Il Grido
by Michelangelo Antonioni
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Actor: Alida Valli, Betsy Blair, Gabriella Pallotta, Guerrino Campanini, Steve CochranDirector: Michelangelo Antonioni
Cinematographer: Gianni Di Venanzo
Writer: Michelangelo Antonioni
Editor: Eraldo Da Roma
Producer: Franco Cancellieri
Writer: Elio Bartolini
Writer: Ennio De Concini
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Subtitled); Italian (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Running Time: 116 minutes
Release Date: 2000-06-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Kino Video
Studio: Kino Video
VHS Movie Reviews of Il Grido
Movie Review: Good film
Summary: 4 Stars
So much attention has been paid to Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's later New Wave films that his earlier Neo-Realistic films of the 1950s have been overlooked, as if the work of merely a talented tyro. But, even though he was not as consciously `experimental' in those films as he was in the films of the L'Alienation trilogy (L'Avventura, La Notte, and L'Eclisse), and later classics like Blowup and The Passenger, his earlier films were visually well composed and well written films that both played upon the viewers' emotions and gave them believable characters and situations that could be related to. That Antonioni's filmic career started out working in the documentary format should not come as a surprise to those familiar with those earlier films.
One of the best of those films is 1957's black and white Il Grido (The Outcry), which Antonioni also wrote, along with Elio Bartolini and Ennio de Concini. It's a nearly two hour long film that has much in common with Federico Fellini's 1954 classic La Strada, save that the film is a bit more believable and less patently heart-tugging. It also prefigures many of the themes that would recur in Antonioni's later work, such as alienation, apathy, and anomy, as well as possesses a political edge those later films lack.
The lead character is a small town (actually crappy shacks and huts) Italian refinery worker and mechanical engineer named Aldo, played by American B film actor Steve Cochran, who is utterly believable as an Italian native. His reputation in this country was mostly in gangster films, but her he plays a member of the Italian Postwar proletariat, as the country is just on the verge of pulling out of its long economic slump. He has been having an affair with a sexy older blond woman named Irma, played by Alida Valli- most famed for her role in the 1949 film noir classic The Third Man, starring (and likely directed by) Orson Welles. Irma, though, is married, but her husband has been gone for almost seven years, working in Australia, thus letting Aldo squire her at will. The pair even have a young blond daughter together, named Rosina (Mirna Girardi).... The film has been compared, in some circles, to the plays of Samuel Beckett, and this is one of the rare times that such comparisons are apt. No, even Antonioni's landscapes are not as bleak, nor his characters as satiric, as Beckett's, but much of the film is a physical journey to nowhere, for Aldo ends up back where he started, except having failed even more frequently. Il Grido is not as praised as much as Antonioni's later films, but it is better than the film that proceeded it, L'Avventura- which saw him break with his past totally, even if a failed break, and skirts near and above greatness. Only its rather abrupt, if appropriate, ending, can be argued against its greatness, just as Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon can be said to miss greatness only for its weak ending.
Still, this film contains many moments that show how good a screenwriter Antonioni was, such as a shot of a man briefly entering Elvia's house, asking her out on a date- a movie or dancing, and her rejecting him casually- offering to go out on another Sunday evening. He cynically scoffs that her promise will be `like every other Sunday.' In that brief scene, with a minor character- Elvia, and a small unnamed role, we know all we need to of Elvia- that she is still obsessed with Aldo, as we see her out dancing with him in the next scene, and that her hurt when she knows he is using her to forget Irma, is genuine. There is no need for a flashback on Elvia's past with either man, for that brief scene and comment sums it up with wonderful poesy and concision. Would more filmmakers learn the lessons that Antonioni did half a century ago, with Il Grido, and more of them would produce films of quality, and a few would augur great art. Ah, perchance to...
