From black and white to color : a study of color in Michelangelo Antonioni´s film The red desert

Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) belonged to a generation of filmmakers that breathed new life into cinematic expression in the annals of modern-day European film history. By employing his background as a documentary filmmaker, Antonioni used these skills to help establish his own particular style. There was a distinct evolution of style which progressed during his triology L´Avventura, La Notte and L´Eclisse, 1959-1962. This theises presents a comperative study between his earlier films in black and white and his first color film - Il deserto roso, from 1964. By observing color in relation to narrative, dialouge, acting and elements of mise-en-scène, I suggest different answers than those previously discussed among critics concerning this interrelationship. I also discuss how camera technique has presented new possibilities in this area. Concerning references from the texts and books by influential critics, I add my own visions and interpretations concerning this subject. Moreover, I have looked at other filmmakers and their productions´use of colors. One of the crucial themes of this text is how these two formats - black and white and color - bring different modes of meaning and affect their specific films´narratives