The Passenger, fairly accessible. Watch then listen to the Nicholson commentary (one of the best dvd commentaries I ever heard)
I would recommend to start with Il Grido (The Outcry) which is an early masterpiece between neorealism and the poetical innovations that would define his later alienation trilogy (or tetralogy if one also includes Red Desert).
Yes, why not start at the very beginning and enjoy the ride from there.
I actually like his very early work and one can subtly detect his style develop.
Blow Up is relatively accessible
Since start implies you will proceed to watch more than one of his films, I agree that earlier is better and Il Grido would be a good start, but if you think you might only give him a limited chance then perhaps one of his more celebrated films might not be a bad idea. If films like his aren’t very familiar to you something like Blow Up wouldn’t be a bad place to start to get some feel for him without going whole hog into his more unique or celebrated films that can tend to annoy some viewers with their somewhat elliptical style. It really depends on what you’ve watched and liked previously and what your intent is in watching Antonioni’s movies.
Blow Up is pretty celebrated I’d say in its own right
L’Eclisse
Either Il Grido or La Notte. Both are essential works, Il Grido serving more as a primer while La Notte is a nice representative work that remains more assessable due to its focus and pacing. I’d save Blow Up, LEclisse, and Red Desert for later. LAvventura and The Passenger would serve well in the middle. That gives you the celebrated portion of his canon.
I started with L’Eclisse and became an instant fan, so I recommend L’Eclisse. However, I believe that L’Avventura and Blow Up are also good starting points. I do not agree that The Passenger is a good starting point because, in my opinion, it is a stronger movie when you’re already familiar with his themes whereas it feels a bit looser and aimless if seen by itself, which technically does not speak well for Antonioni’s work on it in specific, but at least creates multiple ways of viewing it, from the perspective of an individual movie (not so positive) or a perspective on his work as a whole (quite positive).
—PolarisDiB
I second Polaris’s point that The Passenger may work better as a later viewing.
The great thing about starting out as a cinephile now is the availability of oeuvres on DVD. The great thing about a chronological viewing is becoming readily apparent as this thread grows.
I too could have questioned Den’s suggestion, but for all we know Alexis could have started with The Passenger and found it a suitable entry point.
I could also question Blow Up or the more common answers L’Avventura and L’Eclisse.
One benefit of doing it chronologically is to avoid the herd mentality. Start at the beginning and develop your own opinion as you go along.
Il Grido and L’Eclisse and then The Passenger. But then you’ll have seen his best films….
One disadvantage to chronology, and this applies to Antonioni’s case as well, is that sometimes the earlier works are more interesting as curiosities to fans of the director in particular whereas individually they do not stand out. Another example of this is Hard 8, AKA Sydney, PT Anderson’s first feature length film which is a very interesting watch in regards to what he was later able to create, but not that great of a feature in its own regard.
And add Blow Up and L’Avventura to Jesse Richards statement, and it’s damn near definitive, though technically I have not seen Red Desert (AND I OWN IT WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME?) or Zabriskie Point yet.
—PolarisDiB
@ Dane.
Although the OP does beg the answers supplied, missing the point:
develop one’s own opinion
Avoid this: more interesting as curiosities to fans
Find this: very interesting watch in regards to what he was later able to create
the first works are better at times than the middle ones (i’m talking about Story of a Love Affair, Il Grido and others) and personally, they’re largely superior to the meditative Passenger and Blow Up. it’s fair to say Antonioni’s pre-Avventura works define him as an almost neorealist just like Visconti did before he indulged with his magnificent costume and operatic dramas.
frankly, i much prefer the Antonioni periods before Red Desert.
Ah, but another disadvantage to chronological approach is that it is more time-consuming. Sometimes there is use in listening to the Greatest Hits CD to help you figure out which album you want to buy later.
—PolarisDiB
Most people in the original “age” of Antonioni saw L’Avventura first, thereby establishing his reputation. Why not begin there?
I agree with Mastroianni that “Blow Up” would be a great way to start. I started with the trilogy though…but I’ve read so much about Antonioni’s style prior to watching those films that I was excited about his style of filmmaking. Other’s may not be so open to it.
Robert, as I mentioned in my reply, if Alexis intends to watch many Antonioni films, then the beginning is as good a place to start as any, but I think the question could also be understood asking what is a good Antonioni to watch for someone who hasn’t seen any before, with a possible implication being that if it is an unpleasnt experience they may not want to seek out anything else. No one needs to see any Antonioni of course, much less all of his films, so any single one can serve as as good choice as any other if one is just looking for a taste of his work or for some sort of pleasurable experience. If those latter reasons are the correct ones for the poster and taking into account the lack of secondary information regarding age or film experience, I suggested Blow Up because it’s in English, it’s in color, it’s relatively humorous, it has lots of pretty, a neat little plot hook and is still recognizably an Antonioni film with some of his preoccupying themes and concerns. In other words I think it has the most possibility for subsidiary pleasures even if the main one, Antonioni’s style, fails to enlighten or amuse, and, assuming the poster doesn’t speak Italian and does speak English, allows for better concentration to what’s going on due to the lack of a need for subtitles. I’m not saying Blow Up is the only choice, but the reasons for suggesting it weren’t merely because it’s more popular than the early ones. Sometimes the herd has a good reason for grazing where it does, besides, if one wants to truly avoid herd mentality one could probably skip Anonioni altogether since his name comes up due to a sort of group decision that his films are more important to see than are those of most other directors. There are a heck of a lot of films out there that far fewer people have seen than any of Antonioni’s, pick one of those at random and that would be really be going off on your own.
“Most people in the original “age” of Antonioni saw L’Avventura first, thereby establishing his reputation.”
Actually most people in the original “age” dismissed L’Avventura first despite his reputation, the Cannes premiere was one of the mayor catastrophes of the festival´s history, and a couple of directors and critics had to collect signatures in order to save Antonioni’s reputation. That being said, I don’t think that L’Avventura is the best place to start unless one is already familiar with Antonioni’s particular style and his ideas. The best introduction aside “Il Grido” might either be “Chronicle of a Love Affair” or “Le amiche”.
@ kndy; I agree with Mastroianni that “Blow Up”
why?
Blow Up is one of his more obscure films – I GUESS people like it because it depicts hipsters and they get a warm/fuzzy from that alone.
So why ?
haha never mind Greg answered….
Oh, sure, find one word to replace my three dozen. That’s so like you…
@ Greg -
ha – so like you to replace my one word with three dozen – I’m ever jealous….
I wish I could find Frank’s reading of the film….lots of stuff about visual perception-
the stuff people miss in that one.
-the Cannes premiere was one of the mayor catastrophes of the festival´s history, and a couple of directors and critics had to collect signatures in order to save Antonioni’s reputation-
But wasn’t it also co-winner of the Jury Prize that year after the benefit of a second screening?
I’d go with an edited chronological order:
Il Grido
L’Avventura
La Notte
La Notte
The Red Desert
Blow-Up
Zabriskie Point
The Passenger
Really, I thought Blow Up was his most mainstream even though his Monica Vitti collaborations are his most acclaimed, even though, I will say, that L’Eclisse, La Notte, and Red Desert are all below Blow Up on They Shoot Pictures, but I think people get the picture
-how about Le Amiche?-
Read Pavese instead. Though, now that I think about it, maybe Pavese is the best place to start with Antonioni.
The original poster’s favorite filmmakers are Fritz Lang, Sergio Leone, Christopher Nolan, Tom Tykwer and Joe Wright.
I’d say Christian Nancarrow is on the right track above…
axsaxs
Title says it all.