colin-cooper
The languid pace of Visconti's last film is not a problem for me. He was an old man, directing from a wheelchair, and had slowed down a lot. Think of it as the long slow movement of a symphony by Mahler - whose music, you will remember, he used in Death in Venice - and it will make more sense.What I want to know is more about Gabriele D'Annunzio's novel. One commentator claims that the male lead is a kind of 'atheistic hero' faithful to his beliefs, and that Visconti subverts the author's intention by showing him as a rich aristocrat as selfish as he is unpleasant. Can any authority on Italian literature shed any light?
RanchoTuVu
A wealthy and arrogant aristocrat openly has an affair with another woman, thus driving his wife to start her own affair with a writer that leads to a pregnancy and baby. Giancarlo Giannini is magnificent in a role that instills in the viewer zero sympathy and outright hostility. The film heads into what can only be described as one of the most memorably tragic conclusions since Shakespeare, and is also one of the most beautifully filmed and costumed movies ever, with sumptuous deep red wallpapered rooms with velvet curtains. Wealth and position can cut both ways, with Giannini's role going down into a dark and bankrupt morality that in the end is like a swamp.
denappel
love often used misspelled abused love taken for a selfish game manipulating shamehe loved himself apart from that a selfish search for someone to confirm he is what he only pretends to bewas she crazy or insane was her love so true she bared the pain for her it was no game and yet she lost...beautiful movie, timeless! delightfull to see how this movie takes his time to tell a story, the script is strong, the music emotional, the actors impressive, I can only write down positive aspects, thanks to visconti's perfectionism and talent this movie became more than a traditional story about love and hate. the thin line between the beauty of the movie and the manipulating selfish desire of the story creates a strong emotional masterpiece that will no one left untouched
gridoon
After this film is over, you'll probably feel that you've just seen a quality movie for serious movie-goers. But while you're watching it, you may find yourself thinking than it needed a shot of adrenalin. It's an elegant and insightful drama, but very languidly paced. Apparently, everybody involved with it tried to give the (rather soapy) material more weight than it could hold, so almost everything - direction, acting, dialogue rhythms - seems kind of overdeliberate. Great last shot, though. (**1/2)
AD
