La Notte (1961)

A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship.

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (story), Ennio Flaiano (story)

Stars:

Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, Monica Vitti

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Giovanni Pontano
Jeanne Moreau	...	Lidia Pontano
Monica Vitti	...	Valentina Gherardini
Bernhard Wicki	...	Tommaso Garani
Rosy Mazzacurati	...	Rosy
Maria Pia Luzi	...	Nymphomaniac
Guido A. Marsan	...	Fanti (as Guido Ajmone Marsan)
Vittorio Bertolini
Vincenzo Corbella	...	Mr. Gherardini
Ugo Fortunati	...	Cesarino
Gitt Magrini	...	Signora Gherardini
Giorgio Negro	...	Roberto
Roberta Speroni	...	Beatrice

Storyline

In Milan, after visiting dear friend Tommaso Garani that is terminal in a hospital, the writer Giovanni Pontano goes to a party for the release of his last book, and his wife Lidia Pontano visits the place where she lived many years ago. In the night, they go to a night-club, and later to a party in the mansion of the tycoon Mr. Gherardini. Along the night, Giovanni flirts with Valentina Gherardini, the daughter of the host, and then he receives a proposal to work for him in the area of communication and write the history of his company. Meanwhile, Lidia flirts with the playboy Roberto.

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Plot Keywords:

party | writer | marriage | husband wife relationship | socialite | 

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Taglines:

A new genre of motion picture... to make you think and feel.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Famous Italian writer Umberto Eco (1932-2016) appears in the movie as a guest at the party of the Gherardini family.

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Goofs

Boom visible in shadow form as Giovanni leaves Tomasso's hospital room and walks down the corridor at 16mins or so into the film.

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Quotes

Giovanni: Don't forget.
Valentina Gherardini: My memory seems to get worse every day.

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Connections

Referenced in One Hundred and One Nights (1995)

User Reviews

cold, harsh, dark, - and that's just the drinks

This is a hard film to sit through. Which is not to say it isn't worthwhile, or good, or even a masterpiece, but that the state of mind of the characters involved is hard to cope with - they are depressed, aimless, drifting, unable to make any emotional commitment in an atomised, alienating landscape that is, in the words of Henri Lefebvre, full of signs but absolutely no symbols. The symbols have been all used up, exhausted, just as the couple's love has been all used up. The truth of this film resides for me in its final scene when Moreau (Lidia) reads the old love letter out to Giovanni as a cold morning mist snakes around the golf course. It talks about waking up next to her and possessing her so completely that she is no longer herself, but part of him; utterly owned, 'an image I want to keep forever.' But now the image is tarnished, forgotten, and the woman is alone, abandoned -free of her cage, but utterly lost in the dark mean streets of modernity.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English French

Release Date:

19 February 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Night

Filming Locations:

Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,547, 18 September 2016

Gross USA:

$39,236

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,236

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nepi Film, Sofitedip, Silver Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Fono-Roma)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1