That’s a great question. BFI just released their version on Blu-Ray. Unfortunately it’s region-coded. My guess is that Criterion plans to release La Notte before they introduce Red Desert. Personally, I love Antonioni and any film they release I would acquire. Maybe someone at Criterion will read your plea and do something about it.
i just watched the bfi release a few days back. such a beautiful film. theres not really any features of note, but a wonderful transfer.
Thanks- anyway to view online…? What region is BFI disk? When’ s Criterion releasing La Notte..?
la notte hasnt been announced by criterion, but british dvd equivelent put it out earlier this year. the good news is that its region 0, find a link here-
http://www.eurekavideo.co.uk/moc/catalogue/la-notte/
if you would like a link to an actual british dvd retailer selling it then let me know.
unfortunately the bfi red desert seems to be region 2.
Ive added the BFI release to my online rental list. The last time i saw it it seemed like Lost Highway was to David Lynch; not their best work but very much a product of their director. Im looking forward to seeing it again.
Monica Vitti. wow. She’s the only reason I sit through Antonioni films.
“theres not really any features of note, "
That does David Forgacs a severe disservice – his exhaustively detailed research underpins one of the best critical commentaries I’ve heard in years, and it’s most definitely “a feature of note”.
Antonioni: “… I dyed the grass around the shed on the edge of the marsh in order to reinforce the sense of desolation, of death. The landscape had to be rendered truthfully: when the trees are dead, they have that colour.”
Godard: “The drama is no longer psychological, but plastic.”
Antonioni: “It’s the same thing.”
(Cahiers du Cinema in English, January, 1966)
I am very much looking forward to seeing a Criterion or other dvd release of this film, as I recently saw a very poor video transfer from the library that was missing (!) the end. I did see this movie many years back, and forgot just how it ends, so now I have to wait. I recall, in my initial viewing, that it was a beautiful film to watch. Now that I have just seen it (but not complete) again, I am a bit more annoyed with Antonioni’s rather facile characters and hollow characterizations. I know some of you will say, “But that’s the point…” Monica Vitti seems forced to take on all the real meaning in this film. The best parts are the non-human elements: the builidngs and wasteland landscape. I had forgotten about the most meaningful scene (for me) too, where the huge ship shows up in the fog beside the seafront cabin. Until I get a chance to look at a decent and complete transfer, I will reserve further comment. Get going Criterion on this title.
I’m probably going to be watching this in the very near future. Any thoughts on the film in relation to his more famous ones like L’Avventura, La Notte, and L’Eclisse for example?
i tried a couple of times, but i cant get through this film. eventually i will, maybe even tonight, now that you guys mentioned it. but its very uninteresting to me.
This is my favourite Antonioni film. Sure his famous trilogy is also good, but The Red Desert really struck me. First of all, there’s the most obvious quality of the film which is the cinematography and composition – everyone knows about that, but what I loved about it was Vitti’s character and her struggle to integrate herself in an ever-changing world. It’s this film that critics often attribute Antonioni’s supposed anti-industrial tendencies, but while I think there is a little bit of that, in that the characters find themselves (like the characters in Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West) in a world that has moved on (or is in the process of moving on) without them, there’s more of a sense of pure celebration in the contours of the world.
But I’d like to emphasize Bob’s comment of: "I am a bit more annoyed with Antonioni’s rather facile characters and hollow characterizations. I know some of you will say, ‘But that’s the point…’ " … or rather I disagree with anyone (not Bob) who takes the typical and unoriginal stance of “But that’s the point” when referring to an Antonioni film – that’s an easy out without having to risk oneself by coping out of explanation. His characters are not meant to be facile and hollow, but searching almost wary of what the world (and the people in it) will become.
Wonderful, wonderful film. Hopefully we get a decent copy on DVD – Criterion or otherwise.
I don’t think I made it through this one all the way, but the visuals were stunning.
joseph
When will Criterion deliver us this film?