Movie Review: From Film Noir to Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
I came to this film through the actor Steve Cochran, rather than Antonioni, though I knew of the great director's work. The combination of Antonioni and Cochran seemed a strange mix until I discovered that Cochran's own production Co was involoved. Tough guy, wonamizer, and film noir actor collaborating with the great Antononi , but they came together with a fantastic story, of a journey to nowhere filled with pathos, anger and finally desperation. Due to the Italian government's censorship, feeling the film too existentialistic, it was almost ignored there and had little play in the US. Cochran never received any credit for a great performance and the film, except for some critical acclaim was virtually forgotten. Now, with the release of this DVD, new audiences can finally appreciate the film, the director, and the actor.Movie Review: Bravo, Antonioni
Summary: 5 Stars
I've usually avoid old Italian films but something in the blurb on the DVD cover intrigued me. Still, I kept my expectations low which may partially explain the high rating I gave this movie.
It took awhile to get used to watching Steve Cochran dubbed, but I was eased past it for the simple reason that he is just about perfect as an Italian man humiliated when his lover (and mother of his daughter) leaves him. He takes his daughter and hits the road -- on foot -- with no goal in mind. Certainly, it isn't to find a woman, altho he keeps running into lonely, yearning woman that he just can't seem to focus romantically on. One woman is played by American Betsy Blair (also dubbed). Another is played by a now unknown actress Lynn Shaw who was tantalizingly beautiful (internet research has inconclusively determined that she's British -- regardless -- whatever happened to her?!).
This is a black & white film by Michangelo Antonioni whose team gives the gritty visuals a lyrical beauty. And it includes some fine work by Italian actors -- especially the actress named, believe it or not, Dorian Gray. Altho Alida Valli's name is high in the cast, she has just a supporting part in the vital role of the woman who betrays him.
This is a fascinating look at another culture in another era -- but with drama that feels universal.
Movie Review: Neo-realism meets ennui
Summary: 4 Stars
"Il Grido" is a work of neo-realism by Michelangelo Antonioni made prior to his several masterpieces. Elements of his later visual style and themes are apparent (drifting, boredom, similar shots, etc.) and this film may even be considered a precursor to his famous trilogy of L'Avventura, La Notte, and L'Eclisse. In contrast to the trilogy but typical of neo-realism, Antonioni focuses on the lower classes, specifically a recently unemployed mechanic. As a piece of neo-realism, the work falls short as it lacks the emotional weight of films such as "The Bicycle Thieves" and the actresses simply are too beautiful to truly feel pity for the protaganist. However, as an example of early Antonioni, this film is invaluable. Antonioni aficianados will certainly appreciate this film, but others less familiar with his directing style may be bored. Even for Antonioni fans, it may be better to rent instead of buy. This film is not one to rewatch as time is probably better spent rewatching his later and far superior films.Movie Review: Stark and Beautiful
Summary: 4 Stars
I've given this a rating of 4 rather than 5 based on the DVD production, rather than on the film--which I'd rate a full 5. The image on disc needs cleaning up--spots and little jerks are sometimes distracting; and there are no helpful extras--a commentary at least would have been very helpful. But the subtitles are good and readable, and the movie itself is wonderful.The story is grim enough in outline--a rebuffed lover spirals down into despair, and he spirals down into a society with no safety net. But the black and white countryside, the roadside gas station, the villages, the shack where the prostitute lives, all these are hauntingly photographed. And each character is a surprise, so that the film feels populated by a whole world of very real people, not 'written' characters. There are a couple of moments in the story that can break your heart--such as when the main character sends his little daughter away--but the film is not at all depressing; you feel moved, but also elated at the brilliance of the filmmaking--and maybe a little awestruck if, like me, you grew up in the US midwest and never suspected that out in the big world, people were making truly adult films back in the 1950s, films that are as rich and satisfying as a good novel. The concluding sequence opens the story up and gives it almost epic scope, as the character returns to the village he left, to find himself in the midst of an anti-government riot--though by now, the rioters' issues are meaningless to him.
I'm not enough of a film expert to compare this intelligently with Antonioni's later masterpiece, "L'Avventura" (which I've probably misspelled), except to say that if you love that film, you really must see this one; and, if you found that later film obscure and too slow-paced, give this one a try before deciding Antonioni isn't accessible. This one will really pull you in.
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