Night and Day Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Night and Day Blu-ray Movie Review

Anything goes... almost.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 15, 2026

Loosely based on the life and career of legendary American composer Cole Porter as played by Cary Grant, Michael Curtiz's Night and Day may not be as tantalizing as that teaser implies but it's still a decent drama with terrific songs. Somewhat daunting and overlong even at just 128 minutes, hardly an epic runtime for this genre, the sturdy pace still keeps things moving forward to the finish line. But with terrific framing and expert cinematography that highlight its lavish production design, Night and Day actually impresses more thoroughly on the visual side, leaving room for efficient storytelling that doesn't require loads of exposition or *shudder* voice-over narration.

Night and Day is again almost totally fictionalized so, while a plot synopsis might normally seem silly for those familiar with Porter's life story, in this case even a basic one is warranted. The film opens opens at Yale where young Cole Porter (Grant) is expected to pursue a respectable career in law, but his passion clearly lies in the realms of music and theater. Encouraged by his friend and mentor Monty Woolley (as himself), Porter decides to abandon his studies completely and pursue songwriting full-time instead. His debut theatrical production See America First fizzles after opening night, which leaves Porter discouraged. His career is further diverted once the United States enters World War I shortly thereafter, with Porter serving in French Foreign Legion. He's wounded in conflict and recuperates in a French hospital where he meets the lovely Linda Lee (Alexis Smith), a wealthy sophisticate who has long admired him.

Linda ultimately becomes an important part of Porter’s life and career, encouraging and influencing his creativity while helping him to regain his confidence after the initial failure and debilitating injury. During his recovery, Porter writes the song “Night and Day,” marking the beginning of his renewed artistic ambition. While Linda offers him the security of her wealth, Porter insists on making his own way and returns to America to build a career through music... and back in New York, he struggles at first but eventually establishes himself as a successful songwriter. When Porter's Broadway career flourishes, Night and Day pays more literal tribute to his best-known songs via lavish musical sequences that include “Begin the Beguine,” “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” and “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.”

Night and Day doesn't necessarily follow the usual trajectory of most glamorized biopics, as we're reminded that his eventual marriage to Linda would be tested by Porter's overwhelming dedication to music. His life-altering horseback riding injury plays a part in the film's third act as well, serving as a further test of willpower without Linda by his side. This all makes for largely effective drama, of course, and Cary Grant does a fine job in the lead role with the necessary amount of confidence, vulnerability, and respectable piano skills to perform the role with energy to spare. Yet Night and Day's perhaps unavoidably sanitized elements, the main one being avoidance of his homosexuality, ultimately keep it from reaching greater heights. Somewhat ironically, though, the 2004 film De-Lovely isn't as shy about this aspect of Porter's life but still doesn't have near as much razzle-dazzle and entertainment value as Curtiz's 1946 Technicolor musical, which means that even this watered-down account still comes out ahead on points.

Adding to Night and Day's modest legacy is Warner Archive's terrific new Blu-ray, whose sterling A/V merits bolster the film's outstanding visuals and sonic strengths. Add in a small but enjoyable collection of era-specific extras and you've got yet another release by the boutique label that's slightly more than the sum of its parts.

Night and Day Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

During the last several years, Warner Archive's full shift to 4K scans of original camera negatives -- or the next best thing -- have produced countless perfect and near-perfect results, but inserting the word "Technicolor" into that phrase all but guarantees an enthusiastic 5/5 rating. Such is the case for Night and Day, whose dazzling visuals and production design are served extremely well on a 1080p transfer that boasts outstanding fine detail, terrific color, and a smoothly polished image that's extremely clean while staying true to its filmed roots. As seen by these direct-from-disc captures, die-hard fans and newcomers alike can look forward to an outstanding visual treatment for this great-looking film, one that impresses at every turn and runs at a high and supportive bit rate from start to finish.

Night and Day Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix obviously can't achieve the same broadly dazzling results with but one channel to its name (evenly split here, of course), but Warner Archive's restoration in this area likewise stands as a very impressive effort that wipes away decades of age to produce as perfect sounding a track as possible. Dialogue and especially music remain crisp and clear throughout, with only trace amounts of hiss remaining that suggest no heavy amounts of noise reduction were applied to preserve the original dynamic range. Under the circumstances, I've got not choice to award the fruits of their labor another hearty 5/5, as I can't imagine any tangible improvements can be made here.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Night and Day Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork. Bonus features include a small but interesting collection of era-specific material mostly meant as pre-show entertainment.

• Musical Movieland (20:21) - This 1944 short, presented in SD and presumably ported over from an old DVD release, was directed by LeRoy Prinz and serves as a tribute to (and trailer for) various WB Technicolor musical productions. I'd have loved to see this one fully restored, but that would probably be asking too much.

• Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra (10:09) - Another musically-minded short, this 1936 piece highlights the singing abilities of Lucille Ball's husband. His guitar-playing "skills"? Not so much.

• The Big Snooze (7:23) - This 1946 Looney Tunes short starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd was last seen on Warner Bros.' excellent Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume Three Blu-ray set as well as WAC's 2024 Blu-ray edition of the 1947 Vincent Sherman film Nora Prentiss.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:19) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

• Song Selection - Instant access to more than 20 notable songs and musical moments during the film such as "I'm In Love Again", "You've Got That Thing", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Night and Day", "Anything Goes", "You're the Top", "I Get a Kick Out of You", and "Begin the Beguine". (All titles are on screenshot #30.)

Night and Day Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Michael Curtiz's Night and Day is clearly a whitewashed biopic of celebrated composer Cole Porter, but his enduring songs and Cary Grant's lead performance -- not to mention the terrific Technicolor cinematography and production design -- work overtime to keep this melodrama above water. It works most of the time... but the innate strengths of Warner Archive's new 4K-sourced restoration put in plenty of work too, bolstering Night and Day's modest legacy with another solidly well-rounded Blu-ray that fans will surely enjoy. Recommended to the right crowd.