Reptileenbu
Did you people see the same film I saw?
Ava-Grace Willis
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Tgrain
The highlight of this film for fanatical leftists is the appearance of Kathleen Cleaver at the beginning of the film. For normal people there are no highlights, just an example of self indulgence by a filmmaker who's success at making non-plot driven films got to his head. Even die hard fans of Pink Floyd will be disappointed at how the music is used for plotless meander.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I found this title listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, but I also recall seeing it once in the Wikipedia list of films considered the worst, but I always going to watch it, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni (L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse, Blowup). Basically set in the late 1960s, rebellious student Mark (Mark Frechette) is arrested after trying to bail out his roommate, following a mass arrest at the campus during a protest, after he is released he and friend buy firearms from a Los Angeles gun shop, claiming it is for "self-defence". In a downtown Los Angeles office building, successful real estate executive Lee Allen (The Birds' Rod Taylor) is reviewing a commercial for Sunny Dunes, a new resort-like real estate development in the desert. After getting away from a bloody campus confrontation between students and police, Mark walks to Hawthorne Municipal Airport, steals a small Cessna 210 aircraft and flies into the desert. Meanwhile, pot-smoking secretary Daria (Daria Halprin) is driving across the desert towards Phoenix in a 1950s-era Buick automobile to meet her boss Lee, he may or may not also be her lover. Daria is spied from the air by Mark, he flies inches above her car, before she gets out and he wizzes over her lying in the sand, he throws his T-shirt out the window for her to pick up, Daria goes from upset to curious. The meet later, Mark asks Daria for a lift so he can buy fuel for the plane, the two wander to Zabriskie Point, the lowest point of the United States, there they make love, and the site's geological formations seem to have a dusty orgy. Later, a suspicious California patrolman questions Daria, Mark hides behind a portable toilet holding a gun, he aims his weapon, but Daria blocks him, allowing the policeman to drive away. Daria asks Mark if he killed a policeman who was killed in Los Angeles, he admits he wanted to kill him, but someone else shot the officer. Mark and Daria return to the stolen aircraft, painting it with politically-charged slogans and psychedelic colours, Daria begs him to come with her and leave the plane, but Mark is intent on returning it and taking the risks that it involves. Mark flies back to Los Angeles and lands the plane at the airport in Hawthorne, police and radio and television reporters are waiting there for him, he tries to turn the aircraft around across the grass, but Mark is shot to death by one of the policemen. Daria learns about Mark's death on the car radio, she sees three affluent women sunning themselves and chatting around the swimming pool at Lee's desert home, Daria grieves for Mark drenching herself in the house's architectural waterfall. Lee is deeply immersed in the business meeting about the Sunny Dunes development, he spots Daria when taking a break and happily greets her, she finds there is a guest room ready for her, but briefly opening the door, she shuts it again. Daria leaves the house silently and drives away but stops to get out of the car and look back at the house, in her own imagination Daria sees the house repeatedly being blown apart in billows of flames with household items going up with it, she then continues her journey. Also starring Paul Fix as Roadhouse owner, G. D. Spradlin as Lee's associate, Bill Garaway as Morty and Kathleen Cleaver as Kathleen, and an uncredited Harrison Ford as an arrested student. This film has been described as "the worst film ever made by a director of genius", it was an overwhelming commercial failure, and has been panned by critics, no wonder it has gained a cult audience. I don't think it is that bad of a movie, it shows radical activism, rebellion against society, and the breakthrough of modern youth during this significant era, there are certainly a few memorable moments, from the plane flying to the carefree sandy sex scenes, from the road movie vibe to the psychedelic painting of a plane, overall it is a relatively interesting drama. Worth watching!
