Antonioni, Michelangelo (1912–2007)

Italian film director. He specialized in subtle presentations of neuroses and personal relationships among the leisured classes, with an elliptical approach to film narrative. His directorial credits include L'avventura/The Adventure (1959), L'eclisse/The Eclipse (1962), Il Deserto Rosso/Red Desert (1964), and Blow-Up (1966).

Having studied film direction at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome, Antonioni went on to become a screenwriter and documentarist. He made his feature-film directorial debut with Cronaca di un amore/Story of a Love Affair (1950). His other films include La Notte/The Night (1961), Zabriskie Point (1970), and The Passenger (1974). In 1995, with the aid of the German film-maker Wim Wenders, he completed Par-delà les nuages/Beyond the Clouds. He won an Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1996.