Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

L' Eclisse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 8, 2015

Winner of the Jury Special Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'Eclisse" (1962) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The only supplemental feature on the disc is a video interview with Michelangelo Antonioni biographer Jose Moure. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Before the kiss

Words seem almost meaningless in L’Eclisse. A casual gesture, a smile, even a simple look frequently reveals so much more about the men and women that appear in front of Michelangelo Antonioni’s camera.

The women look beautiful but jaded. Some have lovers and husbands to spend time with, but their lives feel empty. Others have grown tired of looking for the right partner and have prepared to accept any man that fate might bring to them. A few are so eager to be loved that they frequently look desperate. The men are elegant. They wear fine suits even when they are not trying to impress. Most of them, however, look alive only when there is positive news coming from the floor of the Rome stock exchange.

The beautiful translator Vittoria (Monica Vitti, Red Desert, Help Me My Love) has just broken up with her jealous boyfriend Riccardo (Francisco Rabal, Viridiana, Goya in Bordeaux). She likes her new freedom but feels lonely. A good friend introduces her to another lonely beauty that has spent time in Africa and admires the way people there enjoy the simple things life has to offer. The women try to entertain each other but quickly realize that they have nothing in common.

Unsure what to do with her free time the lonely Vittoria begins visiting her widowed mother (Lilla Brignone, Violent Summer), who spends the majority of her time at the stock exchange. Her broker, Piero (Alain Delon, Purple Noon), has made her a fortune and she could not be happier. But when the market crashes she panics, and instead of warning the brash broker after he begins following Vittoria, she welcomes him with open arms and asks him to advise her how to recoup her losses.

Meanwhile, Vittoria and Piero begin dating. They are attracted to each other, but both have different expectations – Vittoria wants pure romance and an assurance that their relationship has a future; Piero wants an uncomplicated yet intense relationship and the freedom to walk away from it when it no longer suits his needs.

Antonioni’s final film in black and white is unusually cynical yet indescribably beautiful. In it the Eternal City is buzzing -- there are traffic jams, the cafes are full, and the sun shines bright. People everywhere, it seems, are happy. But when Antonioni’s camera comes closer and looks into their eyes it is easy to see that they are sad, jaded, disillusioned.

The 'discovery' introduces a sense of alienation that permeates the entire film. Indeed, the film gradually creates the impression that its characters are in fact forced to coexist in a sterile world where they must obey cruel capitalistic rules and play games with each other that make them feel like disposable objects.

Even by current standards the film’s visual style is quite extraordinary. For example, the framing of some of the intimate scenes is very unusual -- instead of coming closer to the lovers, the camera frequently observes them from afar; the shapes and unique placement of beautiful objects are also carefully observed during these scenes as if to suggest that like the two lovers they are equally incompatible. Elsewhere there are superbly framed panoramic shots that temporarily make the Eternal City look like a futuristic city which might have been abandoned by its residents after a nuclear disaster.

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

L' Eclisse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.86:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Eclisse arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The disc's main interface can be set in English, French, or German. Naturally, I assume that the British, French and German releases are identical because all three are distributed by StudioCanal.

The release has been sourced from the same master which Criterion used to produce their release of the film in the United States. I did some direct comparisons between the two releases and all of the technical characteristics we typically address in our reviews appear virtually identical. What this means is that there are very obvious improvements in terms of depth and clarity. The darker footage, in particular, looks vastly superior now (the blockiness that is visible on the old R1 DVD release is eliminated). The same traces of grain management are noticeable here. Exactly the same sharpening traces are also visible during select static shots (see screencapture #7). The end result is still quite pleasing, but ideally L'eclisse should have looked every bit as impressive as L'Avventura. Nevertheless, this is a fine presentation of the film that makes it easy to appreciate the vision of its creator. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

L' Eclisse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. (If one accesses the film via the French or German interfaces, there are optional French and German subtitles for the main feature).

Depth and clarity are very good. Dynamic intensity is limited, but this is hardly surprising because Giovanni Fusco's modest score has primarily a supportive role. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. Also, there are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.

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

• Interview with Jose Moure - in this featurette, Michelangelo Antonioni biographer Jose Moure (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) discusses the common themes between the three films in the Italian master's Trilogy of Alienation (the other two films are L'Avventura and La Notte), the socio-economic environment in Italy and the manner in which it is reflected in the three films, the unique manner in which black and white are used in L'eclisse, the evolution of Piero and Vittoria's relationship, etc. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (27 min, 1080p).

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

StudioCanal's technical presentation of Michelangelo Antonioni's L'eclisse is virtually identical to Criterion's presentation of the film. However, the two releases have different supplemental features. I think that the film can look better in high-definition, but the Blu-ray release represents a substantial upgrade in quality over previous DVD releases. Consider adding L'elcisse to your collection as it is an essential film to see and own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.