Sept. 10, 1964 - “Deserto Rosso” (Red Desert), the first color film by the celebrated Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni (right), was today awarded the highest honor of the 25th Venice Festival, the Golden Lion, as the best film.
The story of an engineer’s wife who slowly readjusts herself to family obligations after suffering a mental collapse has been praised for its penetrating psychological insights, imaginative use of color, and the compelling performance given by Monica Vitta as its heroine.
The Volpi Cup for the best performance by an actor went to Tom Courtenay for his portrayal of the British Private in “King and Country” who shows the white feather during World War I and is condemned to death. “King and Country” was directed by Joseph Losey.
The Volpi Cup for the best performance by an actress was won by Harriet Andersson for her work in the Swedish film of Jorn Donner, “Utt Alsku” (To Love).
Three special jury prizes were awarded. They went to Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo” (The Gospel According to Matthew), Grigory Kozintsev’s Russian “Hamlet,” and Alain Jessua’s “La Vie a l’Envers” (The Other Side of Life), the last named as the best film by a novice director.
The Catholic Award was won by “Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo,” and the American “Nothing but a Man” received the City of Venice Prize and the St. Giorgio Statuette.
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