New Arrival La Notte (Region B)

One of the masterworks of 1960s cinema,La notte[The Night] marked yet another development in the continuous stylistic evolution of its director, Michelangelo Antonioni even as it solidified his reputation as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.La notteis Antonionis Twilight of the Gods, but composed in cinematic terms. Examined from a crane-shot, its a sprawling study of Italys upper middle-class; seen in close-up, its an x-ray of modern mans psychic desolation.

Two of the giants of film-acting come together as a married couple living in crisis: Marcello Mastroianni (La dolce vita,8-1/2) and Jeanne Moreau (Jules et Jim,Bay of Angels). He is a renowned author and public intellectual; she is the wife. Over the course of one day and the night into which it inevitably bleeds, the pair will come to re-examine their emotional bonds, and grapple with the question of whether love and communication are even possible in a world built out of profligate idylls and sexual hysteria.

Photographed in rapturous black-and-white by the great Gianni di Venanzo (8-1/2,Giulietta degli spiriti),La nottepresents the beauty of seduction, then asks: When did this occur this seduction of Beauty? The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Michelangelo Antonionis haunted odyssey for the first time ever on Blu-ray.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 1080p presentation of the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with previously censored sequences restored
• New and improved English subtitles
• Original Italian theatrical trailer
• 56-page booklet with an essay by film-critic and scholar Brad Stevens, and the transcript of a lengthy Q&A conducted in 1961 with Antonioni upon the films release.