Monica Vitti

Faye Dunaway is the Better Looking Monica Vitti.

We were watching some special features about Faye Dunaway in the film Bonnie and Clyde and I was struck by how much Faye looks like Monica Vitti, only better looking. It's not that Monica is bad looking, but she has the Italian schnoz working against her, thus making her features very sharp. Faye has softer features and is a much better actress overall.

Bergman thought that Vitti had no talent as an actress, but I think she just didn't have a lot of range. All her characters are these dull, unemotive, passionless women and that's what she seemed to do best. I have a hard time imagining Monica Vitti shouting, "NO WIRE HANGERS...EVER!!!"

But they do look incredibly similar. Faye's face was more versatile, however, for she was able to pull off Joan Crawford and appear identical.

Faye:





Monica:





I like Monica, but Faye wins.

"Monica Vitti’s Hands"

I was going to post this on my own blog but then I decided since it is film related, I will share it here. I had the image in mind of Monica Vitti's hands in L'avventura where there is the contrast of her long, slender fingers against the rough, sharp rock and it offers a good metaphor to play off of. I was just happy to be able to actually find a photo online that put me in mind of my poem.


Monica Vitti’s Hands
*after Antonioni

Somewhere, a solid drop of upheld stone
soaks into the smallness of her
slendering tips, parted within the lines
of foam, an island that lives as everything
slips. Tangled, her hands grasp
rock, as struggle ceases her
clasp—her mind has dangled
stranger things, when it’s late
should she say it? She is trying to impress
what little is left of him, his fondness
worn, that primitive
being. Calling, her name
only melts with afternoon
sea, an image incomplete, still
beneath the devolving harbor
that unpieces. A woman weaves starfish
in her hair and goes unfound.

Copyright by Jessica Schneider

L'Eclisse

Another great Antonioni film I reviewed.

Here is a clip- apparently, if you are willing to watch in installments, you can get the whole film.

Here it starts:



And here is its memorable end:



Go see the between things.

L'Avventura.

L’Avventura is a film I recently rewatched. It is one of those with stunning visuals but script wise, isn't as strong. Though the 1st hour and fifteen mins are great, I remember it turning a bit dull once the story switched to the love story.

Dan gave a review of it where he stated: "L’Avventura, despite its reputation for being innovative, fails for the exact same reasons that most less supposedly innovative films do- it has cardboard characters, does not follow through on an intriguing premise, throws in an unneeded romance that never convinces a viewer of its participants’ sparks, goes on far too long, and is far too pretentious."

I do agree that the film feels long, as compared to Antonioni's other films, but I don't know if I would agree that it is 'pretentious' per se, as compared to Goddard's Contempt. That was far more pretentious.



Fellow Cinemension blogger Anthony said: "It's visually beautiful, but not a great film. There were many parts that I'd totally forgotten about, and for good reason. There were some parts where I felt like I was watching a soap opera (the exchanges between Sandro and Claudia)."

Here is the trailer:



And I might add that I like the music. Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh duh... give it a listen.