Le Amiche [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Overview

Roman couturier Clelia (Eleonora Rossi-Drago) leaves the big city to work at a boutique in Turin. She moves into a hotel and makes several new friends, but is soon drawn into their extremely unpleasant lives. Clelia enters a doomed relationship with a poor architect's assistant (Ettore Manni), sees her new best friend Rosetta (Madeleine Fischer) commit suicide after being jilted by her married lover (Gabriele Ferzetti), and is eventually fired from her new job when her hysteria over Rosetta's death interferes with her work. Clelia finally goes back to Rome, and viewers will not blame her a bit. Le Amiche, based on a 1949 article published in La Bella Estate ("Tre Donne Sole" by Cesare Pavese), is perhaps Michelangelo Antonioni's first great film. Juggling 10 characters with great aplomb, Antonioni and co-screenwriters Suso Cecchi D'Amico and Alba De Cespedes have created a rich, interlocking narrative which manages to rise above mere melodrama through careful attention to the ebb and flow of interpersonal relationships and a keen sense of balance. The fine supporting cast includes Valentina Cortese, Yvonne Furneaux, and Franco Fabrizi.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/07/2016
UPC:	0715515178716
Original Release:	1955
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	13,739

Special Features

New conversation with scholars David Forgacs and Karen Pinkus on the film's themes New interview with scholar Eugenia Paulicelli on the importance of fashion in Antonioni's work

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eleonora Rossi Drago	Clelia
Gabriele Ferzetti	Lorenzo
Franco Fabrizi	Cesare
Valentina Cortese	Nene
Yvonne Furneaux	Momina
Anna Maria Pancani	Mariella
Ettore Manni	Carlo
Luciano Volpato	Tony
Maria Gambarelli	Clelia's employer
Michelangelo Antonioni	Actor
Marcella Ferri	Actor
Madeleine Fischer	Rosetta Savoni
Giovanni Fusco	Composer

Technical Credits

Michelangelo Antonioni

Suso Cecchi d'Amico

Michelangelo Antonioni	Director,Screenwriter
Giovanni Addessi	Producer
Suso Cecchi d'Amico	Screenwriter