Senso (1954) 7.5
A troubled and neurotic Italian Countess betrays her entire country for a self-destructive love affair with an Austrian Lieutenant. Director:Luchino Visconti |
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Senso (1954) 7.5
A troubled and neurotic Italian Countess betrays her entire country for a self-destructive love affair with an Austrian Lieutenant. Director:Luchino Visconti |
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| 0Share... |
| Cast overview: | |||
| Alida Valli | ... | ||
| Farley Granger | ... | ||
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Heinz Moog | ... |
Il conte Serpieri
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Rina Morelli | ... |
Laura, la governante
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Christian Marquand | ... |
Un ufficiale boemo
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| Sergio Fantoni | ... |
Luca
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Tino Bianchi | ... |
Il capitano Meucci
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| Ernst Nadherny | ... |
Il comandante della piazza di Verona
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Tonio Selwart | ... |
Il colonello Kleist
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Marcella Mariani | ... |
Clara, la prostituta
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| Massimo Girotti | ... |
Il marchese Roberto Ussoni
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Venezia, spring of 1866, in the last days of the Austrian occupation. A performance of Il Trovatore ends up in confusion due to an anti-Austrian demonstration, organised by Count Ussoni. His cousin Countess Serpieri falls in love with vile Austrian Lieutenant Franz Mahler, but the times are changing. Written by Vincent Merlaud <merlaud@studi.mathematik.hu-berlin.de>
Whatever Anton Bruckner had in mind when writing his majestic Seventh Symphony, it probably wasn't as the score to a postwar Italian love story set during the Italian-Austrian conflicts of the Risorgiamento. Though the use of pre-existing classical music as backdrop for films is to be discouraged, here it works in surprising ways. Alida Valli is the Countess Livia Serpieri, in a loveless marriage to an older, collaborationist official. At the opera (Venice's La Fenice during Il Trovatore!) she meets up with a dashing young Austrian officer, Farley Granger. (Digression: After a handful of American films -- They Live by Night, Rope, Side Street, Strangers on a Train -- Granger journeyed to Italy to work with Visconti then fell off the screen for years, only to resurface in a few schlock films in the late 60s and early 70s. What happened to him?) They kindle up a clandestine and dangerous affair -- the wealthy older woman and the manipulative wastrel. After wheedling a small fortune out of her to bribe a doctor who declares him unfit to serve, he dumps her. But hell hath no fury....Luchino Visconti, assisted by the young Franco Zeffirelli -- both were opera directors, too -- pulls out all the stops, ending with a finale reminiscent of Tosca (but with a twist). Senso is a shameless and unforgettable wallow in Italianate passion -- unabashed verismo translated to the silver screen.