Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

La Notte Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 28, 2013

Winner of Golden Bear Award for Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival, Michelangelo Antonioni's "La Notte" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original Italian theatrical trailer for the film. Also included with this release is a 56-page illustrated booklet with an essay by film critic and scholar Brad Stevens, and the transcript of a lengthy Q&A conducted in 1961 with Antonioni upon the film’s release. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Let's play!

Our first impression is that Lidia (Jeanne Moreau, The Trial, Mademoiselle) and Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni, Casanova '70, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) 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, Paris, Texas) 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 which 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 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, Red Desert, L'Avventura), 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 already know 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, they discover how they feel about each other.

The third important character in the film 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. 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’ 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. Yet it is not a pessimistic film, rather one that truthfully captures alienation and the loneliness that comes with it.

La Notte Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michelangelo Antonioni's La Notte arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

I have mixed feelings about this release. On one hand, the basics of the high-definition transfer are strong and the final result is clearly a major step up in quality over Eureka Entertainment's R2 DVD release of La Notte. Detail and image depth are very pleasing even during the heavy rain footage (see screencapture #18). During the daylight footage contrast levels are also stable, while sharpness is greatly improved when one compares it to that of the DVD release. The balance between the blacks, whites, and grays is also stable and natural because there are no traces of boosting. Generally speaking, there are no traces of problematic degraining corrections either (but there are areas of the film where the grain could be resolved better). On the other hand, there are some surprising compression issues, a few of which could be distracting. To be perfectly clear, occasionally there are light artifacts that pop up as well as chroma noise effects that seem similar to those present on Gaumont's release of Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped. (Take a look at screencapture #5 where the chroma could be seen on Jeanne Moreau's back). Fortunately, these chroma effects are not too intense, and my feeling is that only very sensitive viewers are likely to notice them. For the record, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

La Notte Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 1.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is very strong. The sound is well rounded, stable, and with plenty of depth. The range of nuanced dynamics is rather limited, but this should not be surprising considering the age of the film. The dialog and the occasional jazzy tunes remain crisp and free of background hiss throughout the entire film. Also, there are absolutely no distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

La Notte Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original Italian theatrical trailer for La Notte. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - 56-page illustrated booklet with an essay by film-critic and scholar Brad Stevens, and the transcript of a lengthy Q&A conducted in 1961 with Antonioni upon the film's release.

La Notte Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michelangelo Antonioni's La Note is an essential film to see and own. This new Blu-ray release of the film from Eureka Entertainment represents a strong upgrade in quality over their R2 DVD release, but in my opinion it could have been even more convincing. RECOMMENDED, but with some reservations.