L'Eclisse poster & wallpaper

Alain Delon, Cyrus Elias, Francisco Rabal

After growing jaded from troubled relationships, a woman chooses a life of solitude.

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91% liked it

4,983 ratings

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87% liked it

15 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 58 min.

Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni

Release Date: January 1, 1962

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DVD Release Date: March 15, 2005

Stats: 285 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (285)

  • rubystevens
    September 12, 2008
    rubystevens
    the bored and the beautiful. stunning film, especially the uncompromising ending. get your existential angst here. i liked this more than l'avventura tho i probably need to watch that one again now...
  • binky013
    September 4, 2008
    binky013
    The Eclipse

    Okay, after reading my flixster buddies' comments about L'Elisse, I feel as if I must apologize in advance for what I'm about to say -- in general.

    Yes, I admit it, I jumped into the trilogy with La Notte, which, if you've read my comments,

    ...( read more) you know I like.

    Walter, I did not give up on this one -- I stuck it out. This being said, I'm that much the older, but, I fear, not much the wiser.

    Off-topic. Kind of. You be the judge. Has anyone who's actually reading this, having slogged through the above mire, read Haruki Murakami's short story entitled "The Elephant Vanishes"? Well, if not, it's a story about balance, in part, and about proportion, in part, and about mystery, in part, and about individual interest -- again, in part. And it's probably about more, but it's just a wee bit outside of "fresh in my mind." I have a small-sized memory.

    When an elephant suddenly disappears into proverbial thin air, what are we to think? I think some of us would think nothing. And for sure some of us would think something. And I truly believe that some of us would explore this phenomenon to the end of time, ala Fox Mulder.

    If I'd have come to this third part of Antonioni's trilogy before seeing La Notte, I can pretty much guarantee you that I would not ever have seen La Notte. The personal interest angle would be nil. But since I saw La Notte first -- the middle section of the trilogy -- I decided to check out the hind quarters, as it were, of this particular elephant.

    And what did I find? I found something lacking in all proportion to the middle. Something is out of whack with this part three installment. If you are going to do a trilogy -- and I never even saw the first film, as I've already said, so I apologize -- you should look for balance. Trust me, given my wholly biased perceived imbalance between part two and part three, I will not pursue, at my age, watching part one. Time is short, and precious. I actually learned this from watching La Notte. Believe it. Or not.

    Anywaysies, as my buddy Allison might say, this particular capstone is shrunkenly lacking, compared to the middle part. No pun intended, this baby is so black-and-white that even the idea of mystery is stripped to the bone like the bleached white skeletons incorporating an elephant graveyard. But I digress.

    But . . .

    Still, I would go on, but I hope I've already made my point. This one is very disappointing, like the way I feel when I realize that vanishing an elephant is not so simple as digging a time-worthy Shawshankian tunnel under the elephant's cage. It's actually, perhaps, the elegant possibility of warping reality, time, and me -- the reader. But L'Eclisse hardly comes up to, hardly fulfills, that degree of possibility. I'm at the thinking-nothing-about-this-anymore stage, beginning right now as I stop typing. But what do I know? I'm no Fox Mulder. I'm certainly not even the half shadow of a Tia Leone.
  • ebs90
    January 3, 2008
    ebs90
    It's useless to try to describe it. You just have to watch it. A classic of Italian cinema, about mediocrity, and being lost, and meaninglessness.

    "Siamo in media". We're in the middle.
  • Cinema101
    December 17, 2007
    Cinema101
    10/10

    One of my favorite films of all time. The first time I saw this I was left stunned. Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Eclisse is about a woman who's in a state of transition, the transition from an old relationship to a new one (or so it seems). She seems disillusioned with lo...( read more)ve of course but she's also dissillusioned (even frustrated) with our so-called "civilized" society and how this increasingly mechanized world, along with its steadily accelerated pace, has made love rather impossible.

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    Every shot of this film could be hung up in any museum and its final sequence is, simply, pure brilliance. It left me stunned.

    EDIT: Now my 3rd favorite film of all time, I've seen L'Eclisse roughly only four times. And it only gets better and better. Antonioni's genius is immeasurable. Everything in L'Eclisse, the choice of actors, to the set design, to the jarring score, to the hypnotizing cinematography, it's all so deliberate, manipulated and planned to the last degree. And after having seen L'Avventurra and La Notta, the first two films of his "alienation trilogy", I can now see clear thematic connections, with an almost linear pattern (an interesting counterpoint to the individual non-linear narratives of the three films) between the three. L'Eclisse is and will probably always be my favorite of his trilogy and therefore, of all his films.
  • mjgildea
    October 15, 2007
    mjgildea
    There were certain aspects of this movie that left me absolutely floored. Antonioni's composition (because every frame in this movie is a beautiful photograph), his use of sound (or lack thereof) namely in the first 20 minutes and in the last ten as well as the obnoxious stock ex...( read more)change scenes.

    And how can anyone neglect to make adoring mention of the luminous Monica Vitti?

