La Notte

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

1961 2h 2m IT

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 760

DramaRomance

Synopsis

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

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

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Marcello Mastroianni
Giovanni Pontano
Jeanne Moreau
Lidia
Monica Vitti
Valentina Gherardini
Bernhard Wicki
Tommaso Garani
Rosy Mazzacurati
Rosy
Maria Pia Luzi
Un'invitata
Guido A. Marsan
Fanti
Vittorio Bertolini

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Ennio Flaiano, Tonino Guerra, Tonino Guerra
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Italy, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, shot by Gianni Di Venanzo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Giorgio Gaslini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Eraldo Da Roma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A new genre of motion picture... to make you think and feel.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054130 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michelangelo Antonioni directs. Gianni Di Venanzo behind the camera. Giorgio Gaslini scores. Eraldo Da Roma cuts. Produced in Italy, France. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

165 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2International production across 2 countries: Italy, France.
3Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, shot by Gianni Di Venanzo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Giorgio Gaslini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Eraldo Da Roma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A new genre of motion picture... to make you think and feel.".
8IMDB entry: tt0054130 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gianni Di Venanzo
Original score: Giorgio Gaslini
Editing: Eraldo Da Roma
Production design: Piero Zuffi
Makeup / hair: Franco Freda
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: La Notte (1961)

Awards

Golden Bear

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Michelangelo Antonioni

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-06
★ 7/10
I have always thought Jeanne Moreau to be one of the most striking of actresses. He expressions with her smile and her eyes would have made her a fantastic silent film star. Here she portrays "Lidia", married to "Giovanni" (an equally potent Marcello Mastroianni), with whom she has a pretty open relationship in what is a rapidly deteriorating marriage. It's only after they visit a terminally ill friend "Garani" (Bernhard Wicki) that she becomes distraught, leaves the hospital and her thoughts start to focus a little. She visits the home of her youth, he goes to a party to celebrate the release of his latest tome then they both end up at a lavish soirée where they are as if independent of each other - both pretty shamelessly flirting with other, younger, people whilst maintaining just about enough of a façade to remember that this is all about business. Michelangelo Antonioni has created the ultimately crafted fly-on-the-wall film, here. The photography is intimate, almost invasive, at times as we watch these two people heading on a crash course to marital oblivion taking a great deal of themselves with them too. Though at times outwardly superficial, the characterisations are actually quite complex and both play with a subtle, nuanced charisma that compliments the more obvious symptoms of their declining interest in each other. What also adds a richness to this is a distinct paucity of dialogue. Giorgio Gaslini has provided us with a score that allows the photography to tell us great swathes of the story using imagery only - the lack of needless conversation between the characters helps it to showcase the ostentatiousness of their ball or the use of the Milanese city-scape in the darkness illuminated only by the occassional street-light - and that frequently creates a compelling atmosphere as sterile and barren as is their failing partnership. By the end, we know that something has to give, but what might that be? For two hours it just flies by. It's Golden Bear was well won.

Production companies