La Notte [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni

Overview

La Notte is another of Michelangelo Antonioni's cinematic interrupted journeys. Just as no one solved the central mystery in Antonioni's L'Avventura, neither does anyone truly enjoy the literary party that is La Notte's centerpiece. The party is being thrown to celebrate the publication of author Marcello Mastrioanni's new novel. But before he even reaches the door of the house, Mastrioanni's evening is ruined when his wife Jeanne Moreau announces suddenly she is disgusted with him--this reaction evidently triggered by an earlier visit to a dying friend. Moreau skips out on the party to wander the streets, searching for...for what? Meanwhile, Mastrioanni tries to inaugurate an empty affair with Monica Vitti, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. The very elements that drive Mastrioanni and Moreau apart at the beginning of the film reunite them at the end. Maybe. L'Avventura and La Notte were the first two chapters in Antonioni's "barreness and alienation" trilogy; the third, L'Eclisse, was released two years later.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/29/2013
UPC:	0715515108416
Original Release:	1961
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	2:02:00
Sales rank:	4,260

Special Features

New digital restoration from a 4K film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; New interview with film critic Adriano Aprà and film historian Carlo di Carlo; New interview with professor Giuliana Bruno on the role of architecture in La Notte; Trailer; New english subtitle translation; Plus: a booklet featuring an essay by critic Richard Brody and a 1961 article by director Michelangelo Antonioni

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marcello Mastroianni	Giovanni Pontano
Jeanne Moreau	Lidia
Monica Vitti	Valentina Gherardini
Bernhard Wicki	Tommaso Garani
Rosy Mazzacurati	Rosy
Vincenzo Corbella	Mr. Gherardini,Actor
Guido A. Marsan	Fanti
Vittorio Bertolini	Actor
Ugo Fortunati	Cesarino
Gitt Magrini	Signora Gherardini
Giorgio Negro	Roberto
Roberta Speroni	Beatrice
Valentino Bompiani	Actor
Roberto Danesi	Actor
Umberto Eco	Man at the Party
Giansiro Ferrata	Actor
Ottiero Ottieri	Actor
Salvatore Quasimodo	Actor
Giorgio Gaslini	Composer

Technical Credits

Michelangelo Antonioni

Tonino Guerra

Ennio Flaiano

Michelangelo Antonioni	Director,Screenwriter
Tonino Guerra	Screenwriter
Emanuele Cassuto	Producer
Claudio Maielli	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Ennio Flaiano	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

An equally stunning follow-up to Michelangelo Antonioni's landmark 1960 film, L'avventura, La Notte explores similar themes of dysfunctional relationships and a seemingly unattainable search for sincere passion. Again, these underlying themes center on a loosely strung, somewhat inconsequential plot, elevated to fascinating heights by the film's meticulous pace and emphasis on visual nuance. The film admittedly pales to its predecessor a bit, lumbering at times during the first hour, before suddenly becoming rejuvenated when the iconic Monica Vitti transforms the film's dysfunctional couple into a love triangle. It's difficult to not fall under Vitti's spell in this film, her Valentina character emanating a sense of seduction that doesn't need dialogue. Unfortunately, Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau's characters aren't quite as captivating, resulting in occasional lulls -- Moreau's aimless journey through the city streets being one of the more disturbing sequences. Yet even if these pre-Vitti lulls seem a bit laborious for the viewer or even challenging in their slow development, Antonioni's gift for visual composition makes even the least interesting scenes simply genius on a visual level. The powerful conclusion complements the film's poetic yet cold view of a dying relationship -- from beginning to end, the film simply wallows in unexplainable despair without even alluding to a sense of hope. Best appreciated when benchmarked against L'avventura's epic qualities and L'eclisse's almost painful austerity, La Notte serves as a perfect medium in terms of both narrative and technique -- engaging and poetic yet simple and direct.

All Movie Guide - Jason Birchmeier