    But for as beautiful as L'Eclisse was I couldn't bring myself to fall in love with it. For me it was a lot like Vitti's character, Vittoria--cold, beautiful and distant. The story was kind of So What. I'm sure I need to watch it again, but I wasn't blown away by the total package. It's a great piece of art, but not a great movie as far as I'm concerned. But that's just me.
  • ElCochran90
    November 13, 2009
    ElCochran90
    "I wish that I didn't love you, or that I loved you much more."

    L'eclisse (1962)


    Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
    Country: Italy / France
    Genre: Drama / Romance
    Length: 125 minutes

    ...( read more).photobucket.com/albums/ww125/ElCochran90/?action=view¤t=Leclisse.jpg" target="_blank">Eclipse,Michelangelo Antonioni,Monica Vitti,Alain Delon

    Michelangelo Antonioni is a romantic poet with a discreetly exuberant and varied nature. The final installment of the unofficial "Incomunicability Trilogy" is titled L'eclisse, where partial lightness is shown and a necessary psychological transformation is required. This time, a journey of epiphanies and self-discovery is the one provided, and although it is the worst part of the trilogy, it still belongs to the best Italian films ever made. The dramatic proportions of this masterpiece which tends to disguise its brilliance with a documentary filmic style is plagued with meaningful symbolisms and, alluding to the psychological characteristics that the characters may share with the dumbfounded audience, it is ultimately one of the most meaningful experiences within the history of cinema.

    Vittoria is a translator who has recently ended her engagement with her boyfriend, a writer named Ricardo. When she decides to visit her mother who is obsessed with the Stock Market, she meets the broker Piero in a day of crash, thus beginning a problematic relationship which main conflicts are originated from his selfless and materialistic personality. Michelangelo Antonioni was nominated for a Golden Palm that lost against Anselmo Duarte for his film O Pagador de Promessas (1962). However, he won the Jury Special Prize award which tied with Robert Bresson for his film Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962).

    L'eclisse is one of the most accurate and sensational depictions of the consequences caused by the loss of a person with which we share a strong emotional connection. It is also a direct criticism towards a society that bases its development in an awkward economy and a resulting capitalism. Monica Vitti is back for the third time, representing a person of unfulfilled dreams. Giant French star Alain Delon plays the role of a character who is divided in different, incongruent and contradictory layers. Man is shown as a being of psychologically compulsive necessities. Romance is interpreted as a vehicle of extreme sensations as weak as a thread. Clothes can be torn off, so can the soul. The character of Monica Vitti seems to be a combination of her two past roles in the trilogy. She is a delightful and emotionally versatile woman who can love passionately, yet a very weak and vulnerable person who desires for only one thing. Extreme emotions are needed for their own happiness. "I wish that I didn't love you, or that I loved you much more." She cannot be in the middle. Alain Delon's character, on the other hand, cares only for the time and money he lost when his car was stolen by a man who killed himself in an accident because of alcoholism. A monosyllabic relationship of catastrophic results is intrinsically promised through a masterful, urban cinematography and a hypnotic pace of mysterious stillness.

    Analyzing the context of the film is a highly rewarding and interesting epiphany. Piero's materialistic nature is utterly contrasted with the obsession and the complete human dependence towards the Stock Market. Moreover, it is revealed that a nuclear arms race has recently begun, thus allowing a documentary perspective to be used during the striking last eight minutes of L'eclisse. Such haunting sequence may be a direct reference to the upcoming catastrophe that not only the world is about to face, but Vittoria's character as well. Love has always been the ultimate motor in Antonioni's magnum opuses and this is no exception. Love is the lacking factor that ends up determining the emptiness of Vittoria's existence. This may lead to the conclusion that Antonioni has, once again, resorted to his tradition of transforming his stories into neverending cycles, which is, by itself, a much more catastrophic and scarier idea. Therefore, the film begins with the ending, where Vittoria is found in exactly the same situation she wanted to avoid. In fact, Piero and Riccardo may represent exactly the same character. One has materialistic priorities; the other one is dependent of his feelings and does not provide the proper love and responsability towards a strictly consolidated relationship, a conclusion that may be drawn from the clues we are provided, such as him following Vittoria despite the fact that their engagement is over. Even so, Vittoria seems to incarnate the type of woman that creates the illusion that finding the correct man is a humanly impossible task. It is obvious at this point that her problem goes beyond love; it scratches the realm of the recognition of personal shortcomings.

    L'eclisse is the most perfect conclusion for a trilogy which main topic is the inability of establishing an effective communication with a surrounding society. L'avventura (1960) ventured into the realm of love subjectivity. La Notte (1961) depicted a world of upper-class citizens and their insatiable thirst of superficial lust. L'eclisse suggests a beginning that involves self-reflection. It is a journey that invites to close a neverending cycle of perdition and to establish strong priorities that should allow us to handle our life in an easier way. We cannot control fate, that is, the will of God, but we can look at it with the correct and most mature eyes. Antonioni has ended a trilogy, yet he has not stopped expressing existentialist ideals. A very unique, symbolic masterpiece of unfathomable proportions and a gem that makes us part of a life circle of which we will never be able to get out of.

