list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Passenger on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Passenger/26165/default.aspx Title: The Passenger
Year: 1975
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Plot: The mutual admiration between actor Jack Nicholson and director Michelangelo Antonioni resulted in the psychological drama The Passenger. Nicholson plays David Locke, a disillusioned American reporter who is sent on a grueling mission to North Africa. When he stumbles across the body of a dead man in his hotel room, Locke, long desirous of starting life over again, assumes the corpse's identity. He soon discovers that the man he's pretending to be is involved in espionage activities on behalf of a terrorist group. Making the acquaintance of a mysterious woman (Maria Schneider), he finds a kindred spirit -- a woman as "lost" as he. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 5
Number of Lists: 15
Number of blog posts: 2
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:30:12 GMTThe Passenger1975Michelangelo AntonioniThe mutual admiration between actor <a href="/players/P___104455/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jack Nicholson</a> and director <a href="/players/P____79780/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michelangelo Antonioni</a> resulted in the psychological drama The Passenger. Nicholson plays David Locke, a disillusioned American reporter who is sent on a grueling mission to North Africa. When he stumbles across the body of a dead man in his hotel room, Locke, long desirous of starting life over again, assumes the corpse's identity. He soon discovers that the man he's pretending to be is involved in espionage activities on behalf of a terrorist group. Making the acquaintance of a mysterious woman (<a href="/players/P____63759/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Maria Schneider</a>), he finds a kindred spirit -- a woman as "lost" as he. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide5Slightly Tagged (1-5)15213http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t77694qtuuk.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Passenger/26165/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/sarcastig/archive/2007/8/8/17588.aspx Post By: sarcastig
Post To: As cool as a Fruitstand
Post Date: 8/8/2007 8:00:26 AM
Body: "This first piece of the film in this desert is a man looking for something, and that's really enough of a story for Antonioni"A confession: I love that there's such a thing as DVD commentaries, but I rarely take the time to listen to them. It feels to much like a purely analytic pursuit, in a way: of course I analyse movies also while I watch them but that does not mean I cannot be swept away and involved by them, but when you're listening to a commentary you're seeing a movie from a much bigger remove, with a layer of analysis between you and the film.In retrospect, it's obvious that this would be an ideal way to see an Antonioni movie, who, as Nicholson points out on his wonderful commentary track "(films) at a dispassionate distance".It's a commentary like all commentaries should be: it offers insight, funny anecdotes, but Nicholson's also not afraid of letting some of the scenes play out, even professing his hope at the end that he didn't distract too much from the movie. It's easy to forget sometimes that actors are also often film lovers. Nicholson is known mostly for his antics, but from this commentary speaks a profound love both for film and for Antonioni.I already loved this film: it's meditative nature, the wit of the screenplay, and of course that fabulous long shot at the end. Despite Nicholson's explanation, I still don't understand how exactly they did it, but it doesn't matter. The excruciatingly slow zoom towards the bars and then out, watching everything going on in the courtyard, it so mesmerizing it makes you hold your breath, and for it alone the movie would be worth watching.I'll stop now - for the new free-lance thing I landed I will be writing a 1000 word essay about this film and DVD, and I don't to have some fresh thoughts left. But I know I'll be thinking about this movie for the rest of the day, at the very least. Originally posted on:As cool as a Fruitstand
]]>Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:00:26 GMTsarcastigAs cool as a Fruitstand8/8/2007 8:00:26 AM"This first piece of the film in this desert is a man looking for something, and that's really enough of a story for Antonioni"A confession: I love that there's such a thing as DVD commentaries, but I rarely take the time to listen to them. It feels to much like a purely analytic pursuit, in a way: of course I analyse movies also while I watch them but that does not mean I cannot be swept away and involved by them, but when you're listening to a commentary you're seeing a movie from a much bigger remove, with a layer of analysis between you and the film.In retrospect, it's obvious that this would be an ideal way to see an Antonioni movie, who, as Nicholson points out on his wonderful commentary track "(films) at a dispassionate distance".It's a commentary like all commentaries should be: it offers insight, funny anecdotes, but Nicholson's also not afraid of letting some of the scenes play out, even professing his hope at the end that he didn't distract too much from the movie. It's easy to forget sometimes that actors are also often film lovers. Nicholson is known mostly for his antics, but from this commentary speaks a profound love both for film and for Antonioni.I already loved this film: it's meditative nature, the wit of the screenplay, and of course that fabulous long shot at the end. Despite Nicholson's explanation, I still don't understand how exactly they did it, but it doesn't matter. The excruciatingly slow zoom towards the bars and then out, watching everything going on in the courtyard, it so mesmerizing it makes you hold your breath, and for it alone the movie would be worth watching.I'll stop now - for the new free-lance thing I landed I will be writing a 1000 word essay about this film and DVD, and I don't to have some fresh thoughts left. But I know I'll be thinking about this movie for the rest of the day, at the very least. Originally posted on:As cool as a Fruitstand http://www.spout.com/groups/What_An_Ending/Re_What_are_your_favorite_endings/343/11491/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: sarcastig
Post To: What An Ending
Post Date: 6/20/2007 12:28:29 PM
Body: I can think of so many perfect endings...In fact, almost all the movies I love have good endings, because I think it's needed to go from liking to loving a movie. But a few that came immediately to mind: *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*The Third Man: it's a very long shot of the main female character watching towards the camera, where the main character is standing by his car. It takes about 3 minutes, with the only sound being the great zithar music. Then she gets to the camera, and without even looking at the guy, walks past it and out of the frame. It's hard to explain why it's so perfect, but just watch the movie, it's worth it.*The Passenger: fabulous, and rightfully famous, final scene. I won't reveal anything because you have to try to figure it out yourself*Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bonnie & Clyde, and Thelma& Louise. Somehow these "1 pair on the lam" movies tend to end the same way, the only way they can end, but that doesn't mean it isn't memorable. *Many more, many of which were already mentioned here
]]>Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:28:29 GMTsarcastigWhat An Ending6/20/2007 12:28:29 PMI can think of so many perfect endings...In fact, almost all the movies I love have good endings, because I think it&#39;s needed to go from liking to loving a movie. But a few that came immediately to mind: *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*The Third Man: it&#39;s a very long shot of the main female character watching towards the camera, where the main character is standing by his car. It takes about 3 minutes, with the only sound being the great zithar music. Then she gets to the camera, and without even looking at the guy, walks past it and out of the frame. It&#39;s hard to explain why it&#39;s so perfect, but just watch the movie, it&#39;s worth it.*The Passenger: fabulous, and rightfully famous, final scene. I won&#39;t reveal anything because you have to try to figure it out yourself*Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Bonnie &amp; Clyde, and Thelma&amp; Louise. Somehow these "1 pair on the lam" movies tend to end the same way, the only way they can end, but that doesn&#39;t mean it isn&#39;t memorable. *Many more, many of which were already mentioned here http://www.spout.com/blogs/brad/archive/2006/11/3/3532.aspx Post By: brad
Post To: Brad Movies
Post Date: 11/3/2006 3:54:00 PM
Body: I was asked by my friend, Paul, to list several movies I would consider giving to my favorite film-loving friend for Christmas this year. Paul and I used to get together once a week to watch films. Since he was asking the question, I decided to make him my subject. This past year, I’ve watched several films I thought, "Man, I wish I had been able to see this with Paul." The Passenger was one of these. I would like to say upfront that beyond the bullshit that I have written below, I just plain loved the movie so much I wanted to share it with my friend.   David Locke (Jack Nicholson) steps out of a stranded Land Rover in the desert, sand in every direction.  He's just come back from a fruitless search for a militia. He is a reporter with a stranded vehicle and a stranded life. He comes across a fellow English traveler who has died in his sleep in the room next to his.  Remarkably this man looks a 
lot like him. David makes an impulsive decision and changes identities with the dead man. Thus begins The Passenger, a film by Michelangelo Antonioni director of Blow Up.
   
