Rating: 
Summary: A Marvelous Film - Beautiful.
Review: A bit slow-paced but this is such a luxury for viewers who just enjoy Antonioni's cinematographic artistry and the beauty of his images. The theme is his usual incommunicability -- and this is presented with such sophistication, decadance and ennui. A real treasure of image.
Rating:
Summary: Figures in a Landscape, a study of modern man & woman
Review: A classic. Its close but....Antonioni films are meditations which rely less on actual dialogue than on inner moods conveyed with Antonionis very original way of framing characters within a shot. A trick he uses over and over again is to show a character against a flat plane like a wall. The look of it and feel of it is like a modern painting. Isolation is the key emotion. Characters isolated within themselves, characters isolated from each other. So long passages of the film are wordless as the camera merely follows the lone footsteps of one character or another. Antonioni also calls attention over and over again to the impersonal feel of the modern city. The opening shots out the window of a glass elevator slowly descending into a world of glass and concrete are especially memorable. The characters are not fully drawn people rather they are representatives of the way modern people feel. So although you do get the stars Moreau and Mastroaianni and Vitti (and what stars) they don't do or say a whole lot. Fellini covers a lot of the same ground in La Dolca Vita. In fact the stories are very similar. Both deal with an all night party but Fellini makes the party seem a whole lot more fun. Antonionis characters are not really capable of letting loose, they are too bored with their lives to be decadent. It is a very watchable film although some shots seem a little too ripe with a too obvious symbolism as when Moreaus character walks through a bombed out building and then picks a large patch of rust off of a wall(zoom in to hand picking rust). Definitely a film to enjoy when in a serious mood. This is a study of modern angst told in a modern way. I think Monica Vitti's portrayal of the young disaffected rich girl steals the show. She out angsts her elders. Sophisticated they are when compared to most any other film style but Antonioni films are also a bit vague when looked at too closely, his characters just a little too flat. But still it is an interesting aesthetic to focus exclusively on angst. This is as good as anything Antonioni ever did so if you are already a fan of his style you won't want to miss it and this is an excellent place to start if you don't know him yet. Visual artists of any medium will find much to admire here. I think the most appealing thing about Antonioni is his knowledge and synthesis of all the art forms including the visual, the written word and music.
Rating: 
Summary: A TRULY GREAT FILM; A TERRIBLE DVD
Review: A film that Jean Renoir called "Magnificent" and Orson Welles said he couldn't stand, "La Notte" is arguably Antonioni's most flawless, concentrated and deeply layered masterpiece (the late great critic William Arrowsmith has put forth the most masterful argument in favor of this high opinion in his fantastically unconventional and myth-debunking, chapter-long review of it in "Antonioni: Poet of Images"), and it certainly deserved better than the amateurish & just plain awful transfer it has gotten from the philistine cheapskates at Fox-Lorber. The film's influence on other filmmakers & especially the most famous of American directors such as Scorsese, Coppola, and De Palma is IMMENSE: for direct proof check out Scorsese's homage to the famous silent-conversation-in-the-parked-car-in-the-rain scene in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," where Ellen Burstyn is seen grieving silently in the closed capsule of her car in the pouring rain for her son who has run away. Some people also mention Kubrick's final pretentious mediocrity "Eyes Wide Shut" as being similar to this film. Well, it figures, and no real film fans are too surpried since "Barry Lyndon" and "2001" were also both practically Antonioni films in their deliberate, super-concentrated compositions and slow pacing, and also because back when he was still a great director (in 1963) Kubrick listed "La Notte" as his 7th favorite film of all-time.The picture quality of this DVD version Fox-Lorber-Winstar has thrown on the market is maybe SLIGHTLY better than a mediocre VHS copy, but that's about it! The ONLY reason to buy the DVD is to be able to get to your favorite parts quicker. The picture is undermatted, has annoying lines and moving dots through it throughout, and the sound sometimes has weird pops and crackles in it as if it was recorded off a scratched LP! Not only that, but the English Subtitles are NOT REMOVABLE and their text in this version is BADLY TRANSLATED, making the non-Italian-speaking viewer miss quite a few conversational points that I, for one, know by heart, through having watched my old Video copy of the well-translated JANUS Collection Print (perfectly matted by the way) recorded off a TV Showing on BRAVO many years ago, many times (I truly LOVE this film and unlike some other Antonioni films which I had to 'grow into,' was instantly hypnotized by its poetry the FIRST time I saw it in a visceral way I haven't experienced with any other film except maybe Godard's "Breathless," Truffaut's "Shoot the Piano Player" and Scorsese's "Taxi Driver"). Needless to say, I'm a big dupe, and I bought this DVD the day it came out and was totally disappointed, and what I could only hope for, and it doesn't seem likely because, apparently, Fox-Lorber own the DVD rights to this classic film, is for a CRITERION transfer of "La Notte," "The Eclipse," and every other Antonioni film to go along with their pristine version of "L'Avventura," and maybe even with commentary as great as Gene Youngblood's on all of them! When will Fox-Lorber learn to give classic works of cinematic art the respect they deserve?
