Death in Venice

For those unfamiliar with Thomas Mann's 1911 novel of the same name, there are a few differences. No movie that I'm aware of follows its original book to a "T". But the changes that Italian director Visconti adds to the story are intriguing and beautiful. I don't mind his personal touches in the slightest. Indeed, the film wouldn't be nearly as good otherwise.

The intuition to make the Aschenbach character really be Jewish/Austrian famed composer Gustav Mahler and set the movie's soundtrack to that of Mahler's 3rd and 5th symphonies was brilliant. I can't say if Thomas Mann originally intended the Aschenbach character to truly be Mahler in the novel or not?

Having the main character be a tired, worn out Gustav Mahler is a brilliant masterstroke of pure genius. We're left with a film that condenses everything brilliant that is Europe. Using Mahler's own music creates a depth and haunting realism to the film as well.

The casting in this film is extraordinary! You could not have casted a better cast to play these characters anywhere. The young man who plays the beautiful Tadzio looks like a Norweignean version of a sculpted Apollo youth. His features are those of a god. His silouette against the backdrop of the sparkling sea pointing out over the waters is one the most erotically charged scenes I've ever seen in a movie. It's breathtaking really, and one almost forgets the possibly taboo homoerotic connotations such a scenario is from the standpoint of the aged Aschenbach.

I have seen many films shot in and around Venice, Italy ("the Italian Job" most recently), but none have come as close to this as personifying the city and showing it as beautifully. In my opinion, Visconti's "Death in Venice" is to Venice what Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" is to Rome.

Foreign film lovers should not miss this classic. Travelers who've been to Italy, or dream of visiting one day, also should not miss this beautiful film. I may not recommend the film to younger audiences who probably aren't ready to understand why a dying man would entertain fantasies of a physical passion for a teen boy. In such cases, I would say the film is probably unsuitable for viewers under the ages of 15 or so.

The DVD has a nice picture in 16x9 widescreen for widescreen televisions and is compressed lightly with low grain and nice blacks and contrast. The sound is stereo and in the English language, so subtitles aren't necessary. The film is also shot in glorious color in a vivid but controlled manner. When I first saw this film I was sorry that it wasn't filmed in black & white, but now that I think on it, this story works better in color and the colors of this film are gorgeous. Venice always photographs well, but I have rarely seen the old city look so sumptuous as it does here. Some grade-A, top-notch cinematography went into the making of this rich and luxurious movie.


The most extraordinary film I have ever seen!   June 8, 1999
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

I first saw this film a few weeks ago when it was on TV and found it utterly brilliant! Its a thought provoking, visceral and moving tale of a composer (Bogarde) who has all but lost his ability to experience emotion and finds the beauty of a young boy disturbs him enough to re-waken his feelings. There can be no more than 30 conversations or exchanges of words in this tale of smouldering obsession and even less action or movement. Yet incredibly it keeps one riveted and fascinated all throughout its running time. Bogarde gives the performance of his life as his character and the plot develop partly through his increasing obsession of the boy and through the flashbacks of his life as a composer. Director, Visconti films in lavish beauty and style and sensibly intervenes as little as possible as the experience, (rather than plot) unfolds. Mahler's music fits the film perfectly and heightens the emotion throughout. Its a rare gem of a film, of which I have yet to see another like it, where virtually nothing happens, yet everything happens. Marvellous!


Death in Venice, an enduring classic   April 20, 1999
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Dare I admit that I saw Death in Venice in 1971 and can still recall the audience's obvious involvement with many of the scenes. The tape allows the luxury that of course we did not have at the time: the infinite ability to review scenes of great subtlety and power, descriptions of life as it is lived, by all of us, in "Venice", our world. This is not "allegory" but the vision of two artists, Mann and Visconti, describing some universal truths on a small but well-chosen stage. Unfortunately, the tape is not in 70mm wide screen format, thereby greatly undermining the full power of the images that Visconti created and that I can still recall "through the mists of time". In a similar way, we have scratchy recordings of Caruso: not great but better than nothing! However, I notice that there is an increasing trend to reissuing films in their original format, and I would not hesitate to buy another copy of this film if it were in the format that would do it true justice.


Impressive and brave   February 17, 2001
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

I have recently re-visited Visconti's Venice after an absence of too many years and I am reminded again of what an impressive - not to mention brave - piece of cinema this was for its time, and continues to be.

Adapting this novella to film was never going to be easy, yet Visconti did a superb job, so, too, his actors. There are some changes from the book, with the first sixteen or so pages omitted, and I also found the film Tadzio to be more flirty than his novel counterpart, but these changes do not jar within the film.

What I found truly frustrating was that the video I have is not in wide-screen format and I did feel I was missing something happening out of shot - and I hate to miss anything in this wonderful movie.

This is not a movie for those with the attention span of a house-brick, but if you're in the market for thought-provoking and have a love for all things beautiful, this is a must-see. While the film runs for just over two-hours, it's not the sort of 2hr movie that has you checking your watch after the first hour.

Should the distributors see fit to release a wide-screen version on video - yes please, I'll have a copy of that, too.


Just wait a year   January 12, 2006
Nathaniel Hawthorne (Kane-tuck-eee)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

I won't give away plot or character... you can get this info from other reviewers. I will tell you something else.

I've seen this film once, a year ago. I hated it then. (Maybe my hetero-ness got in the way and I momentarily forgot that beauty is in the eye of the beholder... ) But from time to time images from the film crop into my head. They leave... eventually they come back. They always come back.

How many works of art can say THAT?

This is a haunting film, a tragic one. You will be touched... although maybe not right away. Give it a chance and it will be like one of those dreams you had twenty years ago and every now and then an image from that dream will pop into your head.

I've been to Venice. The city is like no other. And this film, perhaps, also, ... like no other.