L' Avventura Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

L' Avventura Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 31, 2014

Winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Avventura" a.k.a. "The Adventure" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; audio commentary by film historian Gene Youngblood; writings by the Italian director read by Jack Nicholson; critical analysis of the film by French director Olivier Assayas; and Gianfranco Mingozzi's documentary film "Antonioni: Documents and Testimonials" (1966). The release also arrives on with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, as well as the statement Michelangelo Antonioni made about the film and the letter that circulated in support of it after its 1960 Cannes Film Festival premiere. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Claudia

The long prologue creates the impression that L’Avventura would be a different kind of film. A group of middle class Italians go on a yacht trip. They take a break on the tiny island of Panarea, off the Sicilian coast, and begin enjoying the beautiful weather. A few hours later, however, one of them, a young woman named Anna (Lea Massari, Murmur of the Heart), mysteriously disappears.

At first annoyed and then seriously concerned, Anna’s lover, Sandro (Gabrielle Ferzetti, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Night Porter), and her best friend, Claudia (Monica Vitti, Help Me My Love), decide to spend the night on the island, in a lonely shack, hoping that Anna might reappear. They are joined by another one of their friends, an aging socialite, who is eager to find out what has happened to the missing woman. On the following day, after an extensive search conducted by the local authorities, everyone returns home.

The film now heads in an entirely new direction.

Sandro and Claudia continue their search, but begin an affair which gradually subdues their desire to find out what has happened to Anna. Initially they both feel that what they have started may not be right, but later on become a lot more comfortable with their relationship. Eventually, they also become convinced that they have found true love.

For Sandro and Claudia, however, true love has different meaning. The majority of the time Sandro is the stronger, more aggressive of the two, but it is easy to see through the mask he wears that he is a vulnerable man afraid to be alone. He loves Claudia, but he needs her even more -- she fills the void left by Anna and brings balance in his life that makes him the man he wants to be. Claudia desires emotional security and wants to be in a relationship where she is unconditionally loved -- the thought that Anna could reappear and she could lose Sandro terrifies her. It is why she frequently asks him to tell her that he loves her.

The manner in which the insecurities of the lovers are revealed is what makes L’Avventura a groundbreaking film. It is not words but the carefully selected visuals, the precise camera movement, even the placement of different objects around the lovers that reveal what they fear and dread.

The film’s rhythm mirrors that of Sandro and Claudia’s relationship. At times it is steady, quite energetic, other times it dramatically slows down. There are also sequences where the camera senses that the two lovers need time and quietly pulls back, temporarily allowing them to be alone with their thoughts.

The two leads are sensational. Vitti not only looks stunningly beautiful, but also incredibly relaxed in front of Antonioni’s camera. Ferzetti, one of the greatest Italian actors from the post-war era, is incredibly convincing as the confident but needed lover. Though her time in front of the camera is limited, Massari also leaves a lasting impression.

Antonioni shot L’Avventura with cinematographer Aldo Scavarda (Bernardo Bertolucci’s Before the Revolution, Giancarlo Zagni’s She Got What She Asked For). The soundtrack was created by Antonioni’s frequent collaborator Giovanni Fusco (Le Amiche, Il Grido).

Note: L’Avventura is the first film in the Italian master's Trilogy of Alienation (the other two films are La Notte and L'Eclisse).

L' Avventura Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative and a 35mm fine-grain. The original negative was provided courtesy of Mediaset (Rome), Compass Film (Rome), and Cinematographique Lyre (Paris). Thousnads of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, flicker, and jitter.

The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm optical soundtrack. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube's integrated workstation, and iZotope RX 3.

Scanning: L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna.
Colorist: Lee Kline/Criterion, New York."

The new 4K restoration of L'Avventura is magnificent. Even without direct comparisons with Criterion's two-disc DVD release it is very easy to see the dramatic improvements in terms of detail, clarity, and fluidity. There are numrous close-ups, for instance, where one can spot various details that are simply missing on the DVD release (see Monica Vitti's blouse in screencapture #5). The beautiful panoramic shots from the island of Panarea impress with outstanding clarity and fluidity (see screencapture #3). Perhaps the most striking improvements, however, can be seen with the expanded range of nuanced grays and blacks -- shadow definition and image depth are now far more convincing (see screencaptures #18 and 19). On the DVD release many of these shots look flat and anemic. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Also, there are no traces of compromising sharpening adjustments. Unsurprisingly, from start to finish the film has a very beautiful organic appearance. Overall image stability is excellent. I would like to specifically mention that some stabilization enhancements have been made as well, because the different shaky transitions from the old restoration of the film are not present here. There are no noticeable debris, cuts, damage marks, warps, or stains to report in this review. Lastly, the encoding is excellent. To sum it all up, there is no doubt in mind that this new restoration of L'Avventura will remain the definitive presentation of the film on the home video market. (Note; This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

