L'avventura (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

Seminal art film and masterpiece of brilliant Italian director Michelagelo Antonioni. Profoundly intellectual, existential exploration of alienation, the void of communication, loss of identity, and the need for meaning. Notoriously discussed dense plot has a yacht trip of bored, vacant upper-class friends which suddenly becomes a search party when one mysteriously goes missing, virtually vanishing, and how the subsequent search slowly succumbs to the ennui and passions of her shallow boyfriend and her confused best friend. Slowly paced and meticulously composed visually. The unforgettable atmosphere of barren, rocky Sicilian islands, the expanse and sounds of the sea, the eerie empty city straight from a DeChirico painting, and the overwhelming motif of architecture and symbolic use of empty space- make no mistake- this is film as art, elevated to a visual language. At the time of it's release this was lost on most viewers, too caught up in the story over it's composition and open interpretation, and to be fair Antonioni's films are an acquired taste. Still, this is an undeniable classic landmark and an important entry for an education in cinema.This Criterion Collection Blu ray definitely surpassed my expectations, it's knowledgeable full-length commentary, analysis, and interviews are essential to get a complete understanding of how to best enjoy the film's intricate details, style, and intentions. Also recommended: La Notte, L'eclisse, and of course the phenomenon Blow Up, all by Antonioni and follow (even expand on) a similar style and theme.

If you want to own one Italian movie that you can watch over and over again, forget Bicycle Thieves, Rocco and his Bros, Open City or even La Dolce Vita. This 143-minute Blu-ray version of L'Avventura with Monica Pitti is the one. She stars in many director Michelangelo Antonioni's pics from this era but really shines here as a blonde Claudia whose friend disappears with unpredictable consequences. On technical side, The Blu-ray Boys have done a superb job with the 4K digital restoration from original 35mm camera negative and added a new uncompressed mono soundtrack. And new subtitles - better translation? Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI’s DRS, while Digital Vision’s magic was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, flicker and jitter. Gene Youngbloods audio commentary track is the icing on the cake: listening to it instead of the spoken dialogue (you still have the subtitles) provides an opportunity to just watch and analyze 143 minutes of amazing old-school black and white screen compositions – you can see the production value in almost every scene while hearing about the struggle and birth-pains the whole film crew went through to get this masterpiece done. It’s not a film, but an Avventura! Oh, did I mention blode Monica Pitti?

This review is of the 2014 Criterion Blu-ray. The film quality is stunning, and there are many extras - as you expect from Criterion.The story involves a group of upperclass Italians, initially on a yacht cruise. When a young woman goes missing after the yacht stops at a small remote island, the group searches the island for her, but soon loses interest in the search. Her fiance and her best friend, however, are determined to find her, while the others continue the cruise. The two searchers fall in love, eventually hoping that they will not find the missing girl. This is one of the all time great movies, but mainly of interest to film buffs as it is long and slow moving, with little action - the action is all internal to the characters. Highly recommended.

A film I need to see again, and wouldn't be surprised to love more on repeated viewings. I appreciate Antonioni's magnificent framing and images, his bravery with unconventional plotting; (e.g. having his true 'main character' disappear 10 minutes in). It's legendarily slow pace didn't bother me at all, but I did find the insights into the characters, how empty and desperate they are somewhat repetitive over time. I'll admit to moments of feeling 'yeah, I got it already'.Antonioni brilliantly uses lonely landscapes to show how isolated these people are. But some of the performances didn't thrill me (there's a key difference between playing a shallow character and being a shallow actor, and it sometimes seems confused here).It stayed a very intellectual experience - an essay about the lack of humanity in the upper classes beautifully illustrated. But it seemed so removed and exaggerated, even from my own comfy existence, that I found I wasn't moved on a deeper level.That said, all these same criticisms could be aimed at 'Barry Lyndon', a film I have come to love deeply on repeated viewings. Like that film, I suspect I'll see much more next time I watch it. The telling thing is I find myself anxious to re-see it, in spite of it's challenges.

I hoped that I would like this more. But it was a bit of a slog to get through and I gave up before the end, which is not like me. But it looks great and the quality of the Criterion Collection blu-ray is top notch.

She is a true star of the Italian classic cinema. Monica Vitti and the films she made with the great Antonioni are all on my shelf however this one and L'eclisse are on my wishlist for a BD reissue by MoC. I shall ask them. But for now i am glad with those sheer beautiful DVD releases. The story ? Well it is about a group of friends ending up on an island and one woman dissapears and the search for her. Some find this story dull but i found it intriguing and fascinating. And yes Vitti off course. She shines,,,

Beautifully transferred by Criterion this take on love and relationships is quite hypnotic. The extras are plentiful, as usual with Criterion and this is a film that rewards repeated viewing.

A masterpiece. Monica Vitti is just mesmerizing.

One of the great films, and plenty of additional features to complement it. Nicholson offers some funny anecdotes​.