Rating:
Summary: Intense...a complete film about real and disturbing feelings
Review: Communication is the primal source of this Antonioni's masterpiece. Are there any possibilities of understanding between people? Is it possible to establish a monogamy-based relationship in a world full of desire and curiosities? The director presents a work that shows how dangerous it can be when love twists itself into an ordinary living convenience. With wonderful performances by Mastroiani, Moreau and Vitti (which plays the personification of desire and lost youth), Antonioni presents love as the only possible salvation with beautiful images and strong dialogues. An immortal movie based on an immortal subject.
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Summary: Marvelous cast by most compicated actor,actress and director
Review: Giovanni Pontano is a writer, who is going through an existantial crisis along with an inspirational one. His relation with his life Lidia isn't any better, the two have problems communicating, a problem the writer has with the rest of world as well. On the day of the publiction Giovanni's latest book, the couple visit the Marxist editor Tomasso, who is in hospital dying of cancer. Later a long and tedious all-night party with various erotic encounters at the home of Milanese industrialist who wants to buy Giovanni's serve to underline the growing emptiness of their marriage. At the end of the night they found nothing more than a tenuous solution... The film is a physological drama about the uncertainity of the modern man's feelings where various themes interlace : the solitude, the enemy, the money, the money, etc. symbols of empty and crazy world. Jeanne Moreau's day-to-evening walk in the city is a commonpoint with nearly all Antonioni films; film character observes the society giving up all securities against people. Monica Vitti, acts as the daughter of the industrialist; sharing the solitute of her secure life guaranteed by her father but an empty world and looking for the solution or something interesting in Mastroianni/Moreau characters that seem different but sharing the same problems in different way actually..
Rating:
Summary: Just discovering the genius of Antonioni
Review: I am a newcomer to this realm of genius film making and I corroborate the eloquent and articulate observations by the reviewer from Minnesota. I simply want to add that after seeing and studying my first two Antonioni films (l'Avventura and La Notte) I am struck by the fact that just about any frame from these movies resembles a Cartier-Bresson photograph. There are so many levels of satisfaction in these films, intellectually and artistically. They are crafted like a great literary work, as mentioned by another reviewer, in the sense that no detail is accidental or superfluous. And like reading a great book, you get back what you put into it in terms of observation.
Rating:
Summary: Great film, crap DVD.
Review: I love this film, however I found the DVD to be unwatchable. The image jumps up and down throughout the entire length of the film, which left my head aching after it was over. Also, as the previous reviewer observed, this image is not properly matted. And, the print used for this transfer is a dirty one. I was hoping that this film would eventually be released on the DVD format and I bought it right away when it was. But, the job done by Fox Lorber/Winstar Video was a real disappointment to me. What a waste for a such a fine piece of cinematic art. I guess I could always use the DVD as a rearview mirror ornament.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T MISS THIS FILM
Review: LA NOTTE has some of Antonioni's BEST lines in it that he ever dreamed up for a script. It's interesting to view an Antonioni film with so much actual dialogue. LA NOTTE assists in understanding Antonioni's other work by virtue of this contrast. There are people who are not comfortable with other Antonioni films that have less dialogue. They will be pleasantly surprised with the abundant script performed in LA NOTTE. You'll need to watch this concentrated, intense, and excellent film more than once, however. Rewatching is necessary to get close to the core of Antonioni's message. Serious, masterful, and thoughtful/deep/contemplative films like this change intelligent people's lives. It will take more than one viewing to assimilate it all, however. This is why you need to have your OWN copy of LA NOTTE, the early 60s b&w classic from Antonioni. ... and you will be GLAD to have it on hand, for your own appreciation gleaned via self-monitored viewing at chosen spaced intervals. Believe me, you will find it time well-spent. ( I have an idea that much of the value of Antonioni's work, including LA NOTTE, is in that it speaks differently to different viewers. ) Yes, with LA NOTTE you really need to have your own copy. I wouldn't want to be without it. And neither will you.
