Eclisse (2019)

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Soundtracks

L'eclisse Twist
Written by Giovanni Fusco
Performed by Mina

User Reviews

SciFi for the Emotional Life

Smart and moody, this film is not only about emotional Eclipse, it is about the eclipse of the old society as it changes, and also about how architectural changes eclipse older style, and more importantly, nature. There are really smart and insightful comments here on changing racial attitudes, and the disparities between rich, poor, and the people who don't mind cannibalizing the disenfranchised. All this commentary done with the subtlety of the slowing growing suburbs that our leading lady lives in.

Monica Vitti plays our "everywoman" who is our window into the Director's mind, but also herself a mere dot on the landscape. Early on, we see her throw away exactly what she seems to be looking for, only to pursue it in exactly the wrong place/person.

The film has a look of a sci-fi horror movie, but the horror here is emotional desolation, the destruction of nature/natural-ness, and the looming threat of nuclear war. This film, so cleanly represents the era when "duck and cover" was not only a physical act, it was an emotional state.

If you don't like film as art, you will be completely lost by the architectural city-scape ending montage, and the lack of traditional film closure. This is not a light evening of movie entertainment, but it is film making at it's non-verbal, eloquent best. Captivating, thought provoking, and meaty.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

20 December 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'Eclisse

Filming Locations:

EUR, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineriz, Interopa Film, Paris Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (International Recording-Westrex)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1