Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Night of the Following Day Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 2, 2021

Hubert Cornfield's "The Night of the Following Day" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary recorded by the director; exclusive new audio commentary by audio commentary recorded by film critic and film historian Tim Lucas; archival program with Joe Dante; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Chauffeur

I made three guesses while viewing Hubert Cornfield’s The Night of the Following Day, and all three turned out to be very poor, though for different reasons. Twice I tried to predict where the film was heading and how it would end, and twice I missed by a wide margin because I could not profile the main characters right. I found this very odd and a day later saw the film again, just to be sure that I did not miss crucial clues that I could use as an excuse for my misses. But I did not discover any. The final poor prediction is easier to explain because approximately fifteen minutes into the film I already knew exactly what had happened. I will tell you why later.

The film opens up at the airport in Paris where the Chauffeur (Marlon Brando) picks up the Girl (Pamela Franklin) in a spotless black Rolls-Royce. But as soon as they exit the area and go on the highway, the Chauffeur pulls over and a stranger from another car, Leer (Richard Boone), quickly jumps in the Rolls-Royce, sits next to the Girl, and while she screams forces her head between his legs. Somewhere in the countryside, the Girl is then transferred to another car driven by the Blonde (Rita Moreno), while another man, Friendly (Jess Hahn) takes the Rolls-Royce away.

Soon after, the group arrives at a secluded beach house, where Leer explains to the Girl that she has been kidnapped but will not be harmed if she follows his instructions. Together they record a message for her father (Hugues Wanner), a wealthy industrialist, and the Chauffeur and Friendly go to work to deliver it. They do it while using public phones at different locations so that the police can’t track their location. While the ransom money is being withdrawn from the bank and then prepared according to the kidnappers’ instructions, the entire group gathers at the beach house.

For a while, the perfect plan to get rich quickly seems to be working exactly as intended, but then the kidnappers begin to second-guess each other and it quickly becomes clear that they will not be able to function as a team.

Three-thirds of The Night of the Following Day quite easily could have been directed by Jean-Pierre Melville because his classic gangster films emphasize minimalism and atmosphere in much the same way the two are utilized before the crucial resolution. This is essentially the formula behind the ‘cool’ that makes Melville’s films unique. However, in The Night of the Following Day there is a bit of psychedelic kink as well, which happens to be the key reason why I could not guess correctly where the film was heading. Cornfield does not allow it to erode the film’s identity, but there is enough of it to ensure a few important developments that ultimately make the resolution impossible to predict.

The other unexpected curve ball emerges from Stanley Myers’ soundtrack, which undergoes a quick and fascinating transformation. Indeed, by the time the Girl’s father is contacted, it already feels like Myers is attempting to outdo the legendary soundtrack Miles Davis delivered for Louis Malle’s directorial debut, Elevator to the Gallows. Admittedly, Cornfield does not use the music as well as Malle does to strengthen the suspense, but the quality of the material and performances is undoubtedly of the same caliber.

The beach shootout and Brando’s performance there are enough to certify The Night of the Following Day a cult film. Willy Kurant lenses the entire sequence as if it was meant to appear in a classic American western, not a contemporary gangster film about a perfect kidnapping gone terribly wrong.

*Apparently, Stanley Kubrick had acquired the rights to Lionel White's novel The Snatchers and planned to use it to shoot his directorial debut. However, for several different reasons he had to abandon the project, and instead began working on The Killing.

The Night of the Following Day 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, The Night of the Following Day arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. Even though there are obvious signs of aging, this is one of the better old masters to emerge from the studio's vaults. Excluding the beach shootout at the end where some halo-like effects become a tad distracting, the rest of the film looks quite nice. There are no traces of problematic sharpening or denoising adjustments, so the visuals have a fairly decent organic appearance. (For reference, this is how the majority of MGM's older masters look, so this is the type of quality you should expect from this master). Grain can be better exposed and resolved, but it does not look processed. Colors are good. However, saturation and overall balance can be improved. There are no stability issues. Minor blemishes, dark spots, and some stains can be spotted, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, warped or torn frames to report. So, all of the main limitations of the current master are inherited. There is definitely room for improvement, but as it is the film has pretty decent organic qualities. It just looks slightly dated. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Night of the Following Day Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is very easy to follow. Dynamic intensity and balance are good as well. However, there are a few areas with minor unevenness that does not appear to be inherited. It is not distracting at all, but if the film is fully restored and the audio remastered with modern equipment these areas will almost certainly be addressed. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

The Night of the Following Day Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Night of the Following Day. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Trailers From Hell - an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with Joe Dante. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Commentary One - a very interesting archival audio commentary with director Hubert Cornfield, who discusses in great detail the conception of The Night of the Following Day, its production, reception, etc. If you enjoy the film, definitely find the time to listen to the commentary in its entirety.

• Commentary Two - an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by film critic and film historian Tim Lucas.

The Night of the Following Day Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If Hubert Cornfield was French right now his film The Night of the Following Day would be considered a genre masterpiece. It is as stylish as some of the crime films Jean-Pierre Melville and Louis Malle made, perhaps even better than a few of them as well, which is why it needs a serious critical reevaluation. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an older but good master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. If you decide to see the film, try to avoid the vintage trailers that are floating around because they feature footage that spoils some key developments in it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.