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.

---

Plot Keywords:

city in title | composer | obsession | venice italy | beach | 

---

Taglines:

The celebrated story of a man obsessed with ideal beauty.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

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

One day during filming Björn Andrésen asked Dirk Bogarde what his favorite Beatles song was. Bogarde did not know how to answer.

---

Goofs

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

Travel Agent: Week by week there are more deaths. It's quite impossible to count the number of the dead.

---

Connections

Featured in Dirk Bogarde: By Myself (1992)

---

Soundtracks

Wiegenlied
(uncredited)
Written by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by Masha Predit

User Reviews

More and more beautiful as the years pass by

"Slow", "slow", "slow"... I read many people complain "it's slow"... slow what? This movie takes its time. All the most beautiful things in life take time. When you make sex with your girlfriend would you try to make it last five minutes? No you would like to make it last the whole night. When you eat good food in a good restaurant would you like to finish it in two minutes? No, you sit down, enjoy the place, the food, the company and the wine. When you visit an art museum, would you rush through the rooms? No, you would move slowly, pay attention, and stop at the artworks that mean more to you. So why should a movie be different?

If you want speed, then eat at McDonald's, rush in the tube, watch TV commercials, and pay a prostitute for a 5 minute work.

If you are looking for real emotions, deep feelings and thoughts that will last in your memory and heart for a long time, then you don't want to miss this movie.

One caveat: don't go watching it for the gay theme. This movie isn't about gay love, if you look at it through this point of view, it will let you down completely. This movie is symbolism from beginning to end, it does not speak of what you see. It speaks of the struggle of the artist to reach the beauty, so close, always unreachable, and, like another reader perfectly commented, so inevitably connected with death, because the only perfection that a living being can ever attain, is in the death. If you look at the movie from this point of view, it will show to you for what it is: a complete masterpiece, from beginning to end.