Ossessione is great too.
I’ve been hesitant to check that one out, because of it’s relation to The Postman Always Rings Twice, a story that I didn’t enjoy much. Sooner or later, I’ll take the dive.
Ludwig was very long and very slow.
I saw Senso years ago, but want to see it again.
Rocco and His Brothers is in my top ten.
La Terra Trema is a masterpiece.
I thought that The Leopard would have been one of his greatest if not for 45 minutes of ball room dancing.
Senso is Visconti’s masterpiece i think. It’s compelling, sumptuous, rich with gorgeous costumes, colours and sets, romantic, not bloated, has a kick. It was picked in John Kobal’s book Top 100 Movies according to 80 international critics’ top 10s. I wonder if along with others by Visconti eg The Leopard, The Innocent, it influenced Scorsese’s Age of Innocence
I’d say “Senso” is his first masterpiece. “The Leopard” and “Death in Venice” were yet to come.
In that he had Farley Granger and Alida Valli, Visconti was hoping for the sort of international market breakthrough that he later acheieved so spectacularly with “The Damnd.” But that didn’t happen – even though and english-language version was made.
It’s an incredibly beautiful and emotionally powerful film. I do hope a good color DVD will be made available in the U.S. soon. The story of a an upper-class leftist who falls for a man who betrays her in very way would of course be Visconti’s personal nightmare. Fraley Granger provides a lot of interestign and useful information about tis shooting in his memoir “Include Me Out.”
Most interesting credit fro “additional dialogue” — Paul Bowles and Tennessee Williams.
Libby Holman had run off with Bowles boyfriend du jour and they were tracked down to Italy. So Tennessee scooped Paul up and they headed to Rome to get him back. While there Visconti offered them the job of overseeing the cript of the english version.
SENSO is certainly the first manifestation of Visconti’s peculiar and unprecedented blend of psychological realism and stylized melodrama. “If Stendhal had a camera, he would make SENSO” – Martin Scorsese.
What I like about the film is the sense of romantic doom running throughout the film. Visconti is able to deal with that romanticism critically but he also allows us to share that doom subjectively, through Alida Valli’s remarkable performance. And then there are moments when the mise-en-scene takes your breath away, the opening scene of course but also that romantic interlude by the canal where they find that body and that stunning battle scene(more impressive than the charge of the Red Shirts in IL GATTOPARDO in my view) and of course the final confrontation.
I’d say “Senso” is his first masterpiece.-——————————————-
I thought LA TERRA TREMA was his first masterpiece!
Here’s a link to the great opening scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnJliUutkWQ&feature=related
Looks like the whole film is on You Tube
I think it is a masterpiece and Alida Valli’s performance is one of the greatest ever photographed.
G.R. Aldo and Robert Krasker’s cinematography cries out for restoration.
You rarely see this kind of splendor anymore. Dramatically heightened performances are dated, one might say, but in the right context they can be awe-inspiring. (If you don’t know have what it takes to deliver this kind of performance, however, you can really look out of your league. I am referring to Farley Granger’s acting—the film’s one real weakness, in my estimation.)
His beauty more than compesates for it.
Kenji – I did find myself thinking about The Age of Innocence more than once while watching Senso.
It’s never far from Marty’s mind. The framing, the cutting the camera movement, the incredibly dramatic use of color — this is what he loves.
Nathan, and i did find myself thinking about Senso (and Magnificent Ambersons, Citizen Kane, The Innocent..) more than once while watching The Age of Innocence. The Heiress was also apparently an influence on Scorsese.
Kenji – I’ve seen The Age of Innocence a few times, but it’s been quite a while. Sometime soon I’ll have to pull it out and take another look.
Optimum have released Senso on DVD in the UK, which has reminded me how much I loved it when I first saw it in a small, cold arts centre twenty years ago. It might be a bit melodramatic, but from the astonishingly compelling opening scene onwards everything is directed with such care, making the tragedy so much greater.
I want see “Senso” on Blu Ray…
I think the Optimum disc is out-of-print, which is a shame considering I’m only just beginning to discover Visconti. I watched Rocco and His Brothers for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by it. I watched Bellissima recently and, while it did less to move me than Rocco had, it still moved me a great deal. I’ve purchased The Damned and Death in Venice, and intend to watch both soon. I’d love to watch Senso, and when it ever gets re-released I’ll certainly jump straight on it.
I would also like to see Visconti’s film version of “The Stranger” again. I know it was badly received when it first came out but I remember seeing it later and admiring parts of it.
Nathan M.
Tonight I took a look at a crummy VHS copy of Senso, Luchiano Visconti’s 1954 opulent color melodrama. Due to the poor picture quality, I know that I’ve lost the essence of the film with all of it’s lavish detail, but I’ve been wanting to see it for so long that I decided I could not wait for a proper DVD.
Has anyone else seen it?
I look forward to a print or DVD (BD) of this movie, but for now I’m prepared to say that this was a pretty amazing film. Spoilers. Despite it’s melodramatic story of a romance gone horribly wrong, and turned into revenge, Visconti seemed to be laying the groundwork for The Leopard. The simple story of Senso seems to be undercut (happily) by Visconti’s relentless attention to the rich physical details of the frame. Lavish sets and costumes, combined with a wildly operatic score made me feel that I was watching abstract art at times instead of an Italian soap opera. It’s interesting that this film came out one year after Madame de…. I wonder if Visconti had seen and been influenced by Ophuls’ film.
This film further solidifies Visconti’s status for me. Rocco and his Brothers and The Leopard are both fantastic films, and I can’t wait to see Bellissima and Ludwig.