Death in Venice (1971)

While recovering in Venice, a sickly composer becomes dangerously fixated with a teenage boy.

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Thomas Mann (novel), Luchino Visconti (screenplay)

Stars:

Dirk Bogarde, Romolo Valli, Mark Burns

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 18 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dirk Bogarde	...	Gustav von Aschenbach
Romolo Valli	...	Hotel Manager
Mark Burns	...	Alfred
Nora Ricci	...	Tadzio's Governess
Marisa Berenson	...	Frau von Aschenbach
Carole André	...	Esmeralda - Brothel Prostitute
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

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

voyeur | teenage boy | city in title | adolescent | composer | 

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Taglines:

The celebrated story of a man obsessed with ideal beauty.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

Italy France USA

Language:

English Italian Polish French Russian German

Release Date:

5 March 1971 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Death in Venice

Filming Locations:

Cinecitta Studios, Cinecitta, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alfa Cinematografica, Warner Bros., PECF

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Marisa Berenson.

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Goofs

The prostitute peers out from the piano towards von Aschenbach on her left, but then she is shown sitting facing him on her right.

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Quotes

Travel Agent: You would be very well advised to leave today, sir. Don't wait til tomorrow.

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Connections

Referenced in Rapture: The Pavel Dubcek Legend (1999)

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Soundtracks

Adagietto from Symphony No.5
Written by Gustav Mahler
Conducted by Franco Mannino
Performed by Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (as The Orchestra of the Academy of Saint Cecilia)
Courtesy of Varèse Sarabande

User Reviews

A monument

Death in Venice is a movie I need to see once every ten years. It is always different, because I am always at a different stage of life.

The movie is about art, beauty, longing, death. Some scenes are painfully slow, others simply annoying to watch, especially if you have seem them before. Yet I would not want to miss a single frame. The music is repetitive, the main theme of the adagietto from Mahler's fifth is used again and again. Yet I would not want to miss a single note. When the last image fades, the last note dies, I am left numb and exhausted.

This movie is a monument to film making. As with most really good movies, the saturday evening crowd should stay away from it. And this is simply the best movie ever.