L'eclisse (1962)

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (scenario and dialogue) &
Tonino Guerra (scenario and dialogue) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 December 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A young woman meets a vital young man, but the love affair is doomed because of the man's materialistic nature.

Plot Keywords:

Stock Market | Translator | Love | Fiancee | Emptiness

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Piero
Monica Vitti	...	Vittoria
Francisco Rabal	...	Riccardo
Louis Seigner	...	Ercoli
Lilla Brignone	...	Vittoria's Mother
Rossana Rory	...	Anita
Mirella Ricciardi	...	Marta
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cyrus Elias	...	Intoxicated Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni

Writing credits
Michelangelo Antonioni		(scenario and dialogue) &
Tonino Guerra		(scenario and dialogue)
Elio Bartolini		(scenario collaborator) &
Ottiero Ottieri		(scenario collaborator)

Produced by
Raymond Hakim	....	producer
Robert Hakim	....	producer

Original Music by
Giovanni Fusco

Cinematography by
Gianni Di Venanzo

Film Editing by
Eraldo Da Roma

Production Design by
Piero Poletto

Art Direction by
Piero Poletto

Costume Design by
Bice Brichetto
Gitt Magrini

Makeup Department
Franco Freda	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Giorgio Baldi	....	unit manager
Dino Di Salvo	....	assistant unit manager
Danilo Marciani	....	production manager

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

Sound Department
Mario Bramonti	....	sound assistant
Renato Cadueri	....	sound
Claudio Maielli	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Pasqualino De Santis	....	camera operator (as Pasquale De Santis)
Sergio Strizzi	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gitt Magrini	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Marcella Benvenuti	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Franco Ferrara	....	conductor

Other crew
Elvira D'Amico	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Cineriz
• Interopa Film
• Paris Film

Distributors

• Cineriz (1962) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Compagnie Française de Distribution Cinématographique (CFDC) (1962) (France) (theatrical)
• La Société des Films Sirius (1962) (France) (theatrical)
• Times Film Corporation (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Filmes Lusomundo (19??) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Connoisseur / Meridian Films (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Mondo Home Entertainment (2002) (Italy) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Westrex System  sound post-production (as Westrex-Poste Parisien)

Also Known As:

Eclipse (USA)
L'éclipse (France)
The Eclipse (UK)

Runtime:

118 min | Hungary:125 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Rome Stock Exchange, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cineriz

Trivia:

Final part of the unofficial "Incomunicability Trilogy" also including L'avventura (1960) and La notte (1961).

Quotes:

Vittoria: As long as we were in love, we understood each other. There was nothing to understand.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Michelangelo Antonioni storia di un autore (1966) (TV)

Black and white is full of color

L'ECLISSE is not everybody's cup of tea. It is so slow that to continue watching it may sometimes require a conscious strain of will. But it is a rewarding experience: L'ECLISSE is probably the best of all unhurried movies. It is so desperately tender; Alain Delon and Monica Vitti are so young and beautiful, and at the same time - so precise in their naiveté; the camera shots are so long and ambiguous, so empty of words. If there ever was a movie that truthfully represents the playful and sad uncertainty of being in love, then this must be it.

L'ECLISSE is sure to break your heart... or mend it.

The ending is as mysterious as God's ways and if it wasn't for the music to bring me down to earth I may have thought that I had died.