Goodtime Charlie’s Comprehensive Guide to Michelangelo Antonioni
Written by: Goodtime Charlie, Special to CC2K
Final Analysis
Okay, okay–you’re interested in diving headfirst into some Antonioni stew, but what should you see first? Which ones should you avoid?
I hear ya, which is why I compiled the handy quick-reference list below for your reference:
The Litmus Test
L’eclisse – If you don’t enjoy this movie, then you probably don’t like Antonioni
The Greats
L’eclisse
L’avventura
Professione: Reporter
The Very-Goods
La notte
Il grido
Blow-Up
Skip Unless You’re Curious or a Completist
Cronaca di un amore
Le amiche
Zabriskie Point
Il deserto rosso
Haven’t Seen Yet, Available on DVD
Identificazione di una donna (1982)
Haven’t Seen Yet, Unavailable on DVD
I vinti (1953)
La signora senza camelie (1953)
L’amorosa menzogna (1949) [10 minute faux-doc short about the making of a comic-book movie]
Probably Never Will See, You Should Do the Same
Gente del Po (1943-47) [9 minute doc short about residents along the river Po]
N.U. (1948) [9 minute doc short about Roman street sweepers]
Superstizione (1949) [9 minute doc short about rural Italian superstitions]
Sette canne, un vestito (1949( [10 minute doc short about the manufacture of rayon]
La villa dei mostri (1950) [10 minute doc short about the Villa Orsini]
La funivia del Faloria (1950) [10 minute doc short about a funicular]
Tentato suicido (1953) [20 minute documentary about suicide]
Prefazione: Il provino (1965) [20 minute faux-doc about the Queen of Iran’s attempt to become an actress)
Chung Kuo Cina (1972) [doc mini-series about China]
Il mistero di Oberwald (1980) [feature based on a Cocteau play]
Ritorno a Lisca Bianca (1983) [10 minute short about the island in L’avventura]
Fotoromanza (1984) [music video for the song by Gianna Nannini]
Kumbha Mela (1989( [18 minute doc short about an Indian religious festival]
Roma (1990) [8 minute short on Rome for a combo film of 12 stories]
Noto, Mandorli, Vulcano, Stromboli, Carnevale (1992) [8 minute doc about the famous Italian islands]
Al di la delle nuvole (1995)
Sicilia (1998) [10 minute short about Sicily]
Lo sguardo di Michelangelo (2004) [15 minute doc about Antonioni’s visit to Michelangelo’s tomb]
Il filo pericoloso delle cose (2004) [30 minute short about a man who desires 2 women]
Hopefully this exhaustive guide will help you navigate your way through the catalog of one of my favorite directors of all time. For a list of other directors I whose work I adore, check out my controversial Top 16 Directors of All-Time.
Goodtime Charlie maintains a regular blog over in the Blogspot universe at GoodtimeCharlie.blogspot.com. Check it out for more excellent writing, film criticism and all-around mayhem!