AniInterview
Sorry, this movie sucks
SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
Candida
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
billsoccer
This is a movie about a man fantasizing about a young boy. Nothing more, though woven around sights of one of the most romantic cities in the world. I see no redeeming value in this semi-autobiographical story by Thomas Mann. I can't imagine there was any other reason to write/film it than to increase sympathy for men with these feelings. Pure propaganda, unadorned by any exploration of internal thought process, which might have served to explain his (seeming) struggle. If you want to see an entertaining movie about homosexuals, check out Capote. This is simply about a mans fascination with a good-looking youth. Risking people thinking I'm being homophobic, I just can't understand the rave reviews, or even the good reviews that ignore the central tenet of the movie. I should say only tenet - there's utterly no plot and little dialog. I'd be more upset if the movie wasn't so awful boring. Btw - the 3 stars were entirely due to the shots of Venice!
George Wright
I saw this movie in 1971 when I was very young. All I recall is a very sad story about an artist who was very ill when visiting Venice where he spent time furtively seeking out a boy he was attracted to. It was sad and depressing and a bit creepy. I watched it again 45 years later on TCM and it seemed to be a much more powerful statement about a tragic life and death that reaches its climax in Venice during a sweltering summer in 1911 when the city is overtaken by a cholera epidemic. The main role is played by Dirk Bogarde, a British actor, who is making the best of his last days longing for a love he can never achieve.The background music by Mahler is very sombre and fits the tragic ending. The city is being scrubbed to stop the spread of disease and no one wants to frighten away the tourists, who are the city's economic lifeblood. Again, the symbolic conflict between dreams and reality. The acting is superb. The period costumes are stunning. The photography is powerful and sweeping with seas, sunsets and the skyline of Venice. This movie is not entertainment but a work of art. I couldn't take more than one of these works at a time but it is worth seeing as a unique achievement.
Kirpianuscus
A mixture of Mann, Mahler and Visconti. seductive, cruel, delicate, gray, reflection of a special state of soil, bitter. one of films who transforms in flavor images. because its seduction's source is the science to impose a story using the image and the music as basic tools. a film of questions, taboos and illustration of its director themes. the cast, the love 's portraits, the need of artist to escape from yourself and to build the masterpiece are , one by one, keys for a fascinating fresco of death, desire, solitude and prison in the illusions. a film who must see. not for precise purpose. only as a landscape discovered from a window who is the best refuge for fears, anxiety and self definition. Dirk Bogarde does a splendid role. the fascination of director for his ladies transforms Death in Venice in a kind of iceberg. a film who could be an experience.
donwc1996
You haven't seen slow until you have seen this film. And I thought Barry Lyndon was slow. This film makes Barry Lyndon look like a runaway train. And since Mann's book was actually a novella this film is probably longer than the book it is so drawn out. But it is riveting in its own way. Visconti is never dull that's for sure. And his films are always visually stimulating. His eye for detail is unmatched, although he did overlook a couple of TV antennas in one scene, but I doubt anyone would have noticed them. Dirk Bogarde is as always absolutely wonderful and clearly exhibits what makes a star and it's making things happen without lifting a finger. He is in virtually every scene and the scenes are very long so he's on camera forever yet he manages to keep your interest because he is so interesting. The film is really about him and he does carry it brilliantly. But the original story is just too abstract for a film and they should have never made it.
