Since its release in 1975, the reputation of Michelangelo
Antonioni’s brilliant hybrid of Hollywood thriller
and avant-garde art film has continued to grow. Today
it’s recognized as one of the great films of
our time. Muted and superb, Jack Nicholson stars as
David Locke, a world-weary reporter who takes on a
dead man’s identity to discover what’s
on “the other side of the window.” What
Locke finds there isn’t merely the stuff of thrillerdom— murder,
sinister politicos, a mysterious woman
(Maria Schneider)—but an existential journey
into the self’s relationship to eternity. Moving
from the metaphysical sprawl of the North African desert
to the delirious glitter of Gaudi’s Barcelona,
this autumnal masterpiece—screened here in Antonioni’s
preferred cut—shows the director at his most searching
and profound, not least in the breathtaking climactic
shot that’s one of the high points in cinema history. 126
min. Italy/USA/France, 1975 A Sony Pictures
Classics Release
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