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Based on Thomas Mann's 1912 novella, the film tells the story of the last few weeks in the life of Gustav Von Aschenbach (Bogarde), a composer who has come to Venice in an attempt to find some peace from the complications of his personal life in Germany. A musical purist and rigorous seeker after perfection, Aschenbach has seen his career decline and his relationships decay. Intending to stay for only a short period, he becomes entranced by the beauty of a young boy, Tadzio (Andreson) and finds excuses to stay just a while longer. He lingers, despite possessing privileged knowledge about a cholera epidemic sweeping the city, and meets his own doom in his quest to understand the meaning of perfection, as embodied in the form of Tadzio.

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.

Director: Luchino Visconti
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Romolo Valli, Mark Burns, Bjorn Andresen
Country: Italy, France, USA
Genre: Drama

BD50, 2xDVD9 | 1080p AVC, NTSC | 02:10:58 | 46 Gb + 13.8 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Extras:
• 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)
• Showing the Story. New program featuring literature and cinema scholar Stefano Albertini (23:56)
-- Making the Film:
• Alla ricerca di Tadzio, a 1970 short film by Visconti about his efforts to cast the role of Tadzio (30:26)
• 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)
• Trailer