Rating:
Summary: Antonioni at the top of his form.
Review: La Notte was released over forty years ago, yet it is modern in the way it is filmed and the themes it portrays, testimony to Michelangelo Antonioni's skill as one of the great directors in film history. Antonioni communicates to us not only through the dialogue and artistry of the actors, but also through the images he painstakingly creates for us in each scene. It is a satisfying experience for viewers to have so much to work with as we construct meaning and truth value from what we see and hear. In the opening scenes Giovanni Pontano, played by the young and brilliant Marcello Mastroianni, and his wife Lidia, portrayed by the great french actress Jeanne Moreau, visit a friend in the hospital and learn that he is dying. Lidia's discomfort is palpable as she moves about the room restlessly and hardly says anything. At last, she excuses herself and leaves the room and the hospital. The patient, a writer as is Giovanni, discusses Giovanni's new book. The patient has read fifty pages and hopes to finish the book before he dies. We sense that Giovanni is more interested in his friend's critical appreciation of his book than he is concerned about the health of the dying man. This self-centeredness of Giovanni is confirmed when he leaves his friend to join Lidia. A disturbed young and attractive woman patient at the hospital, whom Giovanni had met briefly before visiting his friend, approaches Giovanni again and makes sexual advances toward him. The pair move quickly to the young woman's hospital room where they squirm about briefly on her bed before being interrupted by two nurses who are aware of the young woman's habits and tendencies. When Giovanni meets Lidia outside the hospital he confesses to her, as they drive away in their car, what has happened. In this scene we get a sense of the history of this troubled couple. Giovanni is the worst sort of womanizer; that is, he is the kind who feels compelled to tell his wife of his various sexual escapades. She knows him better than he knows himself and passes off lightly what she has been told. Much of what happens later in the film is foreshadowed by the hospital visit and discussion in the car. From the hospital Giovanni and Lidia return to their apartment and seem restless. They have been invited to the party of a rich industrialist, they decide not to go, and then change their minds while having drinks at a nightclub. At the party Giovanni immediately is attracted to the industrialist's eighteen year old daughter Valentina, played well by Monica Vitti. Valentina is not only beautiful, but also provocative. She exudes energy and excitement and Giovanni is drawn irrestibly to her even though his actions can be seen by Lidia, who has finally arrived at her breaking point. She is used up and burned out. It appears as if her marriage is over, but La Notte only leaves us with appearances. The film may be over, but the troubled marriage may struggle on. La Notte is not a story in a traditional sense, but more a series of episodes that take us deeper into the lives of Giovanni and Lidia. Mastroianni and Moreau are talented actors, as is Vitti, and Antonioni's direction is superb, down to the last small detail. Taking our eyes off the screen even for a minute is a mistake. Of course, having the DVD gives us the advantage of being able to go back and pick up some of the details we might have missed. Those viewers who enjoy La Notte are almost certain to want to see Antonioni's masterpiece, L'Aventura, filmed a year earlier in 1960. Both of these early films of the master demonstrate Antonioni's immense skill as a filmmaker. The art and craft of moviemaking has been advanced under Antonioni's capable direction.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, the DVD IS watchable
Review: Several respondents here have criticized the transfer quality, citing cropping, hisses, wobbling, etc. Most of the "cropping" is attributable to television overscan, and you notice it more on this DVD because Antonioni makes such deft and unusual use of the far edges of the screen. There are DVD players available which can help compensate for overscanning, a problem originating from standard television sets and not this particular DVD. Regarding hisses, those recurring, distant industrial sounds you hear are on the original soundtrack. Undoubtedly they are meant to serve an emotional mood. One respondent reports that the image is so jumpy he couldn't watch the film; I simply didn't have the same viewing experience. A number of Criterion releases have more image wobble than this one. In fact, I'm impressed by the great sound and picture quality of this DVD. It's a huge improvement over the muddy version which Bravo used to broadcast, and notably cleaner than theatrical prints available in the US in the 1990s. While not perfect, this DVD delivers the aural and visual clarity which Antonioni deserves.
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