Details
Cineteca di Bologna – Il Cinema Ritrovato
Real-life Milanese nobleman Visconti presents an Italian aristocratic tragedy
In late-19th century Italy under Austrian occupation, Austrian Lieutenant Franz and anti-occupation protester Roberto starts a duel in an opera house. Countess Livia contacts Franz, successfully halting the duel and saving her cousin Roberto. Soon, Livia and Franz fall in love and begin a secret affair, but war tears them apart. One day, now-exiled Roberto visits Livia in her villa and entrusts her with money meant for the partisans. Later, Franz also comes back to Livia. She bribes a doctor with Roberto’s money to get Franz discharged from the army and subsequently follows him to Verona, but Franz acts coldly towards her. Shocked by Franz’s change in attitude, Livia informs the Australian Army about the bribery.
Director Luchino Visconti
Actor Alida Valli, Farley Granger, Massimo Girotti, Rina Morelli, Sergio Fantoni, Marcella Mariani, Heinz Moog
Italy｜ 1954｜ 121min｜ ｜ Cristaldi Film, Zazie Films｜
director
Luchino Visconti [Film Director]
Luchino Visconti was born in 1906 as the third son of his family which was a collateral line of a Milanese aristocratic sept. In 1936, he joined the film industry as an assistant of Jean Renoir, and later made his directorial debut with The Postman Always Rings Twice (1942). His 1948 work La terra trema, which features real Sicilian fishermen, is known as a neorealist masterpiece. As a real-life count, he also depicted the decay and downfall of aristocracy with great emphasis on extravagant art. Such works include Senso (1954), Il Gattopardo (1963), and Ludwig (1972). He passed away in 1976.
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