m-sendey
A young former college student Mark (Mark Frechette), jaded with lack of any revolutionary actions, wanders with his friend from one gun shop to another, deceiving a seller that they need weapons for self-defence, with a view to initiating his own revolution. During the disturbances in which students partake, Mark is said to have slaughtered a policeman (one never sees clearly if it's true – the protagonist argues it isn't). So as to evade consequences, Mark steals a small aeroplane and escapes from Los Angeles. While he is looking at the deserted landscape from the plane, he notices a car, which is driven by Daria (Daria Halprin), an attractive hippie who is a secretary and lover of Lee Allen (Rod Taylor). Mark and Daria's relationship begins and starts to flourish… Zabriskie Point (1970) was Michelangelo Antonioni's first and sole American motion picture. One may assume that the astonishing success of Blow-Up released 4 years earlier derived from the fact that the movie, on account of an apparent thriller premise, was understandable for less orientated viewers who were deeming the plot and its afterthoughts in a superficial manner. Zabriskie Point was a financial disaster, devoid of such aspect and thus incomprehensible to an ordinary film-goer. Even more risky was spending 7 million dollars on this art-house, adjusted to American industry, with an anti-Establishment and anti-consumerism message. Additionally, Zabriskie Point was dismissed by the critics for being anti-American as well as insufficiently profound to analyse both the problems of youth and those pervading America tackled in the film. Notwithstanding, these aren't the only reasons why Zabriskie Point was one of the greatest flops of 1970s as this Antonioni's flick is heavily flawed. Apart from having sparse, scatter-brained texture, the movie has a juncture which looks like a resolution and only when one sees that the action continues, does one make out it isn't the end. Unfortunately, this isn't all. The characters played by Frechette and Halprin virtually aren't given any kind of depth, their acts aren't driven by any desires, aims or needs, thus their emotional background is very shallow. The feeling of pointlessness is ubiquitous which also might be entailed and compounded by the unconvincing acting (both actors had very little experience) which doesn't render the things better. The moments of better performances are few and far between.Mise en scène leaves mixed impressions. There is no doubt one deals with Michelangelo Antonioni, but outbursts of cinematic beauty are quite rare and the direction seems very distant, tepid and unsatisfying. While efforts such as Blow-Up (1966), The Passenger (1975) have quasi-documentary ensembles and illusory, bizarre finales which indicate more complex exegeses and contrast with earlier exploited style, Zabriskie Point starts to be solipsistic and hallucinogenic already from the half. The action takes place in the late 60s. The beginning reminds of a documentary recounting a turmoil occurring in LA in that period of time. Utilizing fast zooms, swift movements, shaky camera-work and sharp editing, Antonioni gives it a documentary appearance. The instant a viewer beholds open and isolated spaces of Zabriskie Point, the flick gets more surrealistic and the best illustration of it is the love scene, owing to which Zabriskie Point was originally rated X at its premiere in 1970. It is a hallucinogenic vision which probably depicts the mental state of both characters and comments on sex which was considered to be a taboo subject. Antonioni deems this act as a normal deed and in this way he scoffs at all arguments against acknowledging its role in life of every human being. Antonioni exploited actors from The Open Theatre, an experimental theatre group, active from 1963 to 1973, to shoot the sequence which is absolutely ravishing as well as intense and remains one of the best moments in the film. It displays other couples kissing and making love in the desert which transforms from an isolated into a crowded place. Whereas the first part isn't that engaging, in the second one, particularly towards the end, one receives a genuinely graceful Antonioni style. Once Daria is forlorn, one obtains a great deal of beautifully crafted scenes regarding isolation and solitude which are typical for earlier Michelangelo Antonioni's movies. The finale sequence is simply phenomenal, although the music accompanying it changes too abruptly.The cinematography by Alfio Contini is spellbinding. It miraculously captures the beauty of warm sun-baking dunes of Zabriskie Point. The lighting is terrific and it is truly bewildering in how many ways one can depict the same desolated and lifeless space. The soundtrack composed by Pink Floyd, Jerry Garcia and other musicians is tremendous and might be one of the best ones ever recorded. Every single score is simply exquisite.Zabriskie Point has obviously an anti-Establishment message, but Antonioni portrays America of 60s in a so demonized manner (i.e. protesters are good, the police are hostile and bad etc.) that his vision of the USA looks utterly unreal. Certainly, the reflection that the world should be altered by the force of mind as well as our behaviour, not violence isn't anything ludicrous, but the framing which Antonioni utilizes to state it is too harsh and thus excessively subjective. In addition, in case of Zabriskie Point Antonioni appears to be too confident and incapable of refraining from some self-indulgences. Antonioni is positive what he wants to utter in Zabriskie Point, but the movie does not contain sufficient substance to discuss. The subject, which is superficially analysed, outweighs the plot, the script and the characters, which ruins the entire concept. Structurally, Zabriskie Point is a spectacular catastrophe, with more and less riveting moments, but it's still a catastrophe which lacks consistent storytelling. The visually imposing framing cannot diminish its numerous flaws and the omnipresent feeling of pointlessness sweeps away plentiful benefits. Notwithstanding, Zabriskie Point is worth a look forasmuch despite implicating all those errors, it flabbergasts with its artistic opulence and ravishing visuals.
Bribaba
Antonioni's masterpiece is still in DVD limbo, causing poor quality VHS versions to sell for $100. Ironic, because when it was released cinematically you practically had to pay people to and see it - the budget was $7m and it took only $800,000 at the box office. Some of this can be attributed to scathing reviews from US critics who didn't take kindly to an Italian taking their country's social and economic values to task. Much blame was attributed also to the casting of two non actors in the lead roles, and it's true they come across as stiff and awkward but they also appear incredibly naive, making them a perfect representation of the period. Indeed, there are few films that capture the socio/political zeitgiest as this film does.Vittorio Storaro's cinematography is outstanding, whether in LA or in the Death Valley desert, while the ending suggesting that American materialism will go up in flames, literally, is truly spectacular. The soundtrack also helps things along with tracks from Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead and The Youngbloods. This probably grossed more than the film.
