The Passenger

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Barmy · #26 Post by **Barmy** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:37 pm

What does he know?

I'm not saying that I am not interested in what Peploe has to say. I'd certainly rather hear from him than some film critic. However, I would much prefer to hear from someone who actually worked on the FILM.

ellipsis7 · #27 Post by **ellipsis7** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:47 pm

More from Antonioni...

It was the first time I made a film from a subject that wasn't mine. Mark Peploe, who's a friend of mine, had talked to me about the story from the time it was only three pages long. Then, little by little, he developed it. we worked together on the script, correcting it and changing it always with an eye to the fact he was supposed to direct this film. When I got the project instead, I realized the material I had in my hands had to be modified. Mark and I had to do this work in a hurry because Nicholson had given me dates when he was available and I couldn't change them. This forced me to continue working on the script while I was shooting. And in order to solve problems for which I had not come up with a solution yet, I had to shoot much more than I needed to...

So you will see Peploe was central to the filmmaking process, and should have some very interesting insights!

Barmy · #28 Post by **Barmy** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:51 pm

You've convinced me! Thanks.

tartarlamb · #29 Post by **tartarlamb** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:23 pm

ellipsis7 wrote:Amazon emailed me to tell of the delay till 25th April, so it has not disappeared altogether.

I don't think thats any indication -- I've had to approve delays ad absurdum on Amazon for things I knew had gone out-of-print or weren't coming. They'll keep sending mails about delays a good 4-6 months after something has been discontinued.

I hope it is just a delay, though. I was really looking forward to this one.

rwaits · #30 Post by **rwaits** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 6:28 pm

I was REALLY looking forward to it. If its discontinued, I'll probably kill myself.

toiletduck! · #31 Post by **toiletduck!** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 6:29 pm

Dibs on his stereo.

-Toilet Dcuk

rwaits · #32 Post by **rwaits** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:39 pm

No, I mean it.

toiletduck! · #33 Post by **toiletduck!** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 11:04 am

So do I.

-Toilet Dcuk

#34 Post by **zedz** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:21 am

Threatening suicide over the non-release of a DVD!? Imagine how he'd react to a genuine catastrophe like a pig-ugly Viridiana cover!

rwaits · #35 Post by **rwaits** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:29 pm

Yeah, I'm pretty upset about that too.

stroszeck · #36 Post by **stroszeck** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:04 pm

IT's back up again: New date for release = > April 16, 2006

I guess we ain't screwed after all!

Gordon · #37 Post by **Gordon** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:19 am

Oh, joy!

DrewReiber · #38 Post by **DrewReiber** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:09 pm

stroszeck wrote:IT's back up again: New date for release = > April 16, 2006

Except that the 16th is a Sunday.

Napoleon · #39 Post by **Napoleon** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:20 pm

stroszeck wrote:IT's back up again: New date for release = > April 16, 2006

I guess we ain't screwed after all!

Back to 25th April. Double checked here.

ellipsis7 · #40 Post by **ellipsis7** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:21 pm

And the Amazon page actually says 25th April...

Barmy · #41 Post by **Barmy** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:51 pm

I would advise you not to check Amazon every 5 minutes about this. April 25th was just the earliest date at the time of the postponement that Sony did not have on their schedule. The Sony website now has the 4/25 releases posted. No "Passenger". I'm predicting a June 12, 2026 release.

godardslave · #42 Post by **godardslave** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:42 pm

yes, i too spend hours refreshing amazon.com pages every 5 minutes for the latest dvd release dates and then checking whether its a sunday against my handily placed computer calendar.

Barmy · #43 Post by **Barmy** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:44 pm

BREAKING NEWS: "The Passenger" STILL isn't coming out on April 25.

Gordon · #44 Post by **Gordon** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:00 pm

UPDATE: "The Passenger" STILL isn't coming out on April 25.

tavernier · #45 Post by **tavernier** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:52 am

Gordon McMurphy wrote:UPDATE: "The Passenger" STILL isn't coming out on April 25.

Yes, it is. Sony's press release:

Culver City, CA (February 20, 2006) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is honored to announce the DVD debut of Michelangelo Antonioni's 1975 classic, The Passenger, on April 25, 2006. The Sony Pictures Classics film stars Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give, About Schmidt, As Good as It Gets) as the enigmatic title character and will be available on DVD for an SRP of $24.96.

Director Michelangelo Antonioni is responsible for some of the most brilliant films of the 1960's including L'Avventura, The Red Desert and Blow-Up. For the release of The Passenger in 1975, Antonioni teamed with producer Carlo Ponti (Dr. Zhivago) and cast rising stars Jack Nicholson, who had just completed Chinatown, and Maria Schneider (Last Tango in Paris) to create a somber reflection on one man's inability to escape his past. The Passenger was nominated for the 1975 Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival and won the 1976 Bodil Award (Danish Association of Film Critics) for Best European Film and the 1976 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists' Silver Ribbon for Best Director and Best Cinematography. In 1995, Antonioni was awarded an Honorary Oscar for his body of work.

The Passenger was re-released theatrically in 2005 by Sony Pictures Classics and critics found that the suspenseful and haunting story of a drained journalist whose deliverance is an identity exchange with a dead man was still remarkably powerful, even 30 years after its premiere. Manohla Dargis in the New York Times called it â€œâ€¦ arguably Mr. Antonioni's greatest filmâ€

rwaits · #46 Post by **rwaits** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:11 pm

Whatever happened to the commentaries with Nicholson and Wim Wenders? Wasn't that part of the original announcement of this disc?

tavernier · #47 Post by **tavernier** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:30 pm

rwaits wrote:Whatever happened to the commentaries with Nicholson and Wim Wenders? Wasn't that part of the original announcement of this disc?

Hey, just be happy it's finally coming out!

#48 Post by **kinjitsu** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:33 pm

rwaits wrote:Whatever happened to the commentaries with Nicholson and Wim Wenders? Wasn't that part of the original announcement of this disc?

Zapped, scuttled or never recorded, I imagine. However, the DVDActive page is unchanged, meaning: nothing is certain at this time...

tavernier · #49 Post by **tavernier** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:35 pm

Kinjitsu wrote:
rwaits wrote:Whatever happened to the commentaries with Nicholson and Wim Wenders? Wasn't that part of the original announcement of this disc?
Zapped, scuttled or never recorded, I imagine. However, the DVDActive page is unchanged, meaning: nothing is certain at this time...

Based on Sony's press release, I'd bet that all we get is the Peploe/Irvine commentary.

#50 Post by **kinjitsu** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:37 pm

tavernier wrote:
Kinjitsu wrote:
rwaits wrote:Whatever happened to the commentaries with Nicholson and Wim Wenders? Wasn't that part of the original announcement of this disc?
Zapped, scuttled or never recorded, I imagine. However, the DVDActive page is unchanged, meaning: nothing is certain at this time...
Based on Sony's press release, I'd bet that all we get is the Peploe/Irvine commentary.

Who the hell is Irvine and why is she associated with this film?