Zabriskie Point (1970)

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (story)
Michelangelo Antonioni (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

An epic portrait of late Sixties America, as seen through the portrayal of two of its children: anthropology...

Plot Keywords:

Student | Desert | Policeman | America | Airplane

Cast

Mark Frechette	...	Mark
Daria Halprin	...	Daria
Paul Fix	...	Cafe Owner
G.D. Spradlin	...	Lee's Associate
Bill Garaway	...	Morty
Kathleen Cleaver	...	Kathleen
Rod Taylor	...	Lee Allen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barbara Button	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Michael L. Davis	...	Police Lieutenant on Loudspeaker (uncredited)
Lee Duncan	...	Highway Patrolman (uncredited)
Harrison Ford	...	Arrested Student (uncredited)
Jim Goldrup	...	College Student (uncredited)
Peter Lake	...	Documentary Cameraman (uncredited)

Directed by
Michelangelo Antonioni

Writing credits
Michelangelo Antonioni		(story)
Michelangelo Antonioni		(writer) and
Franco Rossetti		(writer) (as Fred Gardner) and
Sam Shepard		(writer) and
Tonino Guerra		(writer) and
Clare Peploe		(writer)

Produced by
Carlo Ponti	....	producer
Harrison Starr	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Pink Floyd
Jerry Garcia

Cinematography by
Alfio Contini

Film Editing by
Franco Arcalli
Michelangelo Antonioni		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Dean Tavoularis

Set Decoration by
George R. Nelson		(as George Nelson)

Costume Design by
Ray Summers

Makeup Department
Joe McKinney	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Don Guest	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Rubin	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Earl McCoy	....	special effects

Editorial Department
Franco Arcalli	....	editing collaborator
Jim Benson	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Don Hall	....	musical advisor

Other crew
Sally Dennison	....	production assistant
Rina Macrelli	....	assistant to director
Bonnie Prendergast	....	script supervisor
Beverly Walker	....	unit publicist

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Trianon Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm Panavision print re-issue 2007)
• MFA Filmdistribution (2000) (Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• New Star (2007) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Cult Classic (2009) (Brazil) (DVD)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1976) (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cine Audio Effects  sound effects and foley design
• Music Electronic Viva  electronic effects
• Phoenix Film Office  special thanks

Also Known As:

Zabriskie Point (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Zabriskie Point (France) [fr]
Zabriskie Point (Finland) [fi]
Zabriskie Point (Brazil) [pt]
Zabriskie Point (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

110 min | Spain:95 min (alternate version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:R21 | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM18 | Sweden:11 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (w) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Michelangelo Antonioni's leftist politics made the film controversial from the start. The production was harassed by groups opposed to the movie's alleged "anti-Americanism." FBI agents tailed cast and crew members. Filming locations were besieged by right-wingers protesting an alleged scene of flag desecration, which never happened. Militant anti-establishment students worried they were being "sold out". The sheriff of Oakland, California, accused Michelangelo Antonioni of provoking the riots he had come to film. Death Valley park rangers initially refused to allow Michelangelo Antonioni to shoot at Zabriskie Point because they thought he planned to stage an orgy at the site; it was conceptualized, but never seriously considered. The U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento opened grand jury investigations into both the film's alleged "anti-Americanism" and possible violations of the Mann Act, a 1910 law prohibiting the transportation of women across state lines "for immoral conduct, prostitution or debauchery," during the Death Valley filming. The investigation was dropped, reluctantly, when they learned that Zabriskie Point was at least 13 miles west of the California-Nevada border.

Quotes:

[booking a young radical]
Cop: Occupation?
Rebel: Associate professor of history.
Cop: That's too long. I'll just put down clerk.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Howling (1981)

Soundtrack:

Dance of Death

Unique, underrated, unforgettable!

This is the film in Antonioni's middle period that most critics dismiss quickly, as a 'flawed' look at 60s American youth culture/politics. For what it's worth, I found it more touching and memorable than his more acclaimed films like L'AVVENTURA, perhaps because he shows more emotion & empathy here than anywhere else. The story is simple, but it is used as a frame for Antonioni's brilliant observations of, and critique on American consumerist culture, student life, the counter-culture, and the whole anti-establishment, anti-war backlash that was so prominent then.

Even from a purely technical point of view, it is a remarkably crafted film; from the opening credits sequence to the bizarre desert 'love-in', to the use of billboards, and right down to that jaw-dropping, cathartic finale that used 17 camera set-ups (in it's own way, as powerful as the climax of The Wild Bunch). Also, Antonioni chose one hell of a leading lady with Daria Halperin, one of the most beautiful ever to grace the screen. There isn't much 'acting' involved, as this feels more like a docu-drama, and so the use of non- professionals as the lead couple works quite effectively within that context. And the soundtrack is not only filled with marvelous music, its use is impressive as well (I can't forget the start of the film, mostly due to the selection of music - by Pink Floyd - that grooms the visuals so well).

Contrary to popular opinion, this is quite an achievement in cinema, and one I would enthusiastically recommend to anyone with a taste or tolerance for the off- beat. Well worth seeking out, and one of those key films of the 60s that demands a DVD restoration/release.