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Death in Venice

Original title: Morte a Venezia
  • 1971
  • GP
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
22K
YOUR RATING
Björn Andrésen and Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)
Trailer for Death In Venice
Play trailer3:50
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaRomance

While recovering in Venice, sickly composer Gustav von Aschenbach becomes dangerously fixated with teenager Tadzio.While recovering in Venice, sickly composer Gustav von Aschenbach becomes dangerously fixated with teenager Tadzio.While recovering in Venice, sickly composer Gustav von Aschenbach becomes dangerously fixated with teenager Tadzio.

  • Director
    • Luchino Visconti
  • Writers
    • Thomas Mann
    • Luchino Visconti
    • Nicola Badalucco
  • Stars
    • Dirk Bogarde
    • Romolo Valli
    • Mark Burns
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    22K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Luchino Visconti
    • Writers
      • Thomas Mann
      • Luchino Visconti
      • Nicola Badalucco
    • Stars
      • Dirk Bogarde
      • Romolo Valli
      • Mark Burns
    • 146User reviews
    • 78Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 18 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Death In Venice
    Trailer 3:50
    Watch Death In Venice

    Photos115

    Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)
    Björn Andrésen and Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)
    Marisa Berenson in "Death in Venice" 1971 Warner Brothers
    Marisa Berenson in "Death in Venice" 1971 Warner Brothers
    Marisa Berenson in "Death in Venice" 1971 Warner Brothers
    Death in Venice (1971)
    Death in Venice (1971)
    Helmut Berger and Dirk Bogarde in The Damned (1969)
    Björn Andrésen and Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)
    Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)
    Björn Andrésen and Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)
    Björn Andrésen and Dirk Bogarde in Death in Venice (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dirk Bogarde
    Dirk Bogarde
    • Gustav von Aschenbach
    Romolo Valli
    Romolo Valli
    • Hotel Manager
    Mark Burns
    Mark Burns
    • Alfred
    Nora Ricci
    Nora Ricci
    • Tadzio's Governess
    Marisa Berenson
    Marisa Berenson
    • Frau von Aschenbach
    Carole André
    Carole André
    • Esmeralda - Brothel Prostitute
    Björn Andrésen
    Björn Andrésen
    • Tadzio
    • (as Björn Andresen)
    Silvana Mangano
    Silvana Mangano
    • Tadzio's Mother
    Leslie French
    • Travel Agent
    Franco Fabrizi
    Franco Fabrizi
    • Barber
    Antonio Appicella
    • Vagrant
    Sergio Garfagnoli
    • Jaschu - Polish Youth
    Ciro Cristofoletti
    • Hotel Clerk
    Luigi Battaglia
    • Scapegrace
    Dominique Darel
    Dominique Darel
    • English Tourist
    Masha Predit
    • Russian Tourist
    Eva Axén
    Eva Axén
    • Tadzio's Oldest Sister
    • (uncredited)
    Marcello Bonini Olas
    • Nobleman at Hotel Party
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Luchino Visconti
    • Writers
      • Thomas Mann
      • Luchino Visconti
      • Nicola Badalucco
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The boy on whom Tadzio was based, Wladyslaw Gerard Jan Nepomuk Marya Moes, was only 10 in May 1911.
    • Goofs
      TV aerials are clearly visible on Venetian rooftops in one scene.
    • Quotes

      Alfred: Do you know what lies at the bottom of the mainstream? Mediocrity.

    • Connections
      Featured in Temporada de Caça (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Sehr Langsam Misterioso from Symphony No.3
      Written by Gustav Mahler

      Performed by Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (as The Orchestra of the Academy of Saint Cecilia) and Lucretia West (alto)

      Conducted by Franco Mannino

    User reviews146

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    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).
    helpful•27
    17
    • msultan
    • Jun 11, 2004

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1, 1971 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • France
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
      • Polish
      • French
      • Russian
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Smrt u Veneciji
    • Filming locations
      • Grand Hotel des Bains, Lungomare Marconi 41, Lido, Venice, Veneto, Italy(hotel)
    • Production companies
      • Alfa Cinematografica
      • Warner Bros.
      • PECF
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,558
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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