L' Avventura Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The sound is well rounded and crisp. Also, there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic activity. Giovanni Fusco's soundtrack easily makes its presence felt, but L'Avvenura is not a film with an aggressive sound design. Naturally, overall dynamic activity is somewhat limited. The dialog is consistently crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

L' Avventura Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original English-language trailer for L'Avventura. (This is not the new Janus trailer for the recent restoration/re-release of the film). In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Olivier Assayas on L'Avventura - French director Olivier Assayas (Carlos, Something in the Air) provides a critical analysis of L'Avventura, which is presented in three parts. The program was produced by Editions Montparnasse in 2004 and reedited by Criterion. In French, with optional English subtitles (27 min, 1080i).
  
  1. The Empty Center - in this segment, Olivier Assayas focuses on the film's very unusual 'prologue' and the manner in which Anna's disappearance effectively redirects it; the film's visual design and its relationship with the narrative; the fact that today the film presents the same challenges to an unprepared viewer that it did during its premiere in 1960; the character transformations after Anna's disappearance; etc.
  
  2. Point Zero - in this segment, Olivier Assayas discusses the evolving relationship between Claudia and Sandro; the camera movement during the village trip and the poetic yet abstract reality in which Claudia and Sandro exist; the symbolism behind select images; etc.
  
  3. The Resolution - in this segment, Olivier Assayas focuses on the bond between Claudia and Sandro; the different overtones in the final third of the film; the emotional gap between the two lovers (which is similar to that present during the prologue); etc.

• Jack Nicholson Reads Essays by Antonioni - presented here are two essays by Michelangelo Antonioni read by Jack Nicholson, who collaborated with the Italian director on The Passenger. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. "L'Avventura: A Moral Adventure" - the essay focuses on Michelangelo Antonioni's unwillingness to discuss his films. The director argues that films should teach the viewer to blend visual image and sound and idea so that they become a unified experience, and explains what motivated him to shoot L'Avventura. Audio only. (10 min, 1080p).
  
  2. "Reflections on the Film Actor" - in this essay, Michelangelo Antonioni highlights some of the qualities actors should possess and discusses the type of relationship that should exist between actors and directors. Audio only. (7 min, 1080p).
  
  3. Working with Antonioni - in this audio segment, Jack Nicholson addresses some of the points made by Michelangelo Antonioni in the two essays, and recalls some of his more interesting interactions with the Italian director. Audio only. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

• Antonioni: Documents and Testimonials - this documentary produced by Gianfranco Mingozzi and endorsed by Michelangelo Antonioni initially appeared on Criterion's DVD release of L'Avventura. It focuses on his personal life (from his childhood years in Ferrara to his final days in Rome) and working methods (archival footage from the shooting of a number of different films is included). Also used in the films are clips with comments from different actors that appeared in Michelangelo Antonioni's films, such as Lucia Bosé (Story of a Love Affair), Valentina Cortese (Le Amiche), and Monica Vitti, as well as fellow directors, such as Cesare Zavattini (Love in the City) and Federico Fellini (who worked with Michelangelo Antonioni on the script for his first film, The White Sheik). The documentary was produced in collaboration with the Film Board of Canada in 1966. In French and Italian, with optional English subtitles. (59 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Introduction
  2. Friends from Ferrara
  3. Story of a Love Affair
  4. Francesco Rosi and I Vinti
  5. The Lady Without Camelias
  6. Cesare Zavattini
  7. Le amiche, Valentina Cortese
  8. Fellini
  9. Music
  10. L'Avventura with Monica
  11. Cannes
  12. La notte
  13. The color of emotions
  14. Hiding behind the camera
  15. Antonioni and the actor
  16. L'eclisse

• Commentary - in this audio commentary, film historian Gene Youngblood analyzes the evolution of the relationship between Claudia and Sandro, the film's visual style (the choreography of the images), some of the erotic overtones, the role of nature in the film and the manner in which it is shot, the revolutionary use of dialog, etc. The audio commentary was recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1989 and was included on the first DVD release of L'Avventura.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, as well as the statement Michelangelo Antonioni made about the film and the letter that circulated in support of it after its 1960 Cannes Film Festival premiere.

L' Avventura Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Words cannot possibly describe how beautiful the new restoration of Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura is. I could not see it on the big screen, but viewing it on Blu-ray was a very special experience. Now that all three films from the Italian director's Trilogy of Alienation are out on Blu-ray (the other two films are La Notte and L'Eclisse), I urge you to make room for them in your collections. They are essential to see and own. VERY HIHGLY RECOMMENDED.