Editing Michelangelo Antonioni (section)

=== International recognition ===

In ''Le Amiche'' (1955), Antonioni experimented with a radical new style: instead of a conventional narrative, he presented a series of apparently disconnected events, and used [[long take]]s as part of his style.{{sfn|Cook|2004|p=535}} Antonioni returned to their use in ''[[L'avventura]]'' (1960), which became his first international success. At the [[1960 Cannes Film Festival]] it received a mixture of cheers and boos,<ref name="guardian-houston" /><ref name="guardian-bradshaw" /> but won a [[Jury Prize (Cannes Film Festival)|Jury Prize]] and became popular in arthouse cinemas around the world. ''[[La notte]]'' (1961), starring [[Jeanne Moreau]] and [[Marcello Mastroianni]], and ''[[L'Eclisse]]'' (1962), starring [[Alain Delon]] and [[Monica Vitti]], followed ''L'avventura''. These three films are often referred to as a trilogy.{{sfn|Gazetas|2008|p=246}}{{sfn|Wakeman|1988|p=65}}{{sfn|Cameron|Wood|1971|p=105}} ''La notte'' won the [[Golden Bear]] at the [[11th Berlin International Film Festival]],<ref name="berlinale-1961" /> His first color film, ''[[Il deserto rosso]]'' (''The Red Desert'', 1964), deals with similar themes, and is sometimes considered the fourth film of the "trilogy".<ref name="nytimes-holden" /> All four films featured Vitti, his romantic partner at the time.

Antonioni then signed a deal with producer [[Carlo Ponti]] that would allow artistic freedom on three films in English to be released by [[MGM]]. The first, ''[[Blowup]]'' (1966),<ref name="kulleraugen-tast" /> was an international critical and commercial success and won the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[1967 Cannes Film Festival]]. Set in [[Swinging Sixties|Swinging London]], the film starred [[David Hemmings]] as a fashion photographer and was loosely based on [[Blow-up and Other Stories|a short story]] by Argentine-French writer [[Julio Cortázar]]. The second film, ''[[Zabriskie Point (film)|Zabriskie Point]]'' (1970), was set in America and followed the [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]]. The soundtrack featured music from [[Pink Floyd]], the [[Grateful Dead]] and the [[Rolling Stones]]. However, ''Zabriskie Point'' was a critical and commercial failure, and has been called "the worst film ever made by a director of genius".<ref>Craven, Peter. "Uneasy moments from master of angst." ''The Age'', A2, May 17, 2008, p. 20.</ref> The third, ''[[The Passenger (1975 film)|The Passenger]]'' (1975), starring [[Jack Nicholson]] and [[Maria Schneider (actor)|Maria Schneider]], received critical praise but did poorly at the box office.

In 1966, Antonioni drafted a treatment entitled "Technically Sweet", which he later developed into a screenplay with [[Mark Peploe]], [[Niccolo Tucci]], and [[Tonino Guerra]], with plans to begin filming in the early 1970s with Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider. On the verge of production in the Amazon jungle Ponti suddenly withdrew support and the project was abandoned, with Nicholson and Schneider going forward to star in ''The Passenger''.{{sfn|Chatman|1985|pages=176–81}} In 2008, "Technically Sweet" became an international group exhibition curated by Copenhagen-based artists [[Yvette Brackman]] and Maria Finn, in which the creations of artists, working in multiple mediums and based on Antonioni's manuscript, were displayed in New York.<ref name="participant inc.">{{cite web |title=Technically Sweet, Curated by Yvette Brackman and Maria Finn |url=http://participantinc.org/seasons/season-6/technically-sweet |website=Participant Inc. |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref> One of these was the short film "Sweet Ruin", directed by [[Elisabeth Subrin]] and starring [[Gaby Hoffmann]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sweet Ruin |url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/sweet-ruin |website=Criterion Channel |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref> Antonioni's widow [[Enrica Antonioni|Enrica]] and director André Ristum announced plans to produce a film based on the screenplay, with filming in Brazil and Sardinia to begin in 2023.<ref name="john hopewell">{{cite news |last1=Hopewell |first1=John |title=Michelangelo Antonioni Screenplay To Be Finally Shot by Gullane, Similar, Andre Ristum |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/festivals/antonioni-screenplay-technically-sweet-gullane-1234919561/ |access-date=17 November 2022 |work=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |date=2 March 2021}}</ref>{{update inline|date=January 2024}}

In 1972, Antonioni was invited by to China to film the achievements of the [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sorace |first=Christian |title=Afterlives of Chinese Communism: Political Concepts from Mao to Xi |date=2019 |publisher=[[Australian National University Press]] |isbn=9781760462499 |location=Acton, Australia |chapter=Aesthetics}}</ref>{{Rp|page=13}} The resulting documentary, ''[[Chung Kuo, Cina]]'', was strongly condemned by the Chinese authorities as "anti-Chinese" and "anti-communist".{{sfn|Eco|Leefeldt|1977|pp=8–12}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Healy |first=Gavin |date=2024 |title=Michelangelo Antonioni, Tourist Snapshots, and the Politics of the 'Backward Scene' in 1970s China |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00220094241271006 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=732–753 |language=en |doi=10.1177/00220094241271006 |issn=0022-0094}}</ref> It was first shown in China on 25 November 2004 in Beijing, with a film festival hosted by the [[Beijing Film Academy]] to honour the works of Antonioni. The film is now well-regarded by Chinese audiences, particularly by people who lived during the Cultural Revolution.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=14}}