David Bordwell said Antonioni had a huge influence on art cinema, arguing that Antonioni "unlike other directors, he inspired subsequent filmmakers to explore ellipsis and open-ended narratives".
The casual and aimless quality of Antonioni's films has drawn a lot of criticism. Ingmar Bergman has said he respects some of Antonioni's films for their alienation and fantasy. Yet while he considers Zoom and Night to be masterpieces, Antonioni's other films, which Bergman finds too tedious and incomprehensible, are not on his radar. Coincidentally, both died on the same day in 2007.
Orson Welles once said of Antonioni: "I don't like the way of expressing something interesting, which is probably the main reason why I am tired of Antonioni. One of his shots is very good, and the more I see it, the better. A guy walking down the road and he's going to give you a panoramic shot. At this point, you're like, well, it looks like this guy (the character in the shot) isn't going to take that woman on the road. He did, and You have to keep looking down the road after that woman leaves."
Virginia Wright Waxman explains his style this way: "The camera is placed more in the mid-range than in the writing, with frequent slow-moving shots that allow for extended continuity through editing. This way each frame will More complex, capable of carrying more information than the style in which smaller environments are usually constructed, and in Antonioni's work we must understand his picture in detail, he forces all our attention by means of constant shot until the shot is cut."
