Product Details

• Actors: Dirk Bogarde, Romolo Valli, Mark Burns, Nora Ricci, Marisa Berenson
• Directors: Luchino Visconti
• Writers: Luchino Visconti, Nicola Badalucco, Thomas Mann
• Producers: Luchino Visconti, Mario Gallo, Robert Gordon Edwards
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English, French, Italian, Polish
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: June 25, 1991
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630026856X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,178 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cinematic Masterpiece, October 24, 2002

By 

Micheal E. Corbin (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in Venice [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Luchino Visconti's film adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella is visually, if not philosophically, faithful to its source (Britten's opera offers a more faithful reading of the Apollonian/Dionysian struggles which consume the aging writer). It is certainly one of the most gorgeous films ever made.

In the Visconti version, the emphasis is more on the physical aspects of the story. Never has Venice looked more beautiful and alluring, more decadent and effete. If you've read the novella, it's like having the descriptions on its pages come to life. Dirk Bogarde gives an outstanding performance as Gustav von Aschenbach. Although he has very little dialogue, he conveys the bitterness, aroused passion and finally, pitiful yearning of Aschenbach through facial expressions alone. Bjorn Andresen, the actor who plays Tadzio, the beautiful young boy who is the object of Aschenbach's desire, was perfectly cast. He too plays the part with facial expressions and gestures. The Tadzio character is pivotal to the story, so any actor in this role must be worthy of inspiring passion and desire. Visconti, with his incredible eye for beauty, knew exactly what was he doing. And changing Ashenbach from a writer to a composer based on Gustav Mahler, and then using Mahler's music, especially the Adagietto from the 5th Symphony, was another brilliant stroke. Although I'd read the Mann story before the film, Mahler's music and Death in Venice will always be inextricably linked in my mind. As will the haunting images which appear throughout the film, especially that last one of Ashenbach dying on the beach as Tadzio walks slowly into the water.

This films begs for DVD presentation in widescreen format with its soundtrack digitally enhanced. It also deserves to be restored to original full length. It may be slow moving with little action, but its rewards are many.

86 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Visconti's heart-breaking vision of unrequited love, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Death in Venice [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When I saw "Death In Venice" I was haunted by it's images for weeks. To this day, I cannot think upon this film without again experiencing some of the original feelings that it inspired. This is not, without question, an easy film to watch. The dialogue is sparse and the music is basically limited to Mahler's gorgeous Adagietto from Symphony No. 5. Notwithstanding, never has the marriage of music and film been more vital or more atmospheric. Mahler's haunting music was seemingly composed for this film and the effect is chilling. Dirk Bogarde is perfection as the bitter, vitriolic Gustav Aschenbach, a man so consumed with what he considers ideal beauty that he welcomes his own destruction for a moment in it's company. The young Bjorn Andresen is, too, equally captivating as the object of Aschenbach's obsession. Even though his role is essentially a non-speaking one, what he achieves within the lmiits of the role is extraordinary. The beautiful and elegant Silvana Mangano is on screen too infrequently for my taste, but her contribution is nonetheless wonderful. At times I found myself enveloped by this film, as if though I were a guest of the grand hotel quietly seated on a wicker chair watching these events unfold before me. Venice has never been more tangible on film than it is here. Do yourself a favor and watch this masterpiece of a film. One warning, though; "Death in Venice" is a devastating film and it takes it's toll on the viewer. Watch it in the company of loved-ones and on a beautiful, sunny day.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They got it., January 22, 2005

By 

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Death in Venice (DVD)

I wasn't too hopeful when I screened this film for 15 students immediately after reading Mann's masterpiece. In fact, I considered going instead with Von Sternberg's/Emil Jannings' "The Blue Angel" as a comparable narrative and proven cinematic success. But Visconti crafts a hypnotic and compelling film while Bogarde turns in the performance of his life. The lush cinematography and rich Mahler score are no mere "window dressing" but the very heart of the narrative, making the Dionysian currents that lap the Venice shores as irresistible to the attentive viewer as to the character of Aschenbach himself. I've never felt quite the same about a screen character--at once a pitiful caricature, his make-up melting under the hot Venice sun, and a noble figure who chooses his destiny.

This isn't a film for everyone. But as the final Mahler note was being sounded, one spectator excitedly whispered to me, "They got it." That's good enough for me.