Red Desert (1964)

An emotionally disturbed married woman, Giuliana (Monica Vitti, La notte; L'eclisse), is introduced to a mining engineer, Corrado (Richard Harris, Mutiny on the Bounty; The Sporting Life; ), who is on his way to Patagonia, Argentina. They meet repeatedly, flirt, and eventually make love. Soon after, the man leaves while the woman slips into a state of bipolar depression.
Shot during a period when Michelangelo Antonioni was in an active relationship with Monica Vitti, Red Desert was the Italian director's first color film. Bold, imaginative and strikingly abstract, Red Desert reflected Antonioni's attitude towards rapid industrialization and urbanization, which at the time had greatly contributed to the spiritual despair and alienation many of his countrymen struggled with.


Italian
Un incidente d'auto provoca in Giuliana uno choc che, aggravato dall'ambiente particolare in cui la professione del marito, ingegnere elettronico, la costringe a vivere, si tramuta in uno stato di nevrosi depressiva. Corrado, un amico del marito, si sente attratto verso la donna e tenta di aiutarla ad uscire dalla sua solitudine piena di incubi, intrecciando con lei una fuggevole ed amara relazione. Tale esperienza non fa che aggravare lo stato depressivo della donna che si vede inconsapevolmente ingannata anche dal suo figlioletto, il quale finge d'essere colpito da una grave malattia. Fallito il tentativo di porre fine violentemente alla propria esistenza senza scopo, Giuliana continuerà la sua vita in precario equilibrio tra rassegnazione e pazzia.

Russian
Джулиана носит в себе страх, одиночество и тягу к любви. Опустошенная душа, как серый, унылый, индустриальный пейзаж… Джулиана движется смутно, невнятно, почти на ощупь, так же, как непроявленная любовь внутри нее… Движется вместе с солнцем за горизонт…

Главный приз кинофестиваля в Венеции, 1964г.
Заключительная часть своеобразной пенталогии Микеланджело Антониони, которая была начата ещё в 1957 году «Криком» и в целом касалась темы «некоммуникабельности чувств» в условиях стабилизировавшегося итальянского (шире — европейского) общества спустя полтора-два десятилетия после второй мировой войны. Собственно говоря, Антониони как раз и был назван «певцом некоммуникабельности», разобщения между людьми, потери душевных человеческих контактов, непреодолимого чувства одиночества, что на фоне развития экономических и социальных аспектов бытия, формирования буржуазного «общества потребления» воспринималось особенно обострённо. Человек, взятый в своей отдельной экзистенции, оказывался бесконечно непонятым и даже вообще непознаваемым. И его связь с отчуждённым внешним миром выглядела тоже призрачной и неясной, как в густом тумане, что наиболее впечатляюще с пластической и кинематографической точки зрения выражено именно в «Красной пустыне», первой цветной ленте итальянского режиссёра.


IMDB Rating 7.7/10

The industrial look of Red Desert is certainly amongst its most unique features. The struggle of the main characters to express their feelings, for example, is revealed through numerous striking images of polluted landscapes, as well as unusual color experimentation where the camera is largely treated as an observer whose power to manipulate is in fact far more important than the words and actions of the characters it follows . As a result, Red Desert is often seen as a film about the expressive authority of color rather than the history of a doomed affair.

The use of multiple sequences of unique electronic tunes, some mimicking sci-fi film scores from the early 40s-50s, also suggest that Red Desert was meant to be a much broader canvas where specific sounds and images - now an integral part of the industrialization and urbanization of the world Antonioni was living in - were to be the focus of attention, not the characters in it and their personal stories. This is most obvious in that notorious scene where Corrado begins tearing apart the red wall while physical attraction and love are casually discussed by Giuliana and his friends - a clear sign of Antonioni's changing attitude towards narrative structure and direction. In his L'avventura (1960), La note (1961), and L'eclisse (1962), Antonioni spends a great deal of time on specific objects he deemed crucial in understanding the main characters and their stories; in Red Desert, a reversed trend is evident - the main characters are objects that help one understand a complex process.

The end comes abruptly - and de facto offers a better summation of Antonioni's controversial stance on progress and industrialization than a logical and satisfying closure of Giuliana's story. Her life returns to normal, but her illness intensifies and chaos erupts. Interestingly enough, what eventually helps Giuliana regain her strength and sanity is not medicine but emotional detachment from the new world she is forced to live in.

Note: In 1964, Red Desert won Golden Lion award for Best Film, as well as FIPRESCI Prize (Michelangelo Antonioni) at the Venice Film Festival. In 1965, the film also won Silver Ribbon award for Best Cinematography (Carlo Di Palma) granted by Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG4-AVC, and granted a 1080p transfer Red Desert is the second Blu-ray release to be introduced by British distribs BFI (the first one being Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salo). Once again, I am going to quote the small announcement left by James White, technical producer of mastering and restoration at BFI, in the lavish booklet for Red Desert. I believe that having it here would greatly assist some of our readers in understanding the specific look the film carries:

"Red Desert has been newly transferred in Hi-Definition using the original 35mm negative film elements and appears in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with restored 2.0 sound. Red Desert was restored using HD-DVNR and MTI restoration systems, removing dirt, scratches, and stabilizing the image. Every effort has been made to present Red Desert in its pristine, original form. However, a small number of instances of damage on the original film elements will exhibit occasional image weave and flutter due to slight warping and sprocket wear. As with the majority of Italian films made during this time, all audio was recorded after filming and synched during post-production and therefore the film appears to exhibit occasional "loose synch" issues. This is true to the film's original release and is not a technical fault".

