Customer Reviews

Senso (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

December 28, 2010
Amazon should not use these six reviews posted as of today in conjunction with the Criterion Collection DVD to be released on Feb. 22, 2011.
It is misleading and unfair to the new issue that among other things includes the missing seven minutes opening sequence.
At least they should make clear to the customers that these six reviews apply to the Korean import ONLY!

Criterion gives us another opulent masterpiece from Luchino Visconti to follow their splendid release of IL GATTOPARDO (THE LEOPARD). The blu-ray has a rich, Technicolor density that beautifully captures the evocative, lush location photography by Guiseppe Rottuno, and is another splendid restoration of classic Italian cinema, under the supervision of Rottuno and Martin Scorsese.
SENSO is expressionistic filmmaking by a master, full of homoerotic tension in the guise of deranged, heterosexual passion. There is both the original Italian and the rarely-seen, English language version (THE WANTON COUNTESS) to savor here, along with some insightful extras about Verdi, Visconti and the making of the film.
A remarkable film can now be appreciated in a high-quality US release for home screenings.

Criterion has made lots of people very happy with this comprehensive release of Luchino Visconti's 1954 masterpiece SENSO. Loosely based on Camillo Boito's novella of the same name, SENSO is the story of a doomed love affair, set during the turmoil of Austria-occupied Italy in 1866.

During a performance of "Il trovatore" at La Fenice, the Countess Livia (Alida Valli) meets Austrian officer Franz Mahler (Farley Granger). The two fall into a torrid love affair, which is made all the more scandalous because of their individual loyalties. When Franz begs Livia to give him the money he needs in order to bribe certain officials and exit the army, Livia reluctantly hands over the Italian partisan funds that were entrusted to her by her cousin, exiled because of his actions in trying to undermine the Austrian army. When she later receives a rather strange letter from Franz, Livia follows him back to Verona, where her ever-crumbling sanity reaches the breaking point...

SENSO is a delicate piece which borders on the operatic. It's not by coincidence that shortly after this film, Luchino Visconti became one of the most prolific opera directors in Europe. Leading actors Alida Valli and Farley Granger both deliver superb performances, but the star of SENSO is undoubtedly the bewitching Ms Valli, who in her performance as the Countess Livia, is almost an opera heroine in real-life.

Lush in it's design and photography, it's strange to think that SENSO sadly didn't make much of an impression during it's original release in 1954. Critics felt that Luchino Visconti was "betraying" his neo-realist attitudes, not quite realising that in SENSO he beautifully blended neo-realism with theatrical grandeur, therefore creating a whole new genre of filmmaking.

Criterion's two-disc DVD package includes the seldom-seen English language dub of SENSO entitled "The Wanton Countess", which is significantly shorter than the original Italian cut. The English dub is noteworthy in that both Farley Granger and Alida Valli's voices can finally be heard. The print of "The Wanton Countess", supplied by Harvard University, isn't in the best shape, with lots of jumps and splices; Aldo Graziati's colour photography is dulled considerably with the film sadly looking like it's been soaked in brown tea. Rest assured that the original Italian cut of SENSO looks crisp and beautiful by comparison.

I had searched dvd stores in Italy, the UK and the US without finding SENSO. So I was very happy to be able to buy it through the Amazon system. The Korean-made dvd is of fine quality with excellent English subtitles. The film is central to the life and work of Visconti. His biographer calls it a masterpiece and she's right.

As one who deeply loves all things Italian, I found the opening of this flick to be very stirring in the way it recalls the intersection of cultural and political rebellion in Italy in the 1800's. The restored color was magnificent.
Many of the scenes in Venice probably would require computer generation/enhancement after all of the changes that have occurred in the city over the nearly 60 years since the flick first came out. Thus, it was as much a look back at the 1950's in that city as a story of what occurred there in the 1860's.
Interior footage of the country palace in the mountains could inspire an architect or interior decorator. As for the story line, it is a bit too melodramatic for modern sensibilities. I kept drawing parallels between Italy 60 years ago, still reeling from the German predation of World War II, and the Italy that was casting off the yoke of Austrian domination 90 years before that. Cinematic story telling seems to have had as many hidden political messages as did opera in previous generations.
In short, I didn't think this was quite the "classic" that I heard NPR reviewers describe. It is, however, worthwhile entertainment.

Typically superb package from Criterion for Visconti's peerless Italian classic... Operatic in its melodramatic construction, sumptiously filmed, and vividly acted, it features the director at the height of his powers, which would reach the pinnacle of their achievement in period mode with THE LEOPARD/IL GATTOPARDO... Includes the new restoration of the Italian original, a rarely seen English language version - THE WANTON COUNTESS, and several very salient documentaries as extras, most notably MAN OF THREE WORLDS: LUCHINO VISCONTI from the BBC in 1966...

What a great film. Altough Farley Granger seems out of place, I can't recommend this enough for fans of Italian cinema. Everyone is dubbed, of course, and the Criterion Blu-ray looks fantastic except for a washed out scene at the very end. The sound is mono but sufficient for the great score which really makes this something special. Don't watch The Wanton Countess bonus feature- after seeing the original Italian you won't want to anyway. Get it....

The Italian version is the one to see in this collection...the Americanized version The Wanton Contessa is B-movie fare, and a horribly edited version at that.
Visconti's scenography in Senso is probably more interesting than the romance between Farley Granger and Alida Valli, which never seems to exude raw passion. With all those Italian men at her disposal, she falls for an Austrian soldier, who is about as vapid and uninspired a male lover as you could imagine. Her betrayal of the Italian independence movement for this cold shoulder lover belies believability. As a result, Valli's character plummets into a kind of neurotic grasping for some meaning, and is not only undone, but totally humiliated. It's odd because she never falls back on her pedigree to get her through it, and in the end, succumbs to a petty revenge that finishes off this love affair at the hands of a firing squad. She's a Chekhovian aristocrat in a melodrama of neurotic passion that has more fire than heat.

An very fine film, with beautiful cinematography, staging, production design and acting. I suggest people interested in this film also watch the documentary by Martin Scorcese on postwar Italian cinema, My Voyage to Italy, for an excellent appreciation of this film. However the film exceeds Scorcese's appreciation of it.

My Voyage to Italy

Glad to have now this "italian"-movie on blu-Ray with bonus-materials, which are interesting, incl. the