Avventura, L' (1960)

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay)
Michelangelo Antonioni (story)
(more)

Release Date:

4 March 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.

Plot Keywords:

Yacht | Rome Italy | Unsolved Mystery | Cefalù Italy | Italy

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Sandro
Monica Vitti	...	Claudia
Lea Massari	...	Anna
Dominique Blanchar	...	Giulia
Renzo Ricci	...	Anna's Father
James Addams	...	Corrado
Dorothy De Poliolo	...	Gloria Perkins
Lelio Luttazzi	...	Raimondo
Giovanni Petrucci	...	Prince Goffredo
Esmeralda Ruspoli	...	Patrizia
Jack O'Connell	...	Old man on the island
Angela Tommasi Di Lampedusa	...	The Princess
Franco Cimino
Prof. Cucco	...	Ettore
Giovanni Danesi
Rita Mole
Renato Pinciroli
Enrico Bologna
Vincenzo Tranchina

Directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michelangelo Antonioni		screenplay
Michelangelo Antonioni		story
Elio Bartolini		writer
Tonino Guerra		writer

Produced by
Cino Del Duca	....	producer
Raymond Hakim	....	producer
Robert Hakim	....	producer
Amato Pennasilico	....	producer
Luciano Perugia	....	producer

Original Music by
Giovanni Fusco

Cinematography by
Aldo Scavarda

Film Editing by
Eraldo Da Roma

Production Design by
Piero Poletto

Costume Design by
Adriana Berselli

Makeup Department
Mario Mandini	....	hair stylist
Ultimo Peruzzi	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Enrico Bologna	....	production supervisor
Fernando Cinquini	....	production supervisor
Angelo Corso	....	general manager
Luciano Perugia	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gianni Arduini	....	assistant director
Franco Indovina	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Fausto Ancillai	....	sound mixer
Claudio Maielli	....	sound
Nino Renda	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrico Appetito	....	still photographer
Luigi Kuveiller	....	camera operator

Music Department
Giovanni Fusco	....	conductor

Other crew
Elvira D'Amico	....	script supervisor
Jack O'Connell	....	special assistant to director
Isa Bellini	....	voice dubbing: Dominique Blanchar (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cino del Duca
• Produzioni Cinematografiche Europee (P.C.E.)
• Robert & Raymond Hakim Company
• Societé Cinématographique Lyre

Distributors

• Cino del Duca (1960) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Janus Films (1961) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Medusa Home Entertainment (2003) (Italy) (DVD)
• National Educational Television (NET) (1966) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

The Adventure (International: English title) (literal title) (UK)
The Fling (International: English title)

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (re-rating) (1995) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Aeolian Islands, Messina, Sicily, Italy

Company:

Cino del Duca

Trivia:

First part of the unofficial "Incommunicability Trilogy" with Notte, La (1961) and Eclisse, L' (1962). Michelangelo Antonioni didn't make the three movies as a trilogy, but cinema historians have called it so since then.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the sequence in which Sandro and the newspaper reporter cross a street, the shadows of the camera and the crew are clearly and prolongedly visible on the actors and on the street surface.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

Not the director's absolute best picture (that goes to Blowup)

...yet any viewer can see why L'Avventura (in English "The Adventure", which is interesting considering what unfolds) put him on the map in the art-film/new-wave era. He tells a story of a group of high-society types, the kind that seem all the more empty as they are examined character wise, who on a boat trip stop on an island to walk around, when a woman, Anna (Lea Massari), goes missing. They search for her, send out more people to search for her, but as the film progresses it can be seen that the search for her is futile, and it becomes an existentialist examination of the character played by Ferzetti and Vitti.

The major flaw that I can see with L'Avventura is that it's at times a bit too assured with it's own storytelling skills, and occasionally it plods along. However the story works most of the time and it's non-formulaic structure keeps it very credible. But, what made me take notice and not nod out at all during the picture was the whole aura, the atmosphere. Antonionni, along with his director of photography Aldo Scavarda, always have a beautiful shot up on the screen, scenes which may seem of desperation are perfectly captured in the frames and any one could be freeze-framed and put on a wall to view like a painting (another film like this could be Raging Bull). On that level of pure skill and movement, as well as the realistic character development, L'Avventura is an accomplished piece of filmmaking. Important, to be sure, though some may feel turned off after a while. Grade: A