giorgio gaslini: la notte

Michelangelo Antonioni's 1961 masterpiece La Notte is an atmospheric and enthralling movie starring the great Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti and is the second entry in his famous "alienation trilogy" the central film of a trilogy beginning with L'Avventura (1960) and ending with L'Eclisse (1962). Antonioni's composer-of-choice for the first and the third movies was Giovanni Fusco, however, since La Notte was shot in Milan, Antonioni's initial idea was to hire a native composer, Giorgio Gaslini considering that there was a big difference between the jazz music that was being produced in the South and in the North of Italy. Gaslini wrote his score while the film was being shot, making a cameo with his own orchestra in the party that serves as a background for the film. According to his recollections this ended up being the most bizarre and exciting experience of his career. The end result is fairly unique as well: a catalog of ambient jazz music that boasts an unprecedented psychological thrust.