In the 126 minutes making up the story, there is perhaps five pages of dialogue. The Passenger belongs to that rare breed of film that actually tells its story using the power of a visual medium over dialogue. It requires the viewer to engage carefully. Antonioni uses the camera to languidly guide us through the space, walking our eyes past the clues that start to set up the thriller. The movie feels very Hitchcockian, not only in it's subject matter, which touches on such movies as North by Northwest, but in the concept of the ordinary guy getting caught up in events beyond his control. David Locke has stolen the identity of this dead English man and is a passenger on this man’s mysterious life.    David Locke begins to realize that even though he has escaped from his troubled life, he may be out of the frying pan and into the fire.  The life he has "stolen" has its own tangles and dangers.  Eventually his previous life comes looking for him while his new identity is endangering his very existence. The idea of stealing away into another life is a potent drug that fascinates me. To be able to slip into another existence, to be free of the past, to be alive instead of stuck in the drudgery. We often think the grass is greener anywhere else except where we are. David Locke gives into his temptation and finds himself wrapped up in circumstances beyond his control.   The only bright spot in this journey is a young girl he runs into played by Maria Schneider.  With innocent looks and worldly understated knowledge, she embraces the chance encounter with David.  He is man swimming upstream against what’s typical in this world and she is a seeker feeding on his lack of the mundane.  Together, they travel through Spain, till the events placed in motion by David's identity theft play out in a masterful sequence that, like much of this movie, is firmly imbedded in the tension between the languid storytelling and the thriller plot.  Antonioni uses his vision and pacing to contrast against the expectations of the viewer. It is this exploration creating the vibrancy of the movie. The camera guides us playfully at times through this physical landscape while Antonioni slips us in and out of David's mind. Because of this interplay with the viewer, the movie comes off fresh and timeless.
   I also love the way flashbacks are handled in live sound. For instance, at one point we hear a voice on a tape recorder talking, but we’re not told at first it’s coming from the tape player.  Then we see the player and think "ah, clever." But, as David listens, there’s a subtle transition and the camera pans out from him to a window and we see we have moved out of this tape recording of the past and into a flashback.
   
