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Loading... That Bowling Alley on the Tiber: Tales of a Directorby Michelangelo Antonioni
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In this evocative book, Michelangelo Antonioni, one of the world's greatest directors, gives us a rare glimpse inside the creative mind. "My thoughts are always about film," he says, and here he has written thirty-three richly suggestive pieces elaborating ideas for films as yet unproduced. Beautifully translated by William Arrowsmith, That Bowling Alley on the Tiber reveals a master of cinema in a new role--that of an accomplished and sensitive writer. "Plangent, haunting and refreshingly tough-minded...[Antonioni] is asking the questions that every serious film maker will have to ask if the cinema is ever to prove as hospitable to ideas as it is to the great god Action."--The New York Times Book Review "These writings, like his films, pair luminous landscapes with ethereal tales....These are clearly working notes, and they are as interesting for their analysis of the director's methods as for their literary content."--Library Journal About the Author and Translator: Michelangelo Antonioni has gained an international following with such films as L'Avventura, La notte, Blow-up and The Passenger. William Arrowsmith is Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Emory University. ·Winner of a major Italian literary award No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)853.914Literature Italian, Romanian & related literatures Italian fiction 1900- 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Al di la delle Nuvole or Beyond the Clouds made a impact my recollection assures me was significant when I first watched this film. As an ode to a Cairean friend who died senselessly yesterday, I elected to refresh my memories of Michelangelo Antonioni's and Wim Wender's portrayal of four love stories intertwining the ephemerality of romance, the impossibility of imagined perfection, the bitterness of betrayal, and the seduction of the strange.
What I ended up with was a heavy-handed, platitudinous pampering to chauvinistic portrayals of the female ideal. John Malkovich was perfect as himself (what else would be expected) and Jean Reno thankfully provided comic relief. Irene Jacob was as ever ethereal. The panoramic visuals remained as beautiful as I remembered. The rest...let me remain restrained in saying "to be discarded".
As always, it is sensual gratification to experience a film using multiple languages. The added bonus was that this time I noted the original title of the book on which the film is based.
I'm curious to see whether the reading will be adequate compensation for this corruption (better still, theft) of my original wonder.