L'Avventura (1960)

Inner Space

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy L'Avventura on DVD.

This 1960 masterpiece by Michelangelo Antonioni is about a group of bored vacationers who go on a boat trip. When one woman turns up missing, her lover (Gabriele Ferzetti) and her best friend (the lovely Monica Vitti) go searching for her on a rocky island. Eventually they give up and start a half-hearted romance of their own. Antonioni's use of black-and-white cinemascope is nearly unparalleled in history. His locations loom over the actors and the empty spaces make them seem tiny and insignificant. To date, this is the best Italian film I've seen.

DVD Details: A great film from Michelangelo Antonioni gets the masterpiece treatment from the Criterion Collection on this gorgeous, beautifully mastered double-disc set ($39.95). Jack Nicholson, who worked with Antonioni in The Passenger, reads from a few essays and provides his own remarks about the great director. The second disc also includes a wonderful vintage feature-length documentary.

Starring: Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar, Renzo Ricci
Written by: Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini, Tonino Guerra
Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni
MPAA Rating: NR
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Running Time: 145 minutes
Date: October 30, 1999