Soon to be Viewed!

I can't wait to blog about this, so here goes.

The Mystery of Oberwald arrived in the mail recently, and I'm going to view it very soon (I'll explain). It's a 1980 film directed by my one of my cinematic heroes, Michelangelo Antonioni, and starring his former wife Monica Vitti, certainly my favorite Italian actress (sorry Sophia). The two had long since separated by 1980, but they saw fit to team up one last time to give this project--an experiment, no less-- a whirl. Get this: it's based on Jean Cocteau's play "The Eagle with Two Heads," an historical melodrama (way out of MA's alley) about a 19th century noblewoman who falls in love with the agent sent to assasinate her. Antonioni eschews his usual celluloid for a new-fangled technology: videotape! Yes, he videotaped the entire film, eager to see what innovations might come through tape--speed of production, costs, coloring, and general texture. Most reviews have been lukewarm on the film, though it's never panned; it's got so many intriguing elements at play I can't wait to see it. Now, I just need to find me a VCR...

The cassette came from Facets Video in Chicago (who are also the distributers, apparently), a favorite haunt of mine when we lived there. The second best video rental place in the country, I think. Those of you who live in PDX know very well who number one is.

~CD