Death in Venice Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Morte a Venezia")

Created by Luchino Visconti
Italy | France | USA 1971

Based on the classic novella by Thomas Mann, this late-career masterpiece from Luchino Visconti is a meditation on the nature of art, the allure of beauty, and the inescapability of death. A fastidious composer reeling from a disastrous concert, Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde, in an exquisitely nuanced performance) travels to Venice to recover. There, he is struck by a vision of pure beauty in the form of a young boy named Tadzio (Björn Andrésen), his infatuation developing into an obsession even as rumors of a plague spread through the city. Setting Mann’s story of queer desire and bodily decay against the sublime music of Gustav Mahler, Death in Venice is one of cinema’s most exalted literary adaptations, as sensually rich as it is allegorically resonant.

***

Based on a novel by Thomas Mann, Death in Venice stars Dirk Bogarde as a German composer who is terrified that he has lost all vestiges of humanity. While visiting Venice, Bogarde falls in love with a beautiful young boy (Bjorn Andresen). The relationship is ruined by Bogarde's obsession with the boy's youth and physical perfection; the composer realizes that the child represents an ideal that he can never match. The character played by Dirk Bogarde is evidently intended to be Gustav Mahler, whose haunting music is featured on the film's soundtrack.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Promos

Premiere: March 1st, 1971

Reviews More Reviews

Review: Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Available in the UK from Criterion on Blu-ray, March 18rth, 2019
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 962 - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:10:58.892
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,297,079,946 bytes Feature Size: 32,750,733,312 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.50 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,297,079,946 bytes Feature Size: 32,750,733,312 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.50 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Luchino Visconti: Life as in a Novel, a 2008 documentary about the director, featuring Visconti; actors Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, and Marcello Mastroianni; filmmakers Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli; and others (55:08) • Alla ricerca di Tadzio, a 1970 short film by Visconti about his efforts to cast the role of Tadzio (30:26) • New program featuring literature and cinema scholar Stefano Albertini (23:56) Making of • Talking About Italian Cinema - Interview with Visconti from 1971 (19:26) • Musiques Au Coeur - Excerpt from a 1990 program about the music in Visconti’s films, featuring Bogarde and actor Marisa Berenson (8:14) • "Visconti a Propos De Mort a Venise" Interview from 2006 with costume designer Piero Tosi (3:00) • Visconti’s Venice, a short 1970 behind-the-scenes documentary featuring Visconti and Bogarde (9:00) Blu-ray Release Date: February 19th, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray case Chapters 26

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

This Criterion Blu-ray is from a new 4K digital restoration - "Restored by Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce - Cinecitta, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and The Criterion Collection, at LImmagine Ritrovata laboratory. To resume the light, the colors and the nuances sought by Visconti and created by DoP Pasqualino De Santis, the color correction was supervised by Marco Pontecorvo, DoP and De Santis' disciple." It looks greenish in spots and some sequences are extremely textured and heavy. I thought the beautiful cinematography of Pasquale De Santis shone through better than I have ever seen. These are impressionable visuals. While there may be some softness - it seems inherent. I wouldn't use the negative term "Ritrovated" in regards to this restoration but its is not crisp... and was not meant to be. It is on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate.

Criterion's Blu-ray uses a linear PCM transfer (24-bit) in the original mono English. There are no aggressive effects. The music offers a lot from Gustav Mahler; Sehr Langsam Misterioso from Symphony No.3 performed by The Orchestra of the Academy of Saint Cecilia, Adagietto from Symphony No.5 ... many will recognize Beethoven's Für Elise and, later, a Mussorgsky piece. It sounds flat but excellent in the uncompressed. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles. This Blu-ray is available by Criterion on both sides of the Atlantic - Region 'A' in North American and Region 'B' in Europe.

Criterion stack the Blu-ray with supplements. Luchino Visconti: Life as in a Novel is a 2008, 55-minute, documentary about the career of director Luchino Visconti featuring new and archival interviews with Visconti; actors Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, and Marcello Mastroianni; filmmakers Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli; and others. Alla ricerca di Tadzio is a 1970, 1/2 hour program following director Luchino Visconti as he searches all over Europe for an actor to fill the role of Tadzio in his dream project, Death in Venice, before discovering Bjorn Andresen. Criterion bring a new 24-minute program with literature and cinema scholar Stefano Albertini providing context for Death in Venice within Italian culture and explores the career, style, and themes of director Luchino Visconti. Criterion include a 1970 short behind-the-scenes documentary made to promote Death in Venice features interviews with director Luchino Visconti and actor Dirk Bogarde and showcases Visconti's painstaking attention to detail. Plus a television program from 2006 features costume designer Piero Tosi recalling his work on Death in Venice. Included is an 8-minute excerpt segment from a documentary about music in the films of director Luchino Visconti entitled Musiques Au Coeur, which was originally broadcast May 13, 1990, on France 2, features actors Marisa Berenson and Dirk Bogarde discussing the filmmaker and his use of the work of Gustav Mahler in Death in Venice. There is another interesting segment from the June 2,1 971, episode of the news program Midi magazine which showcases director Luchino Visconti discussing the themes, controversies, and reception of Death in Venice. Lastly is a trailer and the package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Dennis Lim.

Absolute masterpiece. For such a visual film experience you want a 4K-restoration. It looked mesmerizing on my system. Criterion's Blu-ray includes many extras and the Mahler music sounds penetrating in the uncompressed. A Death in Venice is must-own film, imo encompassing themes of mortality, infatuation - the decay of a man... and a city. To say that this is a bucket-list film - barely touches upon its significance and impact.