Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4063 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-07-03
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, Finnish, Romanian, Danish, German, Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, Hindi, Czech, Norwegian, French, Portuguese, Hungarian, English, Bulgarian, Swedish, Arabic, Turkish, Polish
• Dubbed in: French, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 121 minutes

Amazon.com
The Passenger is one of those movies that is all about the vision of the director, in this case, screen legend Michelangelo Antonioni. Starring none other than Jack Nicholson, and featuring a plot billed as an international romantic thriller, The Passenger defies expectations by turning the genre on its head, making the characters and the story secondary to theme and tone. London-based Journalist David Locke (Nicholson) is working in North Africa when a fellow traveler by the name of David Robertson, who looks remarkably like him, happens to die suddenly. Burned out and depleted, Locke decides to assume the dead man’s identity, drops everything, and starts again as a new man with a new life. With no idea of who Robertson was or what he did for a living, Locke uses Robertson’s datebook as a guide as he travels through Europe and Africa, takes meetings with people he finds out are gun runners, and ends up falling for a beautiful young woman (Maria Schneider). As Robertson, David Locke thinks he has found an exhilirating new freedom, but the fact is he's in over his head: there are people looking for him and his life could be in danger. The movie is a thriller in structure only. While designed for suspense, it’s just a premise for Antonioni to explore on themes of identity, humankind’s seemingly futile relationship to the world around us, and isolation. For Antonioni, the action is the means by which the image unfolds, and not the other way around. The actors and the plot are set pieces, simply smaller means to a larger end, and the image and atmosphere supersede all else. A slow pace, long, lingering shots, a focus on emptiness, and a detached, almost brutally objective point of view are the trademarks on full display here. Especially notable is the stunning seven-minute long shot in the final scene, one of the most famous in cinema history, which Nicholson, in his commentary, tags as an "Antonioni joke." It caps a crowning achievement by one of the big screen’s most visionary directors.

Synopsis
For decades, Michelangelo Antonio's existential drama has been nearly impossible to track down, but thanks to Sony Pictures Classics, THE PASSENGER finally gets the exposure that it deserves. In an impressively low-key performance, Jack Nicholson plays David Locke, a reporter who is researching a story in the North African desert. But when he discovers the dead body of a mysterious man he had just recently befriended, a strange compulsion overtakes him. Passing off the dead man as himself, Locke assumes the identity of Martin Knight and travels to Barcelona on a dangerous mission. Once there, he finds himself falling for a beautiful girl (Maria Schneider) as he drifts further and further away from the man he once was. It isn't long before he realises just how much danger he is in, but by that point, it might be too late to turn back. Antonio's gorgeous, haunting film incorporates elements of a traditional Hollywood thriller, only to leave them behind in search of something deeper. The result is an unsettling and daring work that casts a truly hypnotic spell. Nicholson's surprisingly downplayed performance is perfect for the role, as is Schneider's timid, beautiful presence. Featuring one of the most unforgettable closing shots in movie history, THE PASSENGER is a must-see for anyone with a serious interest in film history.

Customer Reviews

best film of the 1970s?
A jaded journalist steals another man's identity & gets embroiled in arms trafficking connected to North African liberation movements.
In the early 1970s there were many attempts to fuse the European art house movie with the Hollywood thriller - The Passenger is probably the most successful example, though today it will probably appeal to art house cinephiles more than to fans of typical Jack Nicholson blockbusters.
Antonioni was never better - almost every shot & frame is extraordinary but in an unostentatious way (not always the case with Antonioni!). The entire complicated final scene seems to be filmed in one long circular take, which will have technical types wondering how it was done. The plot, narrative & dialogue are as focused as any "New Hollywood" film from the period (eg Scorcese). Jack Nicholson gives an acting masterclass - the lengthy scene where he steals the dead man's identity shows all the complex thoughts & considerations involved - but all without words. Maria Schnieder replays her Last Tango in Paris role here & Ian Hendry turns in a perfect performance (as he usually did).
The film also touches on "third world" and "post colonial" political issues in a provocatively non-judgemental way that is still relevant.
The Passenger was out of circulation in the cinema for many years for mysterious reasons & it's wonderful to have it back on this DVD, which also includes 2 commentaries from Nicholson & Peploe (but unfortunately not from Peter Wollen). I'd say The Passenger is one of the very best films of the 1970s - for me it stands up better than Last Tango...

You need a big screen!
I saw this in the cinema. I had no idea what to expect. It was fabulous. I loved every minute, and when I came out I felt I had been through a complete experience - i felt I had been in the cinema for days.
That's why I can understand people who are disappointed and frustrated by it. It's made for cinema, not TV, and DVD just ain't the same. I can give it only four stars - unless you've got a private Odeon in your mansion, in which case it's five.
Antonioni's films are slow, but he was the last great European filmmaker who understood the medium. In these days of push-button editing the chance for viewers to immerse themselves in long, single shots are gone, and with them the nature of the art.

How films are made
Apart from the superb film itself there are two 'commentaries' on this disc, one a run-through of the film with Jack Nicholson talking about his view of it as a masterpiece, describing some of his experiences while making the film, with some asides about Antonioni for whom he obviously has great admiration and affection. Similarly there is another run-through with the script-writer, Mark Peploe (who also wrote the original story). Though rather hesitant and understated, this is also worth-while.
For the student of film or for those of us who just love film as an art, this is an absolutely essential DVD. If the film at first seems slow and confused, stay with it, watch it again, play Nicholson's commentary. The experience will relive itself in your mind's eye with more and more understanding and pleasure.