Zabriskie Point (1970)

At a time of chronic civil unrest in the USA at Zabriskie Point, in Death Valley, CA, two perfect strangers meet; a young revolutionary and an anthropology student who start an unrestrained romance, making love on the dusty terrain.

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (story), Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay)

Stars:

Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Paul Fix

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Mark Frechette	...	Mark
Daria Halprin	...	Daria
Paul Fix	...	Cafe Owner
G.D. Spradlin	...	Lee's Associate
Bill Garaway	...	Morty
Kathleen Cleaver	...	Kathleen
Rod Taylor	...	Lee Allen

Storyline

An epic portrait of late Sixties America, as seen through the portrayal of two of its children: anthropology student Daria (who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert) and dropout Mark (who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot)...

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Plot Keywords:

desert | policeman | stealing an airplane | homosexual fellatio | plant | 

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Taglines:

It's not a gap...it's an abyss!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Antonioni met with Jim Morrison during early production to ask for a musical contribution to the soundtrack. Morrison and the Doors provided "L'America" which Antonioni then rejected.

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Goofs

When the plane is buzzing the car, power lines are to Daria's left except in one overhead shot when the lines are to her right.

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Quotes

Daria: Pretend your thoughts are like plants.
Mark: Okay.
Daria: What do you see? Neat rows? Like a garden? Or wild things? Like ferns and weeds and vines?
Mark: I see, sort of, the jungle.

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Alternate Versions

MGM president Louis F. Polk was so worried about the controversy surrounding the film, particularly the threat of an X rating, that he invoked the studio's right to the final cut and ordered Antonioni to eliminate anything that might be potentially controversial. Thus, the riots, the love-ins, and numerous other scenes and fragments of scenes were removed, leaving only seventy minutes. The film was deemed unreleasable and written off as a loss but was saved when Polk was replaced by James T. Aubrey, who thought highly of the film and restored (nearly) all of the cut scenes.

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Connections

Featured in Autumn of the Magician (2009)

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Soundtracks

So Young
Written by Roger Christian (uncredited), Mike Curb (uncredited) and Roy Orbison (uncredited)
Performed by Roy Orbison

User Reviews

The American Way of Life in the Late 60's, in the View of Antonioni

In the late 60's, in Los Angeles, a group of revolutionary students is fighting for changing in the campus of their university. Mark (Mark Frechette), who has been expelled by the dean after many infractions in his academic life, decides to leave the area during a riot and hijacks a small airplane. Meanwhile, the student and temporary secretary Daria (Daria Halprin) is driving through the desert to attend a meeting scheduled by her boss Lee Allen (Rod Taylor) in Phoenix. Mark lands the airplane in Zabriskie Point where he spends the afternoon making love with Daria. When he returns to Los Angeles, he is shot inside the cabin by a police officer.

This is the first time that I see "Zabriskie Point", a film that was censored in Brazil by the military dictatorship in the 70's. This polemic movie shows empty characters and many billboards and advertisements to disclose the emptiness of a generation and the excessive consumerism of the American society in the late 60's in the view of Antonioni. The cinematography, camera work and soundtrack are spectaculars. The original ending with the airplane writing "Fuck You, America" in the sky was withdrawn by the MGM president. The amateurs Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin became lovers after this film. Mark was sentenced to prison after robbing a bank and he died in prison in 1975 when the weight that he was lifting felt on his throat. Daria Halrpin married Dennis Hopper in 1972 and divorced in 1976. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Zabriskie Point"

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1970 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Zabriskie Point

Filming Locations:

Zzyzx, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$83,956

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 95 min (alternate)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1