Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Identification of a Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 29, 2022

Michelangelo Antonioni's "Identificazione di una donna" a.k.a. "Identification of a Woman" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Enrica Antonioni; new program with critic Pasquale Iannone; and video diary. In Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Niccolo (Tomas Milian, Don't Torture a Duckling, The Designated Victim) is a successful Italian film director whose wife has recently left him. While reevaluating his life and looking for a subject for his next film, he begins seeing two women - Mavi (Daniela Silverio, Oriana), an unprejudiced and unpredictable aristocratic beauty, and Ida (Christine Boisson, Emmanuelle, The Mechanics of Women), a talented and emotionally available young actress. Both manage to fill large voids in his life but fail to replace his wife.

Eventually, Niccolo’s frustration hurts his relationship with Mavi and she quietly disappears -- first temporarily, then permanently. While searching for her, his relationship with Ida begins to deteriorate and he becomes seriously depressed. A stranger also warns Niccolo to stay away from Mavi.

Realizing that Niccolo is on the road to self-destruction, Ida comes up with a brilliant plan that allows him to track down Mavi. However, when the two finally meet again, he discovers that it wasn’t his lover that he had been obsessed with but something else -- something very real yet elusive, meaningful yet meaningless.

Michelangelo Antonioni’s Identification of a Woman has some interesting similarities with Federico Fellini’s 8½. In both films, the main protagonists are film directors who struggle enormously and make important discoverers. In both films reality and fantasy are closely intertwined, forcing one to continuously guess where the former ends and the latter begins. The two films also share a degree of honesty that is admirable.

What separates the two films are the women the directors meet and have relationships with. In 8½ they are beautiful and seductive, admired by the director but almost always seen and treated like beautiful objects. In Identification of a Woman they are real, insatiable, difficult to predict, and perhaps even dangerous. They can inspire and, as the director eventually discovers, be inspired to take risks and challenge perceptions.

Unsurprisingly, what is identified in Antonioni’s film is actually the gap that separates the two sexes. The various outdated expectations the director has about the women he sees are in fact what turns his world upside down -- he is so out of sync with reality that nothing makes sense to him other than making love, which is why he nearly loses his mind after Mavi disappears. On the other hand, it is during the lovemaking scenes where the women are identified -- their personalities, desires, insecurities.

The massive fog which engulfs the director and Mavi halfway through the film symbolizes the strange disconnect between the two sexes -- they feel their presence, as in real life, but are left without familiar signs to follow, frustrated and scared, mad at each other.

Identification of a Woman is not an easy film to like. It requires some patience and willingness to follow its story even if at times it looks impossible to fully comprehend. The manner in which reality and fantasy overlap in particular could be quite frustrating. Ultimately, however, the film’s honest and at the same time remarkably atmospheric depiction of the ever-evolving relationship between the two sexes and their insecurities is indeed quite fascinating to behold.

*In 1982, Identification of a Woman was nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or Award and won the 35th Anniversary Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Identification of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Identification of a Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Films.

This is the third Blu-ray release of Identification of a Woman that I have received and viewed. (The other two releases were produced by Criterion and Gaumont a decade ago). It is sourced from a new 2K master and offers a new, different presentation of the film.

Last night, I spent quite a bit of time with the release and my final take on it is that it presents the film pretty much as I remember it. My recollection of an old theatrical viewing of the film is that it should look between cold and cool but not desaturated. I think that Gaumont's release wanted to go in this direction, giving the film a colder/cooler appearance, but the overall balance did not turn out perfect. The Criterion release has some of this colder/cooler appearance and it looks very good, but quite a bit of material on it is graded too warm. The grading on this release fits between those of the two previous releases, with an overall superior balance that distributes more of the cold/cool that I remember better. Is it perfect? This is how I remember the film, so I am sharing with you what I thought of the color temperature of the new master and the overall look of the film. There are some darker areas where the dynamic range of the visuals can be improved, but this does not bother me. If there is any room for further adjustments that would affect select primaries and nuances, I would say that they would be cosmetic tweaks. Also, this is an extremely difficult film to present on Blu-ray. Why? Because the fog sequence is essentially impossible to get right in 1080p. I think that there are other areas with restricted light that are very tricky, too. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. All in all, in my opinion currently this release offers the most convincing presentation of the film. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Identification of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English and English SDH subtles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. A few exchanges could be a bit thin at times, but this is how they were recorded. The balance is still very good and they are easy to follow. The upper register is healthy. I did not encounter any audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

Identification of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Identification of a Director - in this exclusive new program, Enrica Antonioni, widow of Michelangelo Antonioni, explains why she believes that Identification of a Woman is at least partially an autobiographical film, and discusses the director's fascination with the female universe and how it is reflected in the film. There are some very interesting comments about the casting choices the director made. In Italian, with English subtitles. (31 min).

• With Michaelangelo - this intimate video diary was filmed by Enrica Antonioni. It offers a glimpse at Michelangelo Antonioni's final days, where he is seen painting, traveling with his wife, and enjoying the company of relatives and dear friends. In Italian, with English subtitles. (61 min).

• Antonioni's Final Masterpiece - in this exclusive new program, critic Pasquale Iannone introduces Identification of a Woman. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Cover - a reversible cover for Identification of a Woman.

Identification of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michelangelo Antonioni's Identification of a Woman is a beautiful and very atmospheric film about a film director looking for inspiration and the ever-evolving relationship between the two sexes. As is the case with practically all of the Italian director's films, Identification of a Woman will appeal primarily to those who do not demand concrete answers at the end of each film they see. This recent release from Cult Films is sourced from an exclusive new 2K master and I think that offers the overall most convincing presentation of the film to date. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.