Upon release in 1970, Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point was a resounding commercial and critical bomb. Coming at the peak of the director's clout and visibility, after the worldwide success of Blow-Up, its psychedelic vision of orgiastic student revolt in an America scarred and degraded by capitalist monomania brought the worst reviews of his career. He was branded a dilettante and dabbler in radical chic, and the movie was abruptly tossed on the film-maudit scrapheap.
But it's become one of those roundly drubbed movies, like Heaven's Gate or Ishtar, that has undergone drastic reappraisal over the years. (The excellent soundtrack featuring Pink Floyd, John Fahey, the Grateful Dead and others helped.) It's playing Saturday and Sunday as part of The Belcourt's Antonioni series, and I'm trying to figure out which one I can catch. I've only seen bits and pieces of Zabriskie Point in clips over the years, but those clips are visually striking enough to make me want to see it for myself.
Below: the movie's famous finale, strongly recommended to fans of Pink Floyd and stuff blowing up real good. You may not want to watch if you plan to see the film this weekend — but it's likely the most entrancing thing you'll see all day.
