Conversation Piece (1974)

A reclusive, retired professor is faced with confronting modernity when a group of vulgar youths, led by an obnoxious marchesa, take up residence in his unused upper residence.

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Enrico Medioli (story), Suso Cecchi D'Amico (screenplay)

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Helmut Berger, Silvana Mangano

12 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Lancaster	...	Il Professore
Helmut Berger	...	Konrad Huebel
Silvana Mangano	...	Marchesa Bianca Brumonti
Claudia Marsani	...	Lietta Brumonti
Stefano Patrizi	...	Stefano
Elvira Cortese	...	Erminia
Philippe Hersent	...	Portiere
Guy Tréjan	...	Venditore di quadri
Jean-Pierre Zola	...	Blanchard
Umberto Raho	...	Commissario
Enzo Fiermonte	...	Commissario
Romolo Valli	...	Micheli
George Clatot
Valentino Macchi
Vittorio Fanfoni

Storyline

Retired professor of American origin lives solitary life in luxurious palazzo in Rome He is confronted by vulgar Italian marchesa and her companions: her lover, her daughter and daughter's boyfriend and forced to rent to them an apartment on upper floor of his palazzo. From this point his quiet routine is turned into chaos by his tenants' machinations, and everybody's life is taking unexpected but inevitable turn.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage girl | impertinence | dying young | lonely old man | older woman younger man relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film Luchino Visconti directed after suffering a stroke in 1972.

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Quotes

Marchesa Bianca Brumonti: He was too young to have learned this final nasty fact: grief is as precarious as anything else.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove two uses of the word 'cunt'. When the film was resubmitted in 2003 only one use of the word was present in the version and this was passed uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Costumes from the Films of Visconti (1978)

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Soundtracks

Vorrei spiegarVi, oh Dio!
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Emilia Ravaglia soprano

User Reviews

The Visconti microscope.

Professor Lancaster leads a reclusive life in his art deco apartment, surrounded by classical paintings, books and memories. Along come new loud tenants who rent his upstairs apartment and force themselves onto the Professor who then questions his existence as a mixture of the old and new culture clash in intellectual wars and morals. Another interesting piece from Visconti's preoccupied topics of fallen aristocrats and the morality of life.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

23 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Conversation Piece

Filming Locations:

Dear Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rusconi Film, Gaumont International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min 115 min (DVD) 117 min (Video Version)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1