For me the true test of a beloved film is one that I have to get a "fix" of at least once a year.  Kind of like when some of us were kids and the "Wizard of Oz" would play on CBS at Holiday time... (was it Thanksgiving?).  The Passenger is now on that list.  The DVD is a bit sparse but it does include a commentary track with Jack Nicholson and with Journalist Aurora Irvine and the Screenwriter Mark Peploe. Thanks Paul and Spout for giving me the opportunity to talk about this great film.
   
-R. Brad Yarhouse
]]>Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:54:00 GMTbradBrad Movies11/3/2006 3:54:00 PMI was asked by my friend, Paul, to list several movies I would consider giving to my favorite film-loving friend for Christmas this year. Paul and I used to get together once a week to watch films. Since he was asking the question, I decided to make him my subject. This past year, I’ve watched several films I thought, "Man, I wish I had been able to see this with Paul." The Passenger was one of these. I would like to say upfront that beyond the bullshit that I have written below, I just plain loved the movie so much I wanted to share it with my friend.   David Locke (Jack Nicholson) steps out of a stranded Land Rover in the desert, sand in every direction.  He's just come back from a fruitless search for a militia. He is a reporter with a stranded vehicle and a stranded life. He comes across a fellow English traveler who has died in his sleep in the room next to his.  Remarkably this man looks a 
lot like him. David makes an impulsive decision and changes identities with the dead man. Thus begins The Passenger, a film by Michelangelo Antonioni director of Blow Up.
   
