L’Eclisse (1962)

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Cinematographer: Gianni Di Venanzo


By the time of the final entry of Michelangelo Antonioni’s loose trilogy on post-war malaise and alienation, the initially derided first film L’Avventura (the second being La Notte) had been reevaluated to the extent that L’Eclisse had become the most eagerly awaited film at the Cannes Film Festival. The romantic drama centres on the love life of a beautiful but disaffected young literacy translator, Vittoria (Monica Vitti), who lives in Rome. After breaking up with an older lover and writer, Riccardo (Francisco Rabal), she becomes involved with a confident young stockbroker, Piero (Alain Delon) whose materialistic nature eventually undermines their relationship. While some will find the slow pace and existential angst a struggle, L’Eclisse features two wonderful performances from Vitti and a dynamic Delon and, with an impact undiminished by time, the film is still seen as a stunning but disturbing modernist masterpiece notable for its bold and experimental narrative that’s perhaps even more radical than the two earlier films. It’s this innovative approach that further enhanced Antonioni’s reputation as one of the most talented filmmaker’s of his generation. 

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Buy or Rent (watch online)
Blu-ray
Original Soundtrack
The Criterion Collection (DVD)
Alain Delon Collection – 5-DVD Box Set ( Plein soleil / L’eclisse / Un flic / Traitement de choc / Flic Story ) ( Purple Noon / Eclipse / A Cop / [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import – United Kingdom ]
3 Italian Film Scores: L’Avventura/Deserto Rosso/L’Eclisse

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Lists:

• • No. 275 on The Pendragon Society’s 1000 Greatest Films of All-Time (2019)

CAST

• Alain Delon as Piero
• Monica Vitti as Vittoria
• Francisco Rabal as Riccardo
• Louis Seigner as Ercoli
• Lilla Brignone as Vittoria’s Mother
• Rosanna Rory as Anita
• Mirella Ricciardi as Marta

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Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Produced by Robert and Raymond Hakim
Screenplay by Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, Elio Bartolini, Ottiero Ottieri
Music by Giovanni Fusco
Cinematography Gianni Di Venanzo
Edited by Eraldo Da Roma
Running time 126 minutes
Country Italy
Language Italian, English