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Synopsis
A burned-out journalist assumes the identity of a dead man and embarks on a dangerous charade, including meetings with gun runners and an affair with a mysterious young woman.
Product Description
Australia released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Mono ), German ( Mono ), Arabic ( Subtitles ), Czech ( Subtitles ), Danish ( Subtitles ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), English ( Subtitles ), Finnish ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), Greek ( Subtitles ), Hebrew ( Subtitles ), Hungarian ( Subtitles ), Norwegian ( Subtitles ), Polish ( Subtitles ), Portuguese ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), Swedish ( Subtitles ), Turkish ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: A reporter arrives at a desert hotel, in a North African country, to report on the guerrilla freedom-fighters there. He meets a man who dies suddenly, and who resembles the reporter so much, that he decides to change identities with the dead man - to escape his personal problems, and more. The life is of a man is made of his ingrained habits, and that will haunt him, as he tries to start a new relationship with a young, strange woman he subsequently meets... SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, ...The Passenger ( Profession: reporter )
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By HJ
Format:DVD
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...
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...
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By J. Preece
Format:DVD
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.
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.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Philoctetes
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Antonioni has that gift of dropping you into a story and leaving you to explore the characters' situation, or so it seems, without the film appearing to follow a typical narrative arc. We are all strangers on a strange planet, our sentience inviting us to question our motivation for putting one foot in front of the other, to choose left rather than right, yes rather than no. people put schemes into action, make spontaneous, random decisions: live or die with the consequences.
Refreshing to see Nicholson in a film with no raised eyebrow or wolfish pantomime;Schneider pre-Last tango, also apart from the image many may carry in their memories of the lusty Parisian; a free spirit tagging along with Nicholson's journalist turned arms dealer/escape artist.
It's a beautiful film with a magical final scene outside a bullring. One of Antonioni's best, least frustrating films.
To think I was in a room recently where people were discussing the acting genius of Jet Lee. Heavens!
Refreshing to see Nicholson in a film with no raised eyebrow or wolfish pantomime;Schneider pre-Last tango, also apart from the image many may carry in their memories of the lusty Parisian; a free spirit tagging along with Nicholson's journalist turned arms dealer/escape artist.
It's a beautiful film with a magical final scene outside a bullring. One of Antonioni's best, least frustrating films.
To think I was in a room recently where people were discussing the acting genius of Jet Lee. Heavens!
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One you Must Have
Absolutely fantastic film. Wonderful mood and easy relaxed pace...a masterpiece. . This was so well directed and even though gently lead you through the story, one went with a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Angela M. C. D'alton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Early Nicholson capturing his laconic style
Great movie with no high drama. Death is inevitable for the state of mind described in the early phase of the film. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Borders Lynn
5.0 out of 5 stars
Decent pressing
Decent disc of this now very old (dated?) but in lots of ways classic movie. Of course the style, daring in its time, seems more everyday, not to say slow, now ...
Published 4 months ago by M. J. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Begging for a top notch Blu-Ray release
A great existential road movie with very little plot it reminded me of Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master' in that we have a great lead performance, in my opinion one of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr Blonde
3.0 out of 5 stars
Watchable existential road movie
NOTE: I'm unsure if I saw the original edit or the extended 2005 version.
David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a reporter who is tired of it all. Read more
David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a reporter who is tired of it all. Read more
Published 5 months ago by BS on parade
4.0 out of 5 stars
I Never Knew Him
For Jack Nicholson, Michelangelo Antonioni's 1975 surreal identity mystery The Passenger was sandwiched between his classic performances in Chinatown and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Keith M
5.0 out of 5 stars
Change down a gear....and
As others have said, this is one of those films to settle into and like those classic series that take a few weeks to get under one's skin, The Passenger takes a few minutes to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Tim Kidner
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sorry?
Lots of good reviews and an overall 4 and a 1/2 star rating made it buy this. But what? It's slow, the characters are paper thin, the plot and coincidences are surreal. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Tim Chaney
5.0 out of 5 stars
it's not the girl!
the passenger - much of it encompasses what i love about film and the sensations film can bring to the fore. there are several passages, scenes and moments which are quite magical. Read more
Published 11 months ago by charles burns
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Existential Arthouse
I missed this film when my student film society showed it in the early eighties, but the description of a dissillusioned journalist who swaps identities with a dead man stuck with... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2011 by tallmanbaby
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