In the 126 minutes making up the story, there is perhaps five pages of dialogue. The Passenger belongs to that rare breed of film that actually tells its story using the power of a visual medium over dialogue. It requires the viewer to engage carefully. Antonioni uses the camera to languidly guide us through the space, walking our eyes past the clues that start to set up the thriller. The movie feels very Hitchcockian, not only in it's subject matter, which touches on such movies as North by Northwest, but in the concept of the ordinary guy getting caught up in events beyond his control. David Locke has stolen the identity of this dead English man and is a passenger on this man’s mysterious life.    David Locke begins to realize that even though he has escaped from his troubled life, he may be out of the frying pan and into the fire.  The life he has "stolen" has its own tangles and dangers.  Eventually his previous life comes looking for him while his new identity is endangering his very existence. The idea of stealing away into another life is a potent drug that fascinates me. To be able to slip into another existence, to be free of the past, to be alive instead of stuck in the drudgery. We often think the grass is greener anywhere else except where we are. David Locke gives into his temptation and finds himself wrapped up in circumstances beyond his control.   The only bright spot in this journey is a young girl he runs into played by Maria Schneider.  With innocent looks and worldly understated knowledge, she embraces the chance encounter with David.  He is man swimming upstream against what’s typical in this world and she is a seeker feeding on his lack of the mundane.  Together, they travel through Spain, till the events placed in motion by David's identity theft play out in a masterful sequence that, like much of this movie, is firmly imbedded in the tension between the languid storytelling and the thriller plot.  Antonioni uses his vision and pacing to contrast against the expectations of the viewer. It is this exploration creating the vibrancy of the movie. The camera guides us playfully at times through this physical landscape while Antonioni slips us in and out of David's mind. Because of this interplay with the viewer, the movie comes off fresh and timeless.
   I also love the way flashbacks are handled in live sound. For instance, at one point we hear a voice on a tape recorder talking, but we’re not told at first it’s coming from the tape player.  Then we see the player and think "ah, clever." But, as David listens, there’s a subtle transition and the camera pans out from him to a window and we see we have moved out of this tape recording of the past and into a flashback.
   
For me the true test of a beloved film is one that I have to get a "fix" of at least once a year.  Kind of like when some of us were kids and the "Wizard of Oz" would play on CBS at Holiday time... (was it Thanksgiving?).  The Passenger is now on that list.  The DVD is a bit sparse but it does include a commentary track with Jack Nicholson and with Journalist Aurora Irvine and the Screenwriter Mark Peploe. Thanks Paul and Spout for giving me the opportunity to talk about this great film.
   
-R. Brad Yarhouse http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/thriller/MemberTagFilms.aspxthriller
Number of films tagged: 201

Number of people who tagged: 74

Number of times used: 247

]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:30 GMT20174247Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/terrorism/MemberTagFilms.aspxterrorism
Number of films tagged: 981

Number of people who tagged: 49

Number of times used: 117

]]>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:04:22 GMT98149117Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/espionage/MemberTagFilms.aspxespionage
Number of films tagged: 2176

Number of people who tagged: 38

Number of times used: 109

]]>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:02:54 GMT217638109Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/silent/MemberTagFilms.aspxsilent
Number of films tagged: 311

Number of people who tagged: 34

Number of times used: 193

]]>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:28:28 GMT31134193Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/africa/MemberTagFilms.aspxafrica
Number of films tagged: 490

Number of people who tagged: 25

Number of times used: 60

]]>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:19:34 GMT4902560Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/reporter/MemberTagFilms.aspxreporter
Number of films tagged: 1590

Number of people who tagged: 22

Number of times used: 52

]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:02:59 GMT15902252Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/weapons/MemberTagFilms.aspxweapons
Number of films tagged: 1335

Number of people who tagged: 16

Number of times used: 35

]]>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:54:00 GMT13351635Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/existential/MemberTagFilms.aspxexistential
Number of films tagged: 16

Number of people who tagged: 11

Number of times used: 16

]]>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:57:04 GMT161116Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/assumedidentity/MemberTagFilms.aspxassumedidentity
Number of films tagged: 266

Number of people who tagged: 9

Number of times used: 13

]]>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:02:48 GMT266913Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/telluridefilmfest/MemberTagFilms.aspxtelluridefilmfest
Number of films tagged: 62

Number of people who tagged: 2

Number of times used: 98

]]>Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:25:25 GMT62298Tag