Death in Venice
Directed by Luchino Visconti • 1971 • Italy
Starring Dirk Bogarde, Björn Andrésen, Marisa Berenson
Based on the classic novella by Thomas Mann, this late-career masterpiece from Luchino Visconti is a meditation on the nature of art, the allure of beauty, and the inescapability of death. A fastidious composer reeling from a disastrous concert, Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde, in an exquisitely nuanced performance) travels to Venice to recover. There, he is struck by a vision of pure beauty in the form of a young boy named Tadzio (Björn Andrésen), his infatuation developing into an obsession even as rumors of a plague spread through the city. Setting Mann’s story of queer desire and bodily decay against the sublime music of Gustav Mahler, DEATH IN VENICE is one of cinema’s most exalted literary adaptations, as sensually rich as it is allegorically resonant.
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Death in Venice
Directed by Luchino Visconti • 1971 • Italy
Starring Dirk Bogarde, Björn Andrésen, Marisa BerensonBased on the classic novella by Thomas Mann, this late-career masterpiece from Luchino Visconti is a meditation on the nature of art, the allure of beauty, and the inescapability of death. A fastid...
Extras
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The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
Directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri • 2021 • Sweden
Starring Björn Andrésen, Riyoko Ikeda, Margareta KrantzTHE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD follows Björn Andrésen, who was propelled to international stardom at the age of fifteen based on his looks. In 1969, filmmaker Luchino Vi...
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Luchino Visconti: Life as in a Novel
This 2008 documentary about the career of DEATH IN VENICE director Luchino Visconti features new and archival interviews with Visconti: actors Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, and Marcello Mastroianni; filmmakers Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli; and others.
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Stefano Albertini on DEATH IN VENICE
In this 2018 program, literature and cinema scholar Stefano Albertini provides context for DEATH IN VENICE within Italian culture and explores the career, style, and themes of director Luchino Visconti.
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Alla ricerca di Tadzio
Made in 1970, this program follows director Luchino Visconti as he searches all over Europe for an actor to fill the role of Tadzio in his dream project, DEATH IN VENICE, before discovering Björn Andrésen.
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Musiques au coeur
This segment from a documentary about music in the films of director Luchino Visconti, which was originally broadcast May 13, 1990, on France 2, features actors Marisa Berenson and Dirk Bogarde discussing the filmmaker and his use of the work of Gustav Mahler in DEATH IN VENICE.
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Luchino Visconti on DEATH IN VENICE
This segment from the June 2, 1971, episode of the news program “Midi magazine” showcases director Luchino Visconti discussing the themes, controversies, and reception of DEATH IN VENICE.
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Visconti’s Venice
This 1970 short behind-the-scenes documentary made to promote DEATH IN VENICE features interviews with director Luchino Visconti and actor Dirk Bogarde and showcases Visconti’s painstaking attention to detail.
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Talking About Cinema: Piero Tosi
This television program from 2006 features costume designer Piero Tosi recalling his work on DEATH IN VENICE.
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DEATH IN VENICE Trailer
