Filmmaker Antonioni Dead at 94

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 31, 2007 3:40PM

Sometimes things align at just the proper moment: the Siskel is wrapping up a restropective of the master filmmaker, who passed away peacefully Monday evening. As it so happens the last screening in the series is Thursday, when The Passenger with Jack Nicholson will be shown. The film ends with one of the most amazing, haunting sequences in film history. It's well worth catching on the big screen.

His death, coming so close on the heels of Ingmar Bergman's demise, can't help but make us think wistfully of what international filmmaking once was. One small example: in 1964, Richard Harris was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in This Sporting Life; and he also starred in Antonioni's exceedingly difficult Red Desert, arguably the most challenging narrative film to be released that year.

Can you imagine Will Smith in a Wong Kar-wai film?

image via Wikipedia