R.I.P. Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007)

Less than 24 hours after the death Ingmar Bergman, fellow director Michelangelo Antonioni has also died. One of the most important directors in Italy following the era of the neorealists in Italy, Antonioni came to international prominence with L’avventura, which brought his unique visual style and elliptical, oftentimes nonexistent storytelling to larger audiences. After several other successful films, he created the masterpiece and cult favorite Blowup. The film combined an uncompromising depiction of a strained reality with frank depictions of sexuality and drug use. Trailblazing in a number of ways, it eventually went on to be one of the best characterizations of the '60s.

While Antonioni continued directing for the rest of his life, his pace slowed down in the 1970s and a stroke in 1985 left him partially paralyzed. After receiving a lifetime achievement Academy Award in 1996, Antonioni worked on a documentary and what would be his final feature film, one third of the compilation Eros, alongside Wong Kar-Wai and Steven Soderbergh. With the loss of both Antonioni and Bergman, it’s a black day for film lovers everywhere and truly the end of an era.

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