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MichelangeloAntonioni

L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

Mar

20

natural phenomena

L'eclisse (1962)

Vitti's blond hair shifts in front of Delon's dark coupe, quietly mimicking the eclipse. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.

A natural phenomenon for this year's March equinox, three supermoons, and the March 25 solar eclipse.

“There was a silence different from all other silences, an ashen light, and then darkness – total stillness. I thought that during an eclipse even our feelings stop. Out of this came part of the idea for L'eclisse.”

During several moments in the film, the main characters' mannerisms foreshadow the looming solar eclipse.

La notte [The Night] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961)

Feb

7

Falò delle vanità – 1497

La notte (1961)

Author Giovanni Pontano (Marcello Mastroianni) pondering next to a full bookcase. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.

Books, or art, in commemoration of Savonarola's 1497 Florentine falò delle vanità (bonfire of the vanities).

“I used to spend afternoons reading in bed. Tommaso would call and find me there. He could have kissed me. I wouldn't have resisted, out of boredom. But he was satisfied to watch me as I read. All those purposeless books.”

– Lidia

A lavish #CocktailParty in celebration of the launch of a novel is bookended by tragedy, in the loss of a befriended writer and the unraveling of another writer and his wife's marriage.

L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

Jul

10

Mon

L'eclisse (1962)

Vittoria (Monica Vitti, bottom left) at the Borsa – the Rome Stock Exchange. A clock top-right indicates it's Monday, July 10, 12:31 pm.. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.

“Everything's crashing here.”

– Vittoria's mother

L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

Jul

19

fruit

L'eclisse (1962)

Vitti as Vittoria in front of a fruit stand next to La Borsa, the Rome stock exchange located in the remnants of the Hadrianeum. The fruit in the middle is a Melone Mantovano, a type of cantaloupe. DP: Gianni Di Venanzo.

“I still can't figure out if it's an office, a market place, or a boxing ring. And maybe I don't even need to.”

– Vittoria