September 28, 2020

Michelangelo Antonioni's Birthday

On September 29, 1912, in the city of Ferrara, the Italian province of Emilia-Romagna, a son named Michelangelo was born to the Ismaele and Elisabetta Antonioni family. Michelangelo's parents were of proletarian origin, but through hard work they managed to get rich and become prosperous landowners. Despite the high level of property and financial condition, Michelangelo from childhood preferred to have friends and girlfriends from among the representatives of the working class.

Michelangelo Antonioni during an interview with Italian television, 1987.

After graduating school in 1931, Michelangelo entered the Faculty of Economics and Commerce at the University of Bologna. After graduating from the university with a degree in economics in 1935, he worked as a bank teller, at the same time actively collaborating with the local magazine of the city of Ferrara Il Corriere Padano as a film reviewer.

La notte (The Night). 1961. Movie's Rating - 8,79; 212th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

In 1940 he moved to Rome, where he began his studies at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, which, in truth, he abandoned after three months. But Antonioni continued his work as a journalist and film critic, but already in the Roman magazine Cinema, which belonged to the fascist party and whose editor-in-chief was Vittorio Mussolini, the son of the Italian Duce.

Blow-Up. 1966. Movie's Rating - 8,695; 242th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

In 1942, Roberto Rossellini recruited Michelangelo Antonioni to write the screenplay for his movie "Un pilota ritorna (A Pilot Returns)". The script was based on the story of Vittorio Mussolini. This was the beginning of the transformation of Antonioni from a theoretic cinematographer to a practical cinematographer. This process was continued when Antonioni, in 1943, acted as an assistant to the French director Marcel Carné during the filming of the film "Les visiteurs du soir (The Devil's Envoys)".

L'eclisse (Eclipse). 1962. Movie's Rating - 8,53; 310th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

Returning from France to Italy in the same 1943 year, Antonioni tried to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in creating his own film, while documentary. He began filming a film about common people, fishermen, living on the banks of the Po River. But the aggravated military situation did not allow him to complete this work. Moreover, convicted by the fascist regime of links with the Italian Resistance, he almost paid with his life. As a result, he was able to complete the documentary "Gente del Po (People of the Po Valley)" only in 1947. Then he made several more documentaries, before, at the age of 38, having acquired a versatile experience in cinematographic activity, in 1950 he shot his first full-length feature film - "Cronaca di un amore (Story of a Love Affair)".

L'avventura (The Adventure). 1960. Movie's Rating - 8,192; 482th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

During his filmmaking career, Michelangelo Antonioni has independently directed 15 full-length feature films and 4 segments for film almanacs (we do not take into account short, documentary and television films). According to most film critics, the peak of Michelangelo Antonioni's creativity came in the first half of the 60s, when the films of the so-called "trilogy of alienation" ("L'avventura (The Adventure)", "La notte (The Night)", "L'eclisse (Eclipse)") and the adjacent "Il deserto rosso (Red Desert)" were shot. All these films starred the great Italian actress Monica Vitti, who was called "Antonioni's muse".

Il grido (The Outcry). 1957. Movie's Rating - 8,161; 519th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

Michelangelo Antonioni's work was highly appreciated by the cinematic community. In total, he was awarded 48 film awards, including the most prestigious: the Oscar (honorary), the Golden Bear of the Berlin Film Festival, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, 2 Golden Lions (including one honorary one) of the Venice Film Festival, The Golden Leopard of the Locarno Film Festival, the Danish Bodil Prize, the Italian David di Donatello Prize, the Honorary Prize of the European Film Academy, the Honorary Grand Prix of the Montreal Film Festival and many others. And what a blow for the great director was the abduction from his home during his absence in 1996, several of the listed cinematic awards - "Palme d'Or", "Oscar" and "Golden Lion".

Professione: reporter (The Passenger). 1975. Movie's Rating - 7,946; 800th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

7 films by Michelangelo Antonioni entered the Golden Thousand. Thanks to this indicator, Michelangelo Antonioni is included in the list of the 100 greatest directors of world cinema, compiled by FilmGourmand.

Il deserto rosso (Red Desert). 1964. Movie's Rating - 7,88; 876th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

Today, on the 108th anniversary of the birth of the great filmmaker, we want to remind fans of his work with shots from his best films included in the Golden Thousand.

Michelangelo Antonioni during the Oscar award ceremony, 1995.

After two strokes, in 1972 and 1985, Antonioni could no longer walk without assistance. Therefore, everywhere he was accompanied by Enrica Fico - first an assistant, and then his wife, who was 40 years younger than the great director. Enrica Fico Antonioni helped her husband not only to move, but also to carry out professional activities. Only thanks to her, Michelangelo Antonioni was able, after 2 strokes, to shoot several more films, including the wonderful picture "Al di là delle nuvole (Beyond the Clouds)" (1995). In the arms of his wife Michelangelo Antonioni, he died at the age of 95 in his hometown of Ferrara. On the same day, another giant of world cinema, Ingmar Bergman, died.