Death in Venice
Original Title
Morte a Venezia- Director: Luchino Visconti
- Writer: Thomas Mann; Luchino Visconti
- Producer: Robert Gordon Edwards; Luchino Visconti
CGiii Comment
Slow and mesmerising.
Arguably...too long...but, intoxicating nonetheless.
The music carries the whole thing - directors should take note: MUSIC IS IMPORTANT.
But...it's Mr Bogarde who, ultimately, steals the show...he simply transfixes his audience.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
In this adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel, avant-garde composer Gustave Aschenbach (loosely based on Gustav Mahler) travels to a Venetian seaside resort in search of repose after a period of artistic and personal stress. But he finds no peace there, for he soon develops a troubling attraction to an adolescent boy, Tadzio, on vacation with his family. The boy embodies an ideal of beauty that Aschenbach has long sought and he becomes infatuated. However, the onset of a deadly pestilence threatens them both physically and represents the corruption that compromises and threatens all ideals.
Cast & Characters
Dirk Bogarde as Gustav von Aschenbach;
Romolo Valli as Hotel manager;
Mark Burns as Alfred;
Nora Ricci as Governess;
Marisa Berenson as Frau von Aschenbach;
Carole Andre as Esmeralda;
Bjorn Androsen as Tadzio;
Silvana Mangano as Tadzio's mother;
Leslie French as Travel Agent;
Franco Fabrizi as Barber;
Antonio Appicella as Vagrant;
Sergio Garfagnoli as Jaschu, Polish youth;
Ciro Cristofoletti as Hotel clerk;
Luigi Battaglia as Scapegrace;
Dominique Darel as English tourist