My first impression of this new and restored print by BFI is that it is notably different from what has been available via SDVD (primarily the old Image release in the United States and the more recent R4 release in Australia). Here the color scheme is accurately rendered with reds, yellows, greens, and blues, being better saturated, natural looking, and convincing. The blacks on the other hand are lush and so strong that any side by side comparison with the Australian disc will immediately reveal to you how much more depth the BFI print has (particularly when blown through a digital projector). Furthermore, contrast is very strong allowing one to see details I personally have not been able to see on any of the previous SDVD releases. With other words, the color-scheme is not only accurate but vastly superior as well.

Film purists will also be delighted to know that heavy DNR application is nowhere to be detected here. The prevalent grainy structure Red Desert boasts is perfectly transferred and preserved in this 1080p print and the subtle look Antonioni aimed for in my opinion is very much intact. From the opening scenes where the camera zooms over the plant, to the foggy scene at the port with the passing by ship, to the final scene where Monica Vitti's character is seen succumbing to depression, yet again, I find this Blu-ray release to be a tremendous improvement over any previous release of Red Desert.

As noted by James White there are a few very tiny specks that I noticed during the first ten minutes or so but I assume that these are engraved into the original print so removing them completely was impossible. Once again, these are extremely minor and I only mention them so there aren't any calls later on claiming that the Blu-ray release of Red Desert did not receive an accurate evaluation. The important thing to remember is that with the grain structure of the film intact the 1080p transfer reveals a degree of clarity that will most certainly impress those who have been wishing for a solid and expertly produced release of Antonioni's groundbreaking film. To sum it all up, this is the definitive presentation of Red Desert which I believe looks as good as possible given some of the source limitations addressed earlier in this evaluation. (Note:This is a Region-B "locked" disc and unless you have a region-free player or a Region-B PS3 you will not be able to access its content).

Red Desert arrives with a newly restored Italian PCM mono track (and added English subtitles). Once again, the SDVD audio treatment on the Australian release isn't a match for the PCM track BFI have provided on this Blu-ray disc. There is substantially more clarity and depth here. The intricate electronic-ambient soundtrack Red Desert boasts comes off beautifully and as far as I am concerned does not suffer from any deficiencies whatsoever – I did not detect any disturbing pop-ups, cracks, or hissings to report either. For the record, as James White points out, there are a few very minor sync "issues" but these are a byproduct of the post-production overdubbing Red Desert received and are inherited via the master elements in Rome.

On the actual Blu-ray disc aside from the original theatrical trailer you will find a full-blown commentary by Professor Forgacs where he does a truly outstanding job in dissecting practically every single scene of importance in Red Desert. This commentary alone is worth paying the price for BFI's Blu-ray disc as it truly is a tremendous opportunity to learn about Michelangelo Antonioni's groundbreaking film from a man with a great deal of knowledge on Italian cinema in general. Bravo to BFI for going the extra mile and involving Professor Forgacs with this terrific project!
Another fantastic release by BFI delivers exactly what everyone was hoping for – a deserving treatment of Michelangelo Antonioni's sublime Red Desert. I feel that we are quite fortunate to have BFI release two films (Salo and Red Desert) that until recently were impossible to see in an acceptable form in any English-speaking market, not just the US. With Red Desert in particular it seems like the BFI Blu-ray release will be the only one to own. I personally am incredibly grateful for this terrific turn of events. Highly Recommended.

From www.blu-ray.com

REGIA: Michelangelo Antonioni
SCENEGGIATURA: Tonino Guerra, Michelangelo Antonioni
ATTORI: Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi, Rita Renoir, Lili Rheims, Valerio Baroleschi, Aldo Grotti, Emanuela Paola Carboni, Giuliano Missirini, Arturo Parmiani, Giovanni Lolli, Carla Ravasi, Ivo Scherpiani, Hiram Mino Madonia, Bruno Borghi, Giulio Cotignoli, Beppe Conti, Bruno Scipioni
Ruoli ed Interpreti

FOTOGRAFIA: Carlo Di Palma, Dario Di Palma
MONTAGGIO: Eraldo Da Roma
MUSICHE: Giovanni Fusco
PRODUZIONE: ANGELO RIZZOLI PER FILM DUEMILA (ROMA), FRANCORIZ (PARIGI)
DISTRIBUZIONE: CINERIZ - DOMOVIDEO, MONDADORI VIDEO, MULTIGRAM
PAESE: Francia, Italia 1964
GENERE: Drammatico
DURATA: 116 Min
FORMATO: Colore EASTMANCOLOR - TECHNICOLOR
VISTO CENSURA: 14
Critica:
Dichiarazioni di Michelangelo Antonioni durante la conferenza stampa tenuta al Palazzo del Cinema di Venezia, dopo la proiezione del film: "La storia è nata a colori, ecco perché dico che la decisione di fare il film a colori non l'ho mai presa, non era necessario prenderla. E poi, mi sembra che, riflettendoci adesso, cioè a posteriori, abbiano giocato anche altri motivi. Per esempio, il più importante dei quali è che nella vita moderna mi pare che il colore abbia preso un posto molto importante. Siamo circondati sempre più da oggetti colorati, la plastica che è un elemento molto moderno è a colori, (…) e che la gente si stia accorgendo che la realtà è a colori. Nel film ho cercato di usare il colore in funzione espressiva, nel senso che avendo questo mezzo nuovo in mano, ho fatto ogni sforzo perché questo mezzo mi aiutasse a dare allo spettatore quella suggestione che la scena richiedeva."
Note:
- LEONE D'ORO E PREMI FIPRESCI E CINEMA NUOVO ALLA MOSTRA DI VENEZIA 1964. - NASTRO D'ARGENTO 1965 PER LA FOTOGRAFIA A COLORI.