    95/100
  • jimbotender
    August 26, 2009
    jimbotender
    Antonioni masterfully juxtaposes the drastic male and the imperfect female,Vitti transforming in a black/white wraith,choking in the decreasing moods of New Italy.And yet,why can't there be a fitting hole for the cloistered emotions,the hapless devotions?Is it dreariness or more ...( read more)unanswered questions...?
  • alexroy69
    April 10, 2009
    alexroy69
    Le style d'Antonioni n'est pas la tasse de thé de tout le monde. Il fait ce genre de films desquels on entend souvent dire qu'il "ne se passe rien" et que les personnages "font juste se promener". J'ai détesté "Blowup" quand je l'ai vu il y a trois ans. J'ai apprécié un peu plus ...( read more)"The Passenger", sans être renversé, mais quand même. En fait, pour moi, c'est "La Notte" qui m'a ouvert les yeux sur l'art d'Antonioni.

    Suite indirecte mais thématiquement cousine de ce dernier, "L'Eclisse" pousse un peu plus loin les idées abordées dans "L'Avventura" et "La Notte", sans toutefois verser dans le sempiternel "Hé que les bourgeois font donc rien de leurs vies" qui peut devenir à la longue un peu facile. Le film est présenté comme une histoire d'amour malheureuse avec Alain Delon, et c'est un coup de génie de la part d'Antonioni.

    Pourquoi? Parce que rien de tel ne se passe avant la bonne moitié du film, qui présente d'abord de longues scènes en apparence banales, où les protagonistes se rencontrent à peine. Tout ça illustre bien l'idée antonionnienne que la vie ne se compose pas uniquement de péripéties, et que les moments d'accalmie sont tout aussi importants. Et pour couronner le tout, la finale ne résout absolument rien et le spectateur est laissé dans un monde où les personnages qu'il vient de côtoyer ne semblent plus même exister.

    "L'Eclisse" est un film artistique, créé sans aucune considération pour la structure narrative classique ou le réalisme ou quoi que ce soit qui puisse en faire un film grand public, ce qu'il n'est pas du tout. Plusieurs personnes risquent de s'emmerder solide. En ce qui me concerne, je l'ai trouvé excellent, de la même manière que j'ai adoré "La Dolce Vita" de Fellini, avec un respect supplémentaire pour l'audace dont il fait preuve dans la réalisation, qui contient bien entendu ses ratés, mais la scène finale excuse pas mal tout.
  • madhuriagrawal
    August 31, 2008
    madhuriagrawal
    I liked this last movie quite a lot, though a little less than the powerful La Notte, but more than the first part of the trilogy: L'avventura.
    The movie tells the story of fleetingness and disaffection, and is the best depiction of alienation amongst the three movies. There are...( read more) few words in each of the movies, but L'eclisse takes the lack of dialog to the extreme. The characters in this movie are even more shallow and plagued with a greater indecision. The little dialog is drowned out in background noise of civilization - sound of an electric razor or the din at the stock market or ringing of telephones - the lack of communication between two people is acute and complete.
    The whole story of alienation is brought to a wonderful culmination in the last scene, where the discontent of modern man is shown through shots of incomplete buildings, flowing water, growling buses, eroded faces, an unsmiling child and a sharp, blinding streetlight. All of it engulfed by a broken promise and the absence of a rendezvous.

    The film tells the story of Vittoria, who breaks off with her fiance in the first scene and then meets Piero, a stockbroker and falls in love with him (if their relationship can be defined by the word love). The relationship remains on the periphery, due to Piero's materialism and Vittoria's indefinite aspirations. They endeavor to make their relation a reality with a promise to meet everyday, but the last shot ends with a shot of their proposed meeting place, which stands empty and desolate, indicating the rupture of the promise and an end of the relationship.

    The actors have done a brilliant work with the characters, filling up for the lack of dialog. It is not that they act too well, or use their eyes to convey the unspoken. They just exist in a drawl, always full of emotion that stays masked a little thinly. Just perfect for Antonioni's theme perhaps. I like Monica Vitti in general - specially for her role in L'avventura, but here she supersedes it with a complete foreignness. Alain Delon as Piero is coldly, cruelly very handsome, and reminded me of Daniel Day Lewis in Unbearable Lightness of being.

    I had liked watching L'avventura too, though I thought that it ended very abruptly, especially with Claudia (Vitti again) accepting the shallow excuses offered by Sandro and choosing to stay with him despite reasons that had probably led her best friend Anna to escape. The landscape in the movie was stunning, and there, the island and the sea became the symbol of alienation.
  • daghka
    August 24, 2008
    daghka
    I must admit, I read recently somewhere that Antonioni is one of the most difficult to to imitate directors ever and in here, I will say it is true. I was truly mesmerized by this film, it was extremely delicate like Vitti's dress and I found that every thing in this film was sof...( read more)t, it was like cake and it tasted beautiful. The sweet nature was contrasted with the dull environment which in fact was more lively than anything I've seen.

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  • Which actress was Michelangelo Antonioni's early '60s muse, gracing some of his greatest films: L'AVVENTURA, LA NOTTE, L'ECLISSE, and RED DESERT?  Answer »
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