Death in Venice (film)
| Death in Venice | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster
|
|
| Directed by | Luchino Visconti |
| Produced by | Luchino Visconti |
| Screenplay by | Luchino Visconti Nicola Badalucco |
| Based on |
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann |
| Starring |
Dirk Bogarde Silvana Mangano Romolo Valli Mark Burns Björn Andrésen |
| Music by |
Gustav Mahler Ludwig van Beethoven Modest Mussorgsky Armando Gil |
| Cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
| Edited by | Ruggero Mastroianni |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
|
Release date
|
March 1, 1971 |
|
Running time
|
130 min. |
| Country | Italy France |
| Language | English French Italian Polish |
| Budget | $2 million |
Death in Venice (original Italian title: Morte a Venezia) is a 1971 Italian-French drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Dirk Bogarde and Björn Andrésen. It is based on the novella Death in Venice, first published in 1912 as Der Tod in Venedig by the German author Thomas Mann.
The protagonist, Gustav von Aschenbach, travels to Venice for health reasons. There, he becomes obsessed with the stunning beauty of an adolescent Polish boy named Thaddeus who is staying with his family at the same Grand Hôtel des Bains on the Lido as Aschenbach.
While the character Aschenbach in the novella is an author, Visconti changed his profession from writer to composer. This allows the musical score, in particular the Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony by Gustav Mahler, which opens and closes the film, and sections from Mahler's Third Symphony, to represent Aschenbach's writing. Apart from this change, the film is relatively faithful to the book, but with added scenes where Aschenbach and a musician friend debate the degraded aesthetics of his music.
While Aschenbach attempts to find peace and quiet, the rest of the city is gripped by a cholera epidemic, and the city authorities do not inform the holiday-makers of the problem for fear that they will leave. As Aschenbach and the other guests make day-trips into the city centre, they begin to realize that something is seriously wrong. Aschenbach decides to leave, but in a moment of impulse decides to stay. However, he himself is dying.
...
Wikipedia