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STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR – MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI

Story of a Love Affair AntonioniWe are excited to announce our next release on Bluray: Michelangelo Antonioni ‘s first feature film –Story of a Love Affair – a noir-tinged masterpiece.

To celebrate this release, we’re offering the chance of watching it online at the discounted price of £2.75 by following this link https://bit.ly/2WiAERW (offer ends the 8th of July at midnight).

Released for the first time ever in Blu-Ray this was one of the first classics to be chosen for restoration in HD. The restoration was supervised by Giuseppe Rotunno, Fellini’s cinematographer

Beautifully shot and very stylish, Story of a Love Affair displays all the traits typical of Antonioni’s films and it marks the end of Neorealism as it concentrates on a more intimate cinematic vision.

The storyline of this film tackles modern issues of incommunicability, alienation and existential unease but at the same time, it’s a classic film noir with a solid plot which tells the story of an adultery and of a possible murder, set in the glamorous world of the upper class in Milan.

The film starts with some pictures of a beautiful young woman, Paola, played by the stunning Lucia Bose’.  Having found these photographs of his wife, the husband becomes jealous and decides to find out what kind of woman he married. What life did she have before? Intrigued by these photos of his wife and eager to discover her past, her husband has her followed by an investigator who accidentally gets her back together with a former lover. 

“Story of a Love Affair” has been defined by critics as one the most accomplished directorial debut. It is visually stunning thanks to beautifully composed shots which come alive with sophisticated and accomplished camera movements: incredible long shots, tracks and pans follow the actors as they move in a landscape which is familiar and alien at the same time.
Antonioni was brilliant at depicting moods and conveying emotions through camera movements: in this film, there are about 20 long shots which are over one minute long to reflect the restless feeling of the relationships between the characters and which reveal his incredible fluency and mastery of camera technique.  Below you can find one of longest shots, over 4 minutes, of a dramatic conversation taking place on a bridge.

The long take of the conversation the two lovers have on the stairs of a building where they meet secretly is one of the most imitated long takes in cinematic history.   

Fashion is always important in Antonioni’s films and he uses architecture, art and costumes to establish moods and states of mind as well as for their intrinsic visual value. In “Story of a Love Affair” costumes are more important than ever both to describe his characters visually as well as to depict their unresolved issues.   Italian fashion was born in 1950 and Antonioni convinced one of the most iconic ’50s fashion designers, Ferdinando Sarmi, to create the fabulous costumes worn by Lucia Bose’, and to play her husband. Sarmi gave a great performance though he had never acted before nor did he after this experience. His designs are amazing and Lucia Bose’ looks stunning in some of the most spectacular ball gowns and the most elegant suits.

“Story of a Love Affair” completely breaks from Neorealism and marks the beginning of modern auteur cinema.  Antonioni employs a very personal style which is instantly recognisable and aims to describe the difficulty of living and understanding reality around us in an open manner rather than follow a precise sequence of events in order to create a sense of angst.
The camera, the surroundings and the props tell the story more than the narrative does by creating an impression which is perceived rather than outlined by the story or by the dialogue. In his films Antonioni is constantly asking questions and he presents his characters impartially: they are not without blemishes but he shows them without judging them.  Ultimately it’s left to us, the viewers, to provide the answers.