Death in Venice (1971) Morte a Venezia (original title)

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Thomas Mann (novel)
Luchino Visconti (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 March 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

The celebrated story of a man obsessed with ideal beauty.

Plot:

In this adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel, avant-garde composer Gustave Aschenbach (loosely based...

Plot Keywords:

Composer | Beauty | Corruption | Vacation | Obsession

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 19 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Gustav von Aschenbach
Romolo Valli	...	Hotel manager
Mark Burns	...	Alfred
Nora Ricci	...	Governess
Marisa Berenson	...	Frau von Aschenbach
Carole André	...	Esmeralda (as Carole Andre)
Björn Andrésen	...	Tadzio (as Björn Andresen)
Silvana Mangano	...	Tadzio's mother
Leslie French	...	Travel Agent
Franco Fabrizi	...	Barber
Antonio Appicella	...	Vagrant
Sergio Garfagnoli	...	Jaschu, Polish youth
Ciro Cristofoletti	...	Hotel clerk
Luigi Battaglia	...	Scapegrace
Dominique Darel	...	English tourist
Masha Predit	...	Russian tourist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eva Axén	...	Tadzio's oldest sister (uncredited)
Marcello Bonini Olas	...	Nobleman at hotel party (uncredited)
Bruno Boschetti	...	Train station employee (uncredited)
Nicoletta Elmi	...	Little girl at table (uncredited)
Mirella Pamphili	...	Hotel guest (uncredited)
Marco Tulli	...	Man who faints at station (uncredited)

Directed by
Luchino Visconti

Writing credits
Thomas Mann		(novel)
Luchino Visconti		(screenplay) &
Nicola Badalucco		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Gordon Edwards	....	associate executive producer
Mario Gallo	....	executive producer
Luchino Visconti	....	producer

Original Music by
Gustav Mahler

Cinematography by
Pasqualino De Santis		(director of photography) (as Pasquale De Santis)

Film Editing by
Ruggero Mastroianni

Art Direction by
Ferdinando Scarfiotti

Costume Design by
Piero Tosi

Makeup Department
Maria Teresa Corridoni	....	hair stylist: Miss Mangano
Gilda De Guilmi	....	hair stylist
Mario Di Salvio	....	makeup artist
Mauro Gavazzi	....	makeup artist
Goffredo Rocchetti	....	makeup artist: Miss Mangano
Luciano Vito	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Anna Davini	....	production manager
Dino Di Dionisio	....	assistant production manager
Alfredo Di Santo	....	assistant production manager
Egidio Quarantotto	....	production supervisor
Annie Rozier	....	assistant production manager
Umberto Sambuco	....	assistant production manager
Bruno Sassaroli	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Albino Cocco	....	assistant director
Paolo Pietrangeli	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Nedo Azzini	....	set dresser
Gianfranco De Dominicis	....	assistant set dresser
Osvaldo Desideri	....	assistant set dresser

Sound Department
Renato Cadueri	....	sound mixer
Giuseppe Muratori	....	sound
Vittorio Trentino	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Mario Cimini	....	first assistant camera
Gastone Colantoni	....	chief gaffer
Aldo Colanzi	....	key grip
Nino Cristiani	....	first assistant camera (as Michele Cristiani)
Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci	....	second assistant camera (as Giovanni Fiore)
Roberto Gengarelli	....	second assistant camera
Luciano Leoni	....	chief gaffer
Marcello Mastrogirolamo	....	second assistant camera (as Marcello Mastrogirolomi)
Mario Tursi	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Maria Fanetti	....	wardrobe
Paolo Luciani	....	wardrobe
Gabriella Pescucci	....	assistant costume designer
Sara Santarelli	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Loredana Cruciani	....	assistant editor
Mario D'Ambrosio	....	assistant editor
Lea Mazzocchi	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Franco Mannino	....	conductor: National Academy Orchestra of Santa Cecilia
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia	....	orchestra (as National Academy Orchestra of Santa Cecilia)

Other crew
Rometta Pietrostefani	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Alfa Cinematografica

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1971) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (worldwide) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. (1971) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1971) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Elstree Film & Television Studios  movie studio

Also Known As:

"Morte a Venezia" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English | Italian | Polish | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:12A (re-rating) (2002) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | Ireland:15 | Spain:13 | France:Unrated | West Germany:12 (f) | Portugal:M/12 | Peru:14 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Banca Commerciale Italiana, St. Mark's Square, Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Alfa Cinematografica

Trivia:

Burt Lancaster eagerly sought the role played by Dirk Bogarde.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Aschenbach first asks the hotel manager about the situation in Venice, the manager finishes by saying, "There's nothing to worry about." His glasses are on his face. The scene cuts to a different angle, and the manager repeats, "Nothing to worry about", but he's holding his glasses in his hands.

Quotes:

Gustav von Aschenbach:You know sometimes I think that artists are rather like hunters aiming in the dark. They don't know what their target is, and they don't know if they've hit it. But you can't expect life to illuminate the target and steady your aim. The creation of beauty and purity is a spiritual act.
Alfred:Non Gustav, no. Beauty belongs to the senses. Only to the senses.

Movie Connections:

References The Damned (1969)

Soundtrack:

Sehr Langsam Misterioso From Symphony No.3

ignores important aspects of the novella

I'm not sure where to start with this. In short, it was a disappointing movie. Having taught the novella, I was aware that it would be a hard story to turn into a movie. The movie has a couple of interesting lines (mainly between Alfred and Aschenbach) but it doesn't represent the debate on art that basically shapes the novella.

For one, I was expecting an older Aschenbach and a younger Tadzio. In the book, Tadzio is fourteen, but he is described as pure, ideal, innocent, whereas in the movie he reeks of sexuality and is a tease. He is an accomplice to Aschenbach, he always looks back at him, almost provokingly. In the book, it is Aschenbach who steals glances at the boy. As for Aschenbach, I imagined something closer to the professor-turned-clown in The Blue Angel (based on a story by Thomas Mann's brother Heinrich) than this forty-year old with hardly any gray hair. In all fairness, I do think that Dirk Bogarde did a good job, but either someone else should have done that, or he should have made to look older at the beginning.

I know that the discovery of homosexuality is important to the story, but the movie minimizes the talk about art and the duality between the Apollonian and Dyonisian inspirations and focuses instead on Aschenbach's obsession of Tadzio and does not justify it. I liked the fact that Mahler's music was used, because ultimately he did inspire Mann to write his story. I'm not sure turning Aschenbach into a musician was a particularly good move. Or the creation of Alfred who I don't remember in the book.

And one thing that really got to me was the sound and how it did not match the actors' lips. I was wondering if it was dubbed because I expected it to be in Italian. But then I remembered that each Italian movie I have watched has this problem. It just bothers me because these directors (Fellini is the other person I'm thinking of) are supposed to epitomize perfection in Italian cinema, and here are their characters laughing without sound, then you hear a noise that doesn't correspond to their faces (I'm thinking of the scenes when Aschenbach almost collapses and starts laughing. This scene could/should have been the strongest, but it was annoying instead).