Beyond the Clouds

BEYOND THE CLOUDS is a sequence of four “impossible love stories”, all based on stories from Michelangelo Antonioni’s volume of stories “This Bowling Alley on the Tiber” and staged by himself. Since the mid 1980s, Antonioni suffered from the aftereffects of a stroke, which left him mentally unaffected but took his ability to speak. For years, making a new film remained only a dream for him. Until the producers managed to put a project together, in which he was able direct. The insurance companies’ condition was that another director could fill in if Antonioni’s handicap became a problem.

Wenders assumed this role and accompanied the film from the beginning without ever having to interfere. He staged a frame story with a “director” (John Malkovich), conceiving the four love stories. These stories take place in Ferrara, Portofino, Aix en Provence and Paris.

As Antonioni says: “In search of the true image, this absolute and mysterious reality which nobody will ever see!”

Format

France/Italy/Germany 1995
Length: 112 min
Format: 35mm Eastmancolor; 1:1,66; Dolby Stereo
Original Language: Italian, French, English


Festivals & Awards

1995 • Venice International Filmfestival: FIPRESCI-Prize (Best Director)
1996 • David di Donatello Award (Best Director of Photography)


Cast and crew

Production: Sunshine-Ciné B-France 3 Cinéma (Paris), Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica (Rome), Road Movies Zweite Produktionen GmbH (Berlin) Director: Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders Producer: Wim Wenders, Stéphane Tchal Gadjieff, Philippe Carcassonne Screenplay: Tonino Guerra, Michelangelo Antonioni, Wim Wenders, based on the novel That Bowling Alley on the Tiber by Michelangelo Antonioni Director of Photography: Robby Müller, Alfio Contini Editor: Peter Przygodda, Lucian Segura, Michelangelo Antonioni, Claudio Di Mauro Sound: Jean-Pierre Ruh Cast: Fanny Ardant, Chiara Caselli, Irène Jacob, John Malkovich, Sophie Marceau, Vincent Pérez, Jean Réno, Kim Rossi-Stuart, Inès Sastre, Marcello Mastroianni, Carine Angeli, Peter Weller, Jeanne Moreau, Enrica Antonioni

1st Assistant Diroctor: Béatrice Banfi 2nd Assistant Director: Gianluca Mazzella, Francesca Marra, Marilisa Caló Personal Assistant to Michelangelo Antonioni: Andrea Boni Personal Assistant to Wim Wenders: Donata Wenders Script: Aruna Villiers Support: Enrica Antonioni French Screenplay Adaption: Soheil Ghodsy Camera Operator: Giuseppe Venditti Assistant Camera: Maurizio Lucchini, Sandro Rubeo, Pim Tjujerman, Jean-Pierre Supe, Emiliano Leurini, Ali Lakrouf 2nd Camera/Steadicam: Carlo Montuori, Agnès Godard, Jörg Widmer Still Photographer: Wim Wenders, Donata Wenders, Masahiko Kishino, Richard Meloul, Jean-Marie Leroy, Fabian, photo agency Sygma Set Design: Thierry Flamand, Luc Compere, Jean-Philippe Geoffriau, Jean-Claude Tenes, Nicolas Joliet, Bertrand Vuarnesson, Manuel Swieton Artists: Marie Desforge, Philippe Moutard, Patrick Morrison, Danielle Sauge-Lagrange Property Master: Denis Barbier, Marie-Noëlle Giraud, Davide Zanni, Emmanuelle Duplay; Henri Moisan Special Effects (Set): Massimo Cristofanelli, Massimo Cardajoli, Vladimir Kostovic Make-up: Judith Gayo Special Make-up: Anthony Gaillard, Pierre Olivier Thévenin Wardrobe: Esther Walz, Anne-Marie Sanchez, Ingrid Weiss, after designs from Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander, Chantal Thomass Gaffer: Agostino Gorga, Massimo Rocchi, Christopher Porter Lighting Technician: Valerio Gorga, Antonio Piselli, Romano Martiri, Thierry Montendre, Jean-Marc Bellien, Virgile Gomez, Sébastien Lizot, Patrick Gasché, Gilbert Seybald Colour Grading: Pasquale Cuzzupoli Public Relations: Nicoletta Billi Hairstyle: Fernando Mendes, Angela Anzimani Assistant Editor: Lucilla Caldani, Christiana Monteverde, Marie-Christine Ratel, Corinne Rozenberg, Anne Schnee Sound Editor: Nadine Muse, Gérard Hardy Sound Assistant: Benoît Hardonniere, Denis Martin, Jérôme Ayasse Supervisor of the Original Version: Carlo Di Carlo Re-recording Mixer: Vincent Arnardi, Thierry Lebon, Hartmut Eichgrün Music: Lucio Dalla, Laurent Petitgand, Van Morrison, U2 In Cooperation with: Centre National De La Cinematographie, Canal +, ARD/Degeto Film GmbH, Eurimages Co-Producer: Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Ulrich Felsberg Line Producer: Danielle Gégauff-Rosencranz, Brigitte Faure, Pierre Roitfeld Accociate Producer: Felice Laudadio Production Manager: Loretta Bernabei, Arlette Danis, Bernard Grenet, Ariel Askenazi Production Office: Nathalie Carles, Loredana Manili, Catherine Siné Post-Production Coordinator: Sylvia Vargas-Gomez Dialogue Editor: Massimo Rinchiusi, Fabio Palmisano Personal Assistant to Wim Wenders (Berlin): Jolanda Darbyshire Assistant Road Movies: Nora Wischnat 1st Location Manager: Yorick Kalbache, Thierry Guilmard, Ornella Bernabei, Didier Hoarau 2nd Location Manager: Mathieu Schiffman, Fabrizio Mosca, Valérie Benedetto, Louise Meschini, Giancarlo Tumino Primary Distribution: Kinowelt Filmverleih GmbH (Munich) Premiere (IT): 02.09.1995, Venice International Filmfestival; (DE): 10.1995, Hof, International Filmfestival Shooting: November 1994 – March 1995 in Ferrara, Portofino, Aix-en-Provence, Paris


Blu-ray & DVD

DVD (DE)
Arthaus
Language: German (5.1 Dolby Digital), OV in English, French, Italian (5.1 Dolby Digital)
Subtitles: German
Format: 1.77:1

DVD (USA)
Olive Films
Language: OV in English, French, Italian
Subtitles: English
Format: 1.66:1

DVD (IT)
Rti
Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles: Italian
Format: 1.66:1

DVD (FR)
Universal Pictures
Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: French
Format: 1.66:1


Book to the film

My time with Antonioni
Wim and Donata Wenders
Faber & Faber, London 2000
355 pages, Softcover
ISBN: 9780571200764

Available at bookshops

 


Press Sheet (PDF)

License Requests