La Notte 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

La Notte 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 28, 2025

Michelangelo Antonioni's "La Notte" (1961) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with composer Giorgio Gaslini; new audio commentary by critic Tony Rayns; new program with Richard Dyer; and vintage trailer. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Our first impression is that Lidia (Jeanne Moreau) and Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni) exist in an unusually cold and lonely world. Our second impression is that they are both hiding something.

After the couple leaves the hospital where their best friend (Bernhard Wicky) is dying, we begin to understand what it is that they are hiding -- it is the indifference that is slowly collapsing their marriage. They try to be kind to each other, but both feel that they are no longer in love.

They decide to attend two parties. The first is small but overcrowded. In the busy vestibule, Lidia quietly observes Giovanni while he is congratulated by strangers who have read his new book. She knows that she should be happy for him, yet she can’t wait to leave. The noise, the people, the pretentious talk… it is too much for her.

The second party is one that at first they both seem reluctant to attend. It is in the wealthiest suburb of Milan, in the lavish home of a man with many powerful friends. It is bigger than the first party but more relaxed. It is the type of party that middle-aged men with a lot of money and their spoiled wives would attend. Lidia and Giovanni both know that they don’t belong there, but they also realize that being out and amongst other people is a lot better than being alone in their chic apartment.

During the party, Giovanni meets Valentina (Monica Vitti), while Lidia is approached by an impeccably dressed man. They both flirt and then try to behave as a couple -- and then flirt again. Giovanni is completely overwhelmed by the beautiful Valentina, as he was years ago when he met Lidia. For a short moment, Lidia also allows the impeccably dressed man to hold her in his arms.

By the early morning hours, Lidia and Giovanni are already fully aware that this may have been their last night out together.

La Notte (The Night), the second film in Italian master Michelangelo Antonioni’s Trilogy of Alienation, is a slow and notably moody piece that chronicles the final hours of two people who have been slowly drifting apart. During the course of a single night, both discover how they feel about each other.

The third important character in La Notte is the Italian upper class. During the party, Antonioni’s camera carefully observes the seemingly happy guests as they form small groups and entertain each other. They try to be polite and energetic, but many of them look bored, some even oddly detached. The only time they truly come alive is during a silly game where the men get caught up in a betting frenzy. This is where it is made clear that, like Lidia and Giovanni’s romantic relationship, the upper class’s relationship with reality is irreparably broken.

Fluid camerawork and a trendy jazz score make La Notte an indescribably elegant film, but its heart is cold. And yet, it is not a pessimistic film, but rather one that truthfully captures alienation and the loneliness that comes with it.

La Notte 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eureka Entertainment's 4K Blu-ray release of La Notte does not have a Blu-ray copy of the film. If you need one, you must consider this release from 2013.

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 disc.

Technical credits included with the 4K Blu-ray release confirm that it is sourced from a new 4K restoration completed on behalf of the film's rights holder, Compass Film, in 2024. The 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed it with HDR.

I have several different home video releases of La Notte in my library, Blu-ray and DVD. However, I will only reference the Region-B release linked above and this Region-A Blu-ray release, produced by Criterion in 2013.

The 4K Blu-ray release brings a much more convincing technical presentation than the one featured on the Region-B Blu-ray release. It is immediately obvious that the grayscale of the native 4K presentation is dramatically improved, providing the visuals with a lush, organic appearance that is very, very attractive. (On the Region-B Blu-ray release, the gamma levels are off because of incorrect film/video presets, and as a result, in many places, there is noticeable chroma noise). This improvement also has a substantial positive effect on the already better dynamic range of the visuals, so on a large screen, all visuals now look much, much better. Delineation, clarity, and sharpness are improved as well. However, I think that the adjustments in the grayscale are a lot more important because on the previous presentation, all serious issues could be easily traced back to the incorrect gamma levels. (The chroma noise, for instance, made grain exposure unconvincing). I would describe the HDR grade as good because it does not create any serious issues in darker areas. However, I prefer how certain areas -- like the nightclub dance and the segment with the rain -- look without it. On my system, these areas begin to look a tad too dark. On the other hand, the daylight and quite a bit of the indoor footage definitely look better with HDR. Image stability is outstanding.

I compared several areas from the Region-A Blu-ray release because I wanted to see if there were any improvements in terms of delineation, clarity, and depth. I did not see any meaningful improvements. In fact, if I upscale the Region-A Blu-ray release to 4K, the overall quality of the visuals becomes practically identical to that of the native 4K visuals. I think that grain fluctuations are virtually the same as well.

La Notte 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: Italian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

It is impossible to tell if this lossless track has undergone any new improvements. I did not identify anything that sounded different in a meaningful way. All exchanges are clear and easy to follow. When the band plays, the music is crisp, too, but dynamic contrasts are pretty modest. In a few places with more pronounced crowd noise, some unevenness can be noticed, but it has always been there, even on the old DVD releases of the film that I have in my library. The English translation is excellent.

La Notte 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Unless... - in this archival program, composer Giorgio Gaslini explains how he realized that creating soundtracks for films can be his profession and discusses his earliest work and contribution to La Notte. Gaslini also explains why in La Notte the music is as important as the evolution of its characters, and reveals how he signed a life-altering contract that relocated him from Milan to Rome, where he worked on various other classic Italian films. The program was produced by Federico Caddeo for Freak-O-Rama in 2020. In Italian, with English subtitles. (22 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Tony Rayns.

• Richard Dyer - in this new program, critic Richard Dyer discusses La Notte. In English, not subtitled. (45 min).

• Trailer - an original Italian theatrical trailer for La Notte. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic and scholar Brad Stevens and the transcript of a lengthy Q&A conducted in 1961 with Michelangelo Antonioni upon the film's release, as well as technical credits.

La Notte 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are an owner of the original Region-B Blu-ray release of La Notte, you should plan to acquire this upcoming 4K Blu-ray release. It brings a substantial upgrade in quality, which I think makes it possible to experience the film in an entirely new, much more satisfying way. Also featured on the 4K Blu-ray release is a wonderful, previously unseen, archival program with composer Giorgio Gaslini, who scored La Notte, and later launched jazz studies in Italy. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.