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It has been only yesterday that
the news agencies have been announcing the death of the legendary Swedish
director, screenwriter and producer Ingmar Bergman. Unfortunately, the Swede’s
death has quickly been followed by another legendary figure of the modern
cinema. This time it is Italy
the country from which the famous filmmaker was original.
The Italian filmmaker
Michelangelo Antonioni has passed away on Monday night, being at his home. He
was to celebrate his 95 birthday anniversary only on the 29th of
September, but it seems that the time and his age have not been willing to
spare him.
Michelangelo Antonioni has
depicted through his movies alienation and everything that this phenomenon
involves and this has made him a symbol of the art-house cinema. His movies,
such as “Blow-Up” and “L’Aventura” have started to be considered real
cinematographic masterpieces.
Michelangelo Antonioni has been
said by the film critics to have been able to help the post-war Italian film
turning away from the Neorealist movement. Together with Federico Fellini,
Antonioni has directed the Italian movie toward a personal cinema of feeling
and imagination.
Antonioni, who always expressed distaste
for critics, was not one to incite viewers into reading too much into his work.
"When a scene is being shot,
it is very difficult to know what one wants it to say. And even if one does
know, there is always a difference between what one has in mind and the result
on film. I never think ahead of the shot I'm going to make the following day
because if I did, I'd only produce a bad imitation of the original image in my
mind.
Although he has not directed more
than 25 movies in its entire career, Antonioni had been honored in 1995 by Hollywood with a special
Academy Award for his lifetime achievement. In 1996, a strange happened and the
Oscar statue was stolen from the director’s home.
US director Martin Scorsese viewed
him as "one of the greatest film directors as well as one of the greatest
artists of the 20th century.
"He was a maestro for my
generation, but also for younger directors," said Scorsese.
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