278 L'eclisse

[feihong]

Nobody's written about the flicker in the early part of the film yet. I assume that's been corrected for this release. But back when the DVD was released, reviewers didn't comment on it, either.

[cdnchris]

I'll have to check the Blu-ray tonight (though I'm sure it's fine as I'm sure Svet would have noticed an issue when he looked at the Blu-ray) but the DVD version contains the wrong commentary track: the DVD actually has the commentary for Riot in Cell Block 11, which is actually kind of trippy to listen to with this film.

I sent an e-mail off to them to let them know.

[Drucker]

But how does it sound with Dark Side of the Moon playing?

[zedz]

As tedious as Dark Side of the Moon always sounds?

[feihong]

I got the disc today and I'm watching it now. The flicker in the early portion of the film is completely gone. The blu-ray looks great.

[ellipsis7]

Yes, L'ECLISSE looks superb in HD... A real revelation... Roll on L'AVVENTURA BR, to complete the trilogy in 1080P...

(BTW as Chris noted the commentary on the release version of DVD Disc #1 is from RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11 in error, but no matter it's fine & correct on the BR disc)...

[feihong]

That's great, actually. It's like getting two commentaries for the price of one.

[cdnchris]

I was on vacation so missed the e-mail about this (it was sent a week ago,) but Criterion has replacement DVDs ready that have the correct commentary. Anyone who bought the new dual-format edition and wants a corrected DVD can contact mulvaney@criterion.com. All future printings will have the correct commentary on the DVD.

[ccfixx]

Hello Chris,

I hope this email finds you well. We will soon have replacement DVDs for the L'ECLISSE DVDs, but they are not yet available. We expect them soon and as soon as they become available we'll mail you one at the address you provided. In the meanwhile, please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for supporting Criterion!

Best,
Jon Mulvaney

[cdnchris]

Huh. I was led to believe they had them ready to go and was offered one (I ended up passing on it as I wasn't too concerned about it.)

[warren oates]

I'm thinking they might have only had a limited quantity of the correct pressing on hand. Because I emailed last night and got much the same response as ccfixx.

[ccfixx]

For those interested, replacement DVDs are now shipping because I received mine in the mail today.

Also, a note was included...

Dear Criterion Collector,

Thank you very much for your order of the new, dual format Blu-ray/DVD L'ECLISSE from criterion.com.

After the first pressing of this title, we noticed a problem. the commentary track on the DVD disc two was incorrect. As quickly as possible, we went to work to produce a new disc, with the proper DVD commentary for the film.

Today we are sending you this corrected DVD disc two, to replace the original disc. The new disc will read "SECOND PRINTING." Please feel free to dispose of the original disc; there is no need to send it to us.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. As always, thank you for supporting Criterion.

Sincerely,

The Criterion Collection

[AtlantaFella]

I was on vacation so missed the e-mail about this (it was sent a week ago,) but Criterion has replacement DVDs ready that have the correct commentary. Anyone who bought the new dual-format edition and wants a corrected DVD can contact mulvaney@criterion.com. All future printings will have the correct commentary on the DVD.

Thank you; I upgraded to dual-format yesterday and sure enough the DVD version has the incorrect commentary. I appreciate the alert.

[chatterjees]

I sent an email to Jon almost 2 weeks ago regarding the replacement disc. I am still waiting for a reply!

[aox]

Pena's commentary is fine and competent, but I don't think it compares to Youngblood's on L'avventura which might be my favorite commentary of all time. It's a perfect mixture of academia and fun.

[Norbie]

I got my copy last week and the DVD contains the correct Audio Commentary. :( ;)

Do I need to watch L'avventura and La Notte to understand what's going on in L'eclisse?

[ellipsis7]

No, they are a loose trilogy perceived to be on the theme of 'alienation', by all means do watch them all but there is no absolute onus to do so in order to appreciate L'ECLISSE which is a standalone piece...

[Jack Phillips]

No, they are a loose trilogy perceived to be on the theme of 'alienation', by all means do watch them all but there is no absolute onus to do so in order to appreciate L'ECLISSE which is a standalone piece...

Well, yes, but I find that the ending of L'ECLISSE provides a kind of summing up of all Antonioni up to that point. L'avventura and La Notte are chronologically interchangeable, but I feel it would be a good idea to save L'ECLISSE for last.

