Good Morning, Night

[trevor826]

Released on region 2 DVD in the U.K today by Artificial Eye.

I think reviews have been posted for the film so (unless someone tells me different) I'll just say it's an excellent transfer of the best modern Italian film I've seen for quite a while.

Just a little info about the film, this is a kidnapping drama based on a real incident, a point that was driven home to me as I was watching the film, "Aldo Moro" and "The Red Brigade" took me back to my youth, they meant little to me then partly because of my age and because it happened in Italy.

You don't need to know or be interested in the historical context of the film as it works well as it stands, you follow the story sharing the feelings and thoughts of the only female of the group of kidnappers, Chiara as her mind twists and turns as the all too palpable levels of tension and futility rise. We are given insight to her true feelings through a number of dreams she has during the film, although you are unaware these are dream sequences until reality slaps you in the face. An extremely good drama, well devised, constructed and edited.


Sound options allow for stereo and 5.1 surround although you don't get much use from the rear speakers, mainly quiet ambient noise and the odd burst of Pink Floyd.

Subtitles are removable and are clear and sharp.

As far as extras go, there's a trailer for the film, a filmography for the director Marco Bellocchio and a very enlightening 40+ minute documentary covering the making of and giving some historical background to the film.


A warning though, during the documentary you do see vintage film of executions, they may be old but they are still shocking.

Cheers Trev.

[arsaib4]

Thanks, Trevor. I just made a brief comment about it in another thread minutes ago; I am waiting for its U.S. release in order to talk about it in detail.

[trevor826]

Is it O.K with everyone if I detail the odd U.K DVD on this board? sometimes we get releases before the U.S does and of course if the distributor is different there are likely to be changes in the extras etc.

I won't mention the fact that the quality of a PAL picture is usually better than the NTSC version.

Cheers Trev.

[oscar jubis]

I'd say info on R2 discs is appreciated. Some of us own universal players and purchase or rent dvds from all over. I just received the UK dvd of Orson Welles' Mr. Arkadin aka Confidential Report. I actually own the markedly inferior R1 disc of the same film. Keep 'em coming, Trev!

[oscar jubis]

(Comments below contain SPOILERS)
That is, if you're not familiar with the resolution of the kidnapping of Christian Democratic party president Aldo Moro at the hands of the Brigate Rosse in 1978. It's the central event in Marco Bellocchio's film, released in Italy in 2003 and still awaiting release by Wellspring in the USA. I watched the region #2 dvd described by trevor826 in the opening post.

Buogiorno, Notte is "liberamente ispirato" (liberally inspired) by the book "Il Prigioniero" or "The Prisoner" by Ana Maria Braghetti and Paola Tavella. The film's action take place inside the apartment bought by members of the Red Brigade, a Communist group that broke off from the Italian Communist Party when its leaders entered into discussions to form a coalition government with the Christian Democrats. The film barely makes this clear, as a matter of fact, there is scant exposition of the political context and little analysis beyond laying bare the naivette of the Brigadistas, their almost psychotic break from political/social reality.

The film is more interested in two internal dramas: Chiara, the sole female Brigadista's moral conflict regarding Moro's execution and Aldo Moro's coming to terms with his eventual death. This is the meat of Buongiorno, Notte and it's tasty indeed. Beyond those parameters, the movie is not as accomplished. Something to do with the titular script, written by one of the Brigadistas, seems underdeveloped. A scene involving Paulo VI receiving Moro's letter is poorly staged and rather silly: the Pope is seen having a hissy fit, violently tossing papers off his desk to be promptly picked up by a group of nuns in funny hats. If it's meant to convey the Pope's anger at the kidnappers or at having to answer Moro's letter, it does so poorly. We learn the father of 23 year old Chiara died at the hands of Fascists, then the movie cuts to executions of members of the Resistenza during WWII, more than a decade before Chiara was born. We are also shown footage of May Day demostrations in the USSR, which I guess are meant to show where the Brigadistas get their inspiration. I say I guess because Bellocchio never connects the footage to the Brigadistas or to the rest of the film. The use of passages from "La Misa Criolla" and Pink Floyd's more operatic compositions, played at high volume at key dramatic movements, felt over-emphatic and superfluous, but it's only my opinion. I also found baffling that there's a second showing of a scene of Moro walking free, after we learn that the first time it's shown we're inside Chiara's dream.

Let me reiterate that, despite its flaws and limitations, Buogiorno, Notte is a good drama, liberally inspired by historic events, with two compelling characters at crucial stages in their lives. I think most viewers would find it worth their time and money, and I hope Americans get a chance to see it.