Story of a Love Affair
by Michelangelo Antonioni
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ferdinando Sarmi, Gino Rossi, Lucia Bosé, Marika Rowsky, Massimo GirottiDirector: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writer: Michelangelo Antonioni
Producer: Franco Villani
Writer: Daniele D'Anza
Writer: Francesco Maselli
Writer: Piero Tellini
Writer: Silvio Giovaninetti
Writer: Silvio Giovannetti
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: NoShame Films
Movie Reviews of Story of a Love Affair
Movie Review: Antonioni's Noirish Narrative Film Debut
Summary: 5 Stars
Unlike what the other reviewer stated, Michelangelo Antonioni's "The Story of a Love Affair" is not an adaptation of James M. Cain's classic "The Postman Always Rings Twice." That film is 1943's "Ossessione," also starring Massimo Girotti, and which was the first film by another great Italian director, Luchino Visconti. (And which is actually a better film, Girotti is certainly much better in "Ossessione.")
"The Story of a Love Affair" is structured as a noir/thriller. At the beginning, a jealous wealthy businessman in Milan hires a detective to find if his wife (Lucia Bose) is unfaithful and by doing so unwittingly rekindles her love for another man (Massimo Girotti), who may have been complicit with her on the death of her former best friend (who was also his fiancee). As their love affair progresses, the reunited lovers ponder killing the husband.
Although set up as a thriller, Antonioni is less interested in crime than in the psychology of the leading couple: an unhappily married society wife (Bose) and a down-on-his-luck former WWII soldier (Girotti). Lucia Bose, then only 19, is not a very good actress, but she's striking to look at, and Antonioni makes the most of her beautiful face. Girotti is not that great either, but he's also perfectly cast. The merits of this film really have to do with great visuals, not with great acting, so in that respect they're both excellent in their parts.
While not as great as other noirish debuts by great European directors, like Visconti's Ossessione or Malle's Elevator in the Gallows, "The Story of a Love Affair" is definitely worth checking out for fans of film noir or Antonioni.
The film looks pretty good on the DVD, but the extras disc was somewhat disappointing for me, though, especially the cheesily edited and rather cruel (namely the moment when an elderly Lucia Bose hugs a wheelchaired Antonioni) short about the release of the restored film. I would have preferred to see and hear more from Antonioni himself in the extras.
Summary of Story of a Love Affair
Before becoming the poster child for the extreme arty, slow paced foreign films of the '60s, Michealanglo Antonioni actually developed his craft on very straightforward, neo-realistic films. Story of a Love Affair (1950) was Antonioni's first feature-length dramatic film, and much to his critics' chagrin, it is extremely linear, it has limited drawn out, "real time" shots, and his actors actually project more emotion than the typical "Antonioni apathy." Enrico (Ferdinando Sarmi) is an extremely wealthy and jealous husband who suspects his young, beautiful bride, Paola (Lucia Bosé), is unfaithful. Instead of confronting her directly, he hires a private detective (Gino Rossi) to investigate her past. While checking up on the mysterious death of Paola's friend, the private dick indirectly puts one of Paola's old lovers (Massimo Girotti) back in contact with his client's wife. Though originally separated due to the death of their close friend, seeing each other sparks up some buried passion that ironically will put Enrico and Paola's marriage to the test. Like his contemporaries' earlier works, Story of a Love Affair is a must for cinephiles who love to see all those "Antonioni-style" trademarks in their infancy. Of particular note is the typical Antonioni shot, in which where the two main characters have a full conversation with their backs to the camera. Though Story of a Love Affair does not pack the historical punch of L'Avventura or Blow Up, it is definitely more approachable for the general public and an excellent neo-realistic film in its own right. --Rob BraccoSimilar DVD Movies
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