Night is a 2007 Australian documentary film about the night, co-produced and directed by Lawrence Johnston. The film features scenes of Australia at night, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and a moonrise over Uluru, as various Australians are interviewed about their emotional connections and life experiences relating to the night time.
| Night | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Lawrence Johnston |
| Produced by | Lizzette Atkins Lawrence Johnston |
| Cinematography | Laurie McInnes |
| Edited by | Bill Murphy |
| Music by | Cezary Skubiszewski |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 82 min. |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ~$2 million[2] |
Critical response
editLeigh Paatsch from Herald Sun gave the film three and a half out of five stars saying that while "the whole package is occasionally too pretentious and pretty for its own good" there were "moments of sublime contemplation captured throughout Night that are rarely (if ever) felt in an Australian film."[3]
The Sunday Age's Tom Ryan also gave the film three and a half out of five stars. He writes "If Johnston's ambitious work sometimes gets a bit pompous, it also displays, along with the striking cinematography, a keen anthropological instinct and a real intelligence."[4] The Courier Mail's Des Partridge gave it three out of five stars closing his review by saying "At only 82 minutes including credits, Night scrapes in as a feature, and the repetitive film seems longer."[5]
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Tracey Prisk gave it three out of five stars, calling it a "visual fest" but stating "it's hard to imagine that Night will have such resonance on the big screen."[6] Simon Weaving from the Canberra Times notes that "the film as a whole is a flawed curiosity rather than a stunning piece."[7]
Accolades
editCezary Skubiszewski's soundtrack won the 2008 Screen Music Award for Best Music for a Documentary[8] and was nominated for the 2008 AIRA Award for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album[9] and the 2009 International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for a Documentary Film.[10]
Follow-up
editIn 2015, Johnston released a spiritual sequel to Night entitled Neon. That film covers the history of neon lights around the world, presenting hypnotic footage mixed with interviews in a similar fashion.
References
edit- ^ IMDB
- ^ Chester, Harold (12 February 2008). "Night vision". Herald Sun.
- ^ Paatsch, Leigh (7 February 2008). "Night (PG)". Herald Sun.
- ^ Ryan, Tom (10 February 2008). "Night - FILM - New release". Sunday Age.
- ^ Partridge, Des (7 February 2008). "Banal rambling thoughts on night". The Courier Mail.
- ^ Prisk, Tracey (3 February 2008). "A visual feast but that's about it". Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Weaving, Simon (16 February 2008). "Night - FILM - New release". Canberra Times.
- ^ Fiske, Pat. "Curator's notes". Australian Screen. National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
- ^ Kroslakova, Katarina (19 October 2008). "Ruling classic - ARIA AWARDS 2008". Sun Herald.
- ^ "2008 IFMCA Awards". International Film Music Critics Association. 4 January 2010.
External links
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