La Notte
| La notte | |
|---|---|
 Italian poster |
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| Directed by | Michelangelo Antonioni |
| Produced by | Emanuele Cassuto |
| Written by | Michelangelo Antonioni Ennio Flaiano Tonino Guerra |
| Starring | Marcello Mastroianni Jeanne Moreau Monica Vitti Bernhard Wicki |
| Music by | Giorgio Gaslini |
| Cinematography | Gianni Di Venanzo |
| Editing by | Eraldo Da Roma |
| Distributed by | Lopert Pictures Corporation (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 24 January 1961 (Italy) February 19, 1962 (US) |
| Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | Italy France |
| Language | Italian |
La Notte (The Night) is a 1961 Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. It is considered the central film of a trilogy beginning with L'avventura and ending with L'Eclisse.[1][2][3]
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[edit] Plot
La Notte follows a day in the life of a middle-aged, married couple based in Milan. Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni) is a distinguished, successful writer and Lidia (Jeanne Moreau) is his wife.
They visit their dying friend Tommaso (Bernhard Wicki) in the hospital, where a sick and uninhibited young woman attempts to seduce Giovanni, before attending a party to celebrate Giovanni’s most recent book, which has been well received. Lidia sneaks off, still shaken by Tommaso’s dire condition, and wanders the streets of Milan. She ends up in the neighbourhood where she and Giovanni lived as newlyweds and seems content for a moment. Giovanni picks Lidia up from the old neighbourhood, they return to their chic apartment and decide to go to a nightclub to break up the monotony. There they watch a mesmerising performance and make small talk. To Giovanni’s surprise, Lidia suggests that they leave the club and attend a swanky party thrown by a millionaire businessman who wants Giovanni to write a book about the history of his company.
At the party, Giovanni socialises with the guests and appears to be in his element, while Lidia walks around in a state of boredom. Eventually, Giovanni romances Valentina (Monica Vitti) the lively, charming daughter of the host. Briefly, Lidia leaves with a young man who has been observing her all night, after calling the hospital and learning that Tommaso has died. Both couples are aware of what the other is up to and while Giovanni seems slightly displeased with Lidia’s behaviour, Lidia almost seems to encourage Giovanni’s flirtation with Valentina. When morning comes, Lidia admits to Giovanni that she wants to die because she is no longer in love with him but Giovanni reassures her that they are in love and can make their marriage work.
La Notte ends with Lidia reading out a love letter that Giovanni wrote to her just before they got married, which he does not remember.
[edit] Cast
- Marcello Mastroianni as Giovanni
- Jeanne Moreau as Lidia
- Monica Vitti as Valentina
- Bernhard Wicki as Tommaso
- Maria Pia Luzi as unnamed patient
- Rosy Mazzacurati as Rosy
[edit] Reception
The film won the Golden Bear award at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival,[4] and critically acclaimed film director Stanley Kubrick listed it as one of his top 10 favourite films.[5] The film was also selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 34th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[6]
[edit] Cultural References
- At the very end of the credits of the Monty Python movie Life of Brian it says 'If you have enjoyed this film, why not go and see "La notte"?'.
- Don Draper mentions La notte in a rare conversation about things he actually likes in the second season of Mad Men.
[edit] See also
- List of submissions to the 34th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
[edit] References
- ^ Gazetas, Aristides (April 2008). An introduction to world cinema. McFarland. p. 246. ISBN 9780786439072. http://books.google.com/books?id=CPuZ-2UtVRwC&pg=PA246. Retrieved 31 May 2011. "L'avventura, La notte and L'eclisse form a trilogy advancing the ... Although his early trilogy gave Antonioni international prominence as a filmmaker ..."
- ^ Wakeman, John (October 1988). World Film Directors: 1945-1985. H.W. Wilson. p. 65. http://books.google.com/books?id=8aEYAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 31 May 2011. "The third film of Antonioni's trilogy, L'eclisse (The Elipse, 1962), incorporates features of both its predecessors. Like La notte it is dominated by one theme, this time not the degradation of creativity but rather the alienating ..."
- ^ Cameron, Ian Alexander; Wood, Robin (1971). Antonioni. Praeger. p. 105. http://books.google.com/books?id=PXhZAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 31 May 2011. "The form of the 'trilogy' comes from the parallel between the first two films, particularly in their endings which are countered by L'Eclisse. The first two end at dawn with a renewal of a relationship which had been partly destroyed ..."
- ^ "Berlinale 1961: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1961/03_preistr_ger_1961/03_Preistraeger_1961.html. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ^ http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/milestones.html
- ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
[edit] External links
- La Notte at the Internet Movie Database
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