[ellipsis7]

No, they are a loose trilogy perceived to be on the theme of 'alienation', by all means do watch them all but there is no absolute onus to do so in order to appreciate L'ECLISSE which is a standalone piece...

Well, yes, but I find that the ending of L'ECLISSE provides a kind of summing up of all Antonioni up to that point. L'avventura and La Notte are chronologically interchangeable, but I feel it would be a good idea to save L'ECLISSE for last.

True. But actually you'd have to see much more and read much more to fully register the development up to the point of L'ECLISSE...

[FakeBonanza]

I personally find the "loose trilogy" perspective to be nothing more than a matter of critical convenience, which too often results in the films being discussed as a whole, rather than individually. The themes present in these three films are not exclusive to them, though of course his films with male protagonists tend to differ more significantly because of the significance Antonioni places on gender.

Despite all this, it is probably best to watch them in order, just as it's best to watch the three of them before going on to Red Desert. There is always some benefit to watching a director's films chronologically, because there will usually be a natural and observable progression. In this case, it's most crucial that you watch L'avventura first because of its significance and because it's a little "looser" than the latter two, which are more refined, distilled examples of Antonioni's aesthetic (with L'eclisse being the most refined).

I do think there is an argument to be made for not only watching La notte after the other two, but apart from them as well. To me it is the most singular of the three, both in terms of style and thematic content. I think it is La notte that suffers the most from being included in the so-called trilogy.

[oh yeah]

Surely watching a director's oeuvre chronologically has a certain satisfaction to it in being able to see them actually evolve, but I don't think this (or any other prescribed order of viewing) is at all necessary or even that important. One can be fine having Red Desert as their first Antonioni just as much as having Identification of a Woman, Il Grido or Zabriskie Point. Now, a film like Zabriskie, because it is so different in certain superficial ways from A's other work, may offer a false picture of what his art is about, but this would be readily remedied by simply watching L'avventura, or what have you, next. My first Antonioni was The Passenger. I appreciated it more than loved it, and then after 3 months of nothingness, no further viewings of that or any of his other work, I had a revelation of sorts, related to certain life events and triggered by certain images from the film suddenly trickling through my brain again: this is a great, great film. And from there I devoured all the 1960's works in whatever order I could find them the fastest. It was actually Zabriskie Point and Red Desert which I loved the most on first viewing, with the "alienation trilogy" leaving me cold (only to grow to love them on repeat viewings; Blowup also took maybe five viewings before I saw it as a masterpiece). Although I do adore L'eclisse and L'avventura, there is something special about his color films, and something special about that other trilogy -- the MGM "International" trilogy -- which may make me inclined to agree with Murray Pomerance when he suggests that Antonioni worked best in color. But I digress.

[Norbie]

But "story wise" there is no problem in which order you watch them? As suppose to something like Manon of the Spring and Jean de Florette.

[FakeBonanza]

But "story wise" there is no problem in which order you watch them? As suppose to something like Manon of the Spring and Jean de Florette.

That's correct. There's no narrative continuity across the three movies.

[feihong]

Oh yeah is right on the money here. These are films that change and alter and which probably deepen with successive viewings, so the order in which you watch them is fairly immaterial--re-watching them is a worthwhile part of the experience. This trio really is a trilogy mostly in the sense of international marketing than any sense of narrative continuity between the films. They do share themes, but these movies also share themes with many later Antonioni films, and some earlier ones.

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

One can be fine having Red Desert as their first Antonioni just as much as having Identification of a Woman, Il Grido or Zabriskie Point.

Somewhat agree, although I certainly wouldn't recommend "Identification" as a first since it's much weaker than his earlier work, almost like "Antonioni light". Having reviewed most of his filmography recently, I'd say that the dialogue in "the trilogy" hasn't aged too well. In that respect I prefer his color films. "Red Desert", especially, was amazing, and "Zabriskie Point" came as quite a surprise knockout to me. As a film about the '68 generation it holds up quite well today compared to others of that kind. I would surely love to see that one in HD. The quite strong Warner dvd transfer seems to come from a 2K scan.

By the way, I still need to view, "The Mystery of Oberwald", the rarely talked about experiment in his work. OT. But could someone write a bit about that one?