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The Passenger

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The Passenger (1975)

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Reviews Counted:63

Fresh:57

Rotten:6

Average Rating:8.1/10

Consensus: Antonioni's classic, a tale of lonely, estranged characters on a journey though the mysterious landscapes of identity, shimmers with beauty and uncertainty.

Rated: 12A

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:16-06-2006

Synopsis: Originally released in 1975, The Passenger is, on the simplest level, a suspense story about a man trying to escape his own life. This haunting film is a portrait of a drained journalist, played by... Originally released in 1975, The Passenger is, on the simplest level, a suspense story about a man trying to escape his own life. This haunting film is a portrait of a drained journalist, played by Jack Nicholson, whose deliverance is an identity exchange with a dead man. The film was shot on location and takes Nicholson on an incredible journey through Africa, Spain, Germany and England. As with all of Antonioni's work, however, there is another dimension. From beginning to end we are witnessing a probing study of the human condition. The protagonist's fate reflects each individual's own private thoughts about real and/or imagined destiny. The climax of the film, alone – a final sequence lasting seven minutes and taking eleven days to shoot is truly a synthesis of the movie and a tribute to the director's art. Antonioni, in talking about his motion picture, says: "I consider The Passenger my most stylistically mature film. I also consider it a political film as it is topical and fits with the dramatic rapport of the individual in today's society." The Passenger brought together two of the screen's most exciting personalities, Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider, who had become an overnight sensation opposite Marlon Brando in "Last Tango in Paris." The Passenger is based on an original story by Mark Peploe and was filmed from a screenplay by Peploe, Peter Wollen and Antonioni. This preferred director's cut is the version of the film that was originally released in Europe under the title Professione: reporter. --© Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry, Steven Berkoff, Charles Mulvehill

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Screenwriter: Michelangelo Antonioni
Story: Mark Peploe
Screenwriter: Mark Peploe
Producer: Carlo Ponti
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Reviews for The Passenger

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
08/04/07
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Observer [UK]

A bleak and moving drama with reflective performance from Jack Nicolson

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/23/06
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A classic of a difficult and alienating kind, but one that really does shimmer in the mind like a remembered dream.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
06/24/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Thanks to Luciano Tovoli's magnificent cinematography of the African desert and the arid Spanish countryside, we gain a potent sense of Locke's internal emptiness.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/30/06
Tom Dawson
Tom Dawson
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best of Antonioni’s three English-language pictures.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nicholson gives one of his best performances in this magnificently shot and lingeringly powerful thriller.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Jon Fortgang
Jon Fortgang
Channel 4 Film
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/31/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Boasting a great performance from Nicholson, Antonioni's third English-speaking film, arguably his last great work, moves with the unhurried pace, visual sophistication and tight tonal control that mark his oeuvre at the height of his creative powers.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
01/10/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/07/07
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
09/23/06
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What is more interesting than the 'whys' and 'hows' of the plot however, are the 'where' and 'when.'

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/29/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sure, it's obstinately slow, but what an eye this man has. Every frame is fascinating.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
08/23/06
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Visually inventive film.

Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television | comment Comment
08/22/06
Michael E. Grost
Michael E. Grost
Classic Film and Television

The Passenger has more than its share of virtues...that still retain their power after nearly 30 years.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/14/06
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
08/12/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/12/06
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
08/12/06
Arizona Republic
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What in different hands would have been a bombastic psychological thriller becomes a stark study of existential alienation.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/12/06
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As usual, Antonioni's pace is langorous, but The Passenger is never less than compelling.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/05/06
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

A fascinating and haunting film that played to the strengths of both actor and director.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
04/06/06
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Passenger

July 31, 2007: Remembering Michelangelo Antonioni
Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, who gave the world such influential films as L'Avventura, Blow-Up, and The Passenger, died Monday at the age of 94. More...

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