(Il mistero di Oberwald). Intrigued by the possibilities presented by the then-new format of video, Antonioni made this experimental work, based on the Jean Cocteau drama The Two-Headed Eagle and starring a regal Monica Vitti. “Respect the etiquette, the ceremonial,” notes a somber character in the story of a queen, trapped in self-exile in a crumbling castle, and the poet/assassin she falls in love with. At times Antonioni stays true to this injunction, lovingly dwelling on every impossibly decorative costume, set, and theatrical pronouncement as if paying homage to his compatriot Visconti. At other times, as if expressing the longings of Vitti’s queen, Antonioni willfully destabilizes the narrative ceremony, using his new technological tools to experiment with color shifts, foregrounded imagery, and other dizzying visual techniques. For Antonioni, video represented “a new world of cinema . . . using color as a narrative, poetic means . . . with absolute faithfulness, or, if so desired, with absolute falseness.”

• Written by Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, from The Two-Headed Eagle by Jean Cocteau. Photographed by Luciano Tovoli. With Monica Vitti, Paolo Bonacelli, Franco Branciaroli, Luigi Diberti. (124 mins, In Italian with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, Permission Raitrade)

Preceded by short:
Antonioni visto da Antonioni (Lino Miccichè, Italy, 1978). A fascinating interview with the director, conducted on the occasion of a TV retrospective of his films. (28 mins, In Italian with English subtitles, Color, Betacam, Permission Direzione Rai Teche)

• (Total running time: 151 mins, From Cinecittà Holding)