Film Forum

Italy, 1957
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Based on the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Starring Marcello Mastroianni, Maria Schell, Jean Marais
Music by Nino Rota 
In Italian with English subtitles
Approx 103 min.

“Visconti’s version of the Dostoevsky story—about the chance encounter of a couple as she is waiting in vain for her lover, and the obsessive, panic-stricken relationship which then develops between them—later filmed by Bresson as FOUR NIGHTS OF A DREAMER. Visconti traps his characters (three excellent performances) within a claustrophobic canal-side set, and the film is a series of brief walks, chases, attempted escapes, always frustrated. Shot as neo-realist high tragedy, the film offers its characters only one strange moment of escape from their night-time obsessions—a raucous, sexual, subversive scene in a dance-hall. Then the snow comes down, and with it a chilly desperation about the extent of human self-delusion.” – Time Out

Restored by Luce Cinecittà, from the original 35mm negative

Presented with support from the Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film

 A JANUS FILMS RELEASE

Reviews

“A crucial turning point, the link between Visconti’s early neorealist manner and the obsessive stylization of his late films.”
– Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

“MASTROIANNI’S PERFORMANCE IS A DELIGHT.”
– Screen Slate

“Immaculately realized and restored...WHITE NIGHTS is an undeniable technical achievement — a loveless, albeit self-loving, film about the nature of love.”
– The New York Times

“THE STUFF OF PURELY CINEMATIC ROMANCE.”
– Roger Ebert

“THE BIG SCREEN WAS ESSENTIAL TO VISCONTI.”
– The Village Voice