Four Times That Night 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Four Times That Night 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 24, 2026

Mario Bava's "Four Times That Night" (1971) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth; archival audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas; recent program with Lamberto Bava; recent program with editor Roberto Colangeli; archival promotional materials for the film; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The date

Is Mario Bava’s Four Times That Night a bland sex comedy or something else? Well, if all you see in it is naked bodies, and all you hear from the moving lips is silly jokes, then yes, it is a bland sex comedy. But why would that kind of simplistic film have such an interesting narrative construction? And why would Bava trouble himself to create such drastic contrasts in each of its four segments? Could it be that Bava was a tad smarter and trying to accomplish something else with his film?

Five characters are given completely different identities in each of the four segments. When viewed through their eyes, the events in Five Times That Night also change rather dramatically.

In the first segment, a very attractive girl named Tina Brandt (Daniela Giordano) goes out for a short walk in the park with her puppy, and her mini-skirt instantly catches the attention of local playboy Johnny Price (Brett Halsey). He pulls over his fancy car to talk to her, but the girl ignores him and disappears behind the nearby bushes, so the playboy is left with no other option but to turn off the engine and follow her. When he tracks her down, he offers to take her out on a date and -- surprise, surprise -- she accepts. Soon after, the playboy visits the girl’s home, and after her mother (Valeria Sabel) explains to him how a proper date ought to end, the two head to the city’s fanciest nightclub. The date goes as planned until, on the way back, the playboy announces he must stop by his place, and the girl begins to panic. And then it gets worse – the girl is tricked into going with the playboy to his lair, he drops his pants, and she has to fight him to remain a virgin. A few hours later, she returns home and reveals to her fuming mother that she was nearly raped.

In the second segment, Price meets a few of his buddies at a fancy bar and describes an entirely different date. Much to their amusement, he confesses that for the first time ever, he took out a girl who was a much bigger player, and was so aggressive that after they returned to his place, he used his entire arsenal of tricks to preserve his reputation. He could not wait to take her back to her mother.

The third segment features a different version of the date, courtesy of an aging doorman (Dick Randall) with a fetish. In it, Price and the girl are visited by a friendly couple whose idea about having a good time surprises even the supposedly seasoned guard.

The final segment uses different bits from the previous three descriptions and arranges them in a way that changes a lot. In fact, it changes so much that a scientist steps in front of the camera and asks whether there are times when the truth can emerge in a context that makes it so absurd it actually invalidates itself. A pretty interesting concept, isn’t it?

The playful attitude may seem a bit too loose, but it very much works in sync with Bava’s desire to effectively subvert the classic definition and purposefulness of the truth. In fact, it is because of it and the zesty humor that Four Times That Night makes its point crystal clear and quite easy to agree with.

Four Times That Night can be viewed in English or Italian, and it is important to underscore that these original audio tracks have a pretty dramatic impact on the manner in which important resolutions are delivered, including the big one at the end. For example, the English track, which is preferable, has some particular exchanges that directly target dated stereotypes about the two sexes. More importantly, the short segment with the scientist was completely removed from the American version of Four Times That Night.

*This upcoming release presents two versions of Four Times That Night -- the slightly longer Italian version, which has a running time of approximately 83 minutes, and the American version, which has a running time of approximately 82 minutes. In America, Kino Lorber's out of print release presented only the longer Italian version of Four Times That Night.

Four Times That Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Indicator/Powerhouse Films' 4K Blu-ray release of Four Times That Night does not have a Blu-ray copy of the film. If you need one, you should consider acquiring this Region-B Blu-ray release.

Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray.

The release presents an exclusive new 4K restoration of Four Times That Night, sourced from the original camera negative. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with HDR.

I have only one other release of Four Times That Night in my library, which is this Region-A Blu-ray release, produced by Kino Lorber in 2018. I used it to perform several comparisons.

The new 4K restoration is very convincing. Despite a few areas with small but noticeable inconsistencies, it gives the film a healthier and more attractive organic appearance. On my system, all visuals held very well, including those that exhibited native density fluctuations. Surface imperfections are essentially removed as well. I noticed a few small ones as well as tiny pieces of 'hair', but the entire film looks much healthier now. Color reproduction and balance are fantastic. All primaries and supporting nuances are properly set and look wonderfully healthy. Unsurprisingly, the entire film has a faithful, gorgeous period appearance. For me, this is the most consequential improvement because it helps the visuals impress with a terrific dynamic range. (I would love to see the 4K restoration in 1080p on Blu-ray because I believe that it would be equally impressive, but I was not sent a copy). Image stability is excellent. I did not encounter any traces of problematic digital corrections, such as degraining, sharpening, contrast boosting, etc. My score is 4.75/5.00.

Four Times That Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH (for the former) and English (for the latter) subtitles are provided.

Kino Lorber's release presents only the longer Italian version of Four Times That Night, which can be viewed with Italian and English tracks. On this release, the Italian and American versions are presented separately. However, the Italian version cannot be viewed with the English audio track. I prefer the English track because it places all developments in a proper context, but the crucial sequence with the scientist is present only on the Italian version. For this reason, I believe that the English audio should have been made available for the Italian version as well. I viewed both versions, in their entirety, and did not encounter any issues with the lossless tracks.

Four Times That Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, critic Tim Lucas deconstructs Four Times That Night and comments on the interesting overlapping of different themes throughout the film, and discusses the time period in which the film was produced as well as its placement in Mario Bava's body of work.

• Commentary Two - in this new audio commentary, critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth discuss in great detail the tone, sense of humor, and stylistic appearance of Four Times That Night, the exact period in which it emerged, where it fits Mario Bava's body of work, and its censorship and distribution history.

• Lamberto Bava: Scenes From a Memory - in this program, Lamberto Bava admits that he does not remember much about the production of Four Times That Night. However, Bava mentions that his father liked the film because it told a story from four different angles, much like Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. Bava also confirms that all sex sequences were faked, and explains why Bret Halsey was right for his part. In Italian, with English subtitles. (13 min).

• Roberto Colangeli: Like Father, Like Son - in this program, Roberto Colangeli, son of editor Otello Colangeli, discusses his father's background and work in the Italian film industry. Colangeli also reveals how he became an editor and comments on his first job, editing Pasquale Festa Campanile's The Libertine. In Italian, with English subtitles. (14 min).

• The Rashomon Effect - this new visual essay was created by critic Rachael Nisbet. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a restored theatrical trailer for Four Times That Night. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here are original promotional materials for Four Times That Night.

• Book - exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Leon Hunt, new writing on the film's Italian censorship history, archival interviews with director Mario Bava and actors Daniela Giordano and Brett Halsey, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and technical credits.

Four Times That Night 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is hardly a coincidence that in the early '70s Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci directed comedies that used sex only as a pretext to highlight 'unusual' behavioral patterns, revealing plenty about the socio-cultural environment they shared. Bava's Four Times That Night and Fulci's The Eroticist, for instance, are similarly witty chameleons. The former tackles the nature of perception and subversion and its impact on the evolving relationship between the two sexes, while the latter offers a terrific social commentary on Italian politics and macho culture. Fulci's films from this period are so good that had he not veered off in a different direction a few years later, he would have left a body of work that may have placed him in the company of such masters as Dino Risi, Alberto Lattuada, and Mauro Bolognini.

Indicator/Powerhouse Films' upcoming 4K Blu-ray release presents a very good exclusive new 4K restoration of Four Times That Night. However, it does not have a Blu-ray copy of the 4K restoration. If you need one, you should consider acquiring this Region-B Blu-ray release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.