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:

italy | insomnia | sports car | reference to zeus | obsession | 

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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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

To prep for the film, Michelangelo Antonioni traveled to Florence to film an actual solar eclipse.

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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

Riccardo: I wanted to make you happy.
Vittoria: When we first met, I was 20 years old. I was happy then.

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Alternate Versions

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

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Connections

Referenced in Romy (2009)

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Soundtracks

L'eclisse Twist
Written by Giovanni Fusco
Performed by Mina

User Reviews

More than decent conclusion of a great trilogy

L'Eclisse (1962)***1/2

Third film in Antonioni's trilogy of alienation following L'Avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961) about a young woman (Monica Vitti) and her brief affair with handsome Alain Delon.

Like in his other movies, Antonioni uses specific techniques not to tell the story but rather to express the lack of communication among the characters, their alienation and incapableness to make a strong and meaningful relation. May this be because of their shallow characters or as a result of living in a modern society marked with the superficial values like prestigious and run-for-the-money – it's up to the viewer to decide. Anyway, long cadres, real time events, visual metaphors and visual contrasts between the characters on the one side and landscapes and/or modern day creations like buildings, streets (usually empty) on the other is what makes this rather experience than a plot-movie (intentionally) but nevertheless effective in their purpose (which is to express and transmit this same feelings of alienation to the viewer). So, if you're looking for an entertainment, you better skip this one. Final scene is great in concluding the movie. A bit weaker of great L'Avventura.