Death in Venice (1971)

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

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 Gustav von Aschenbach (Sir Dirk Bogarde) 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 (Björn Andrésen), 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

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

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,558

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

Sir Tom Courtenay, who had starred with Sir Dirk Bogarde in King & Country (1964), said at the premiere that he felt that Sir Alec Guinness should have played Aschenbach, because then the audience would have believed that he was the great composer, "with Dirk, you never felt he was."

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Goofs

The size and shape of von Aschenbach's rose buttonhole changes multiple times during the final beach scene.

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Quotes

Travel Agent: Well, people all know, of course, they are terrified. But, they're silent. And do you know why? Summer! Tourists! The whole business of Venice is tourists. Can you imagine Venice without tourists? Well, it would be more desolate than in the winter.

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Connections

Referenced in Maybe... Maybe Not (1994)

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Soundtracks

Sehr Langsam Misterioso from Symphony No.3
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

Sensitive as well as thoughtful flick about a composer and his quest for beauty and splendor

This is an adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel , avant-garde composer Gustave Aschenbach (Dick Bogarde) , loosely based on Gustav Mahler character , being well portrayed in this brooding as well as slow-moving classic movie . The celebrated story of a man obsessed with ideal beauty written by prestigious Thomas Mann is magnificently brought to the screen , concerning about desire , homosexuality , children lost , plagues and adult situations throughout .

Thought-provoking character studio of a reputed artist , his mishaps , digresses , loves his homosexuality and continuous search for beauty and perfection . this is the second part of Luchino Visconti's German Trilogy also including The damned (1969) and Ludwig (1972). It deals with Gustav Mahler lookalike whom Dick Bogarde is made up to resemblance . However , the film results to be overlong , it seems longer than its 130 minutes running time . Colorful as well as visually absorbing cinematography in Panavision by Pascualino de Santis . Impressive and immortal musical score by Mahler , in fact his Third and Fifth Symphonies were adapted as background music for the film ; being excellently conducted by orchestra director Fanco Mannino.

This studied as well as slow motion picture was masterfully directed by Luchino Visconti . Visconti was a director and writer, considered to be one of the best Italian filmmakers . At the beginning his career he developed the movement of "Italian neo-realism" together with other directors such as Vittorio De Sica or Roberto Rossellini in the 1940s and 1950s such as ¨Bellissima¨ (1952) , ¨La Terra Trema¨(1948) , and ¨Ossessione¨ (1943) was based on James M. Cain's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' . Luchino is especially known for Rocco and brothers (1960), "Il Gattopardo" or "The Leopard" (1963) , ¨The damned¨ (1969) , ¨Ludwig¨(1972) , "The Innocent" (1976) and , of course , this Death in Venice (1971). His sense of visual style was equally impressive in his film work, never better demonstrated than through his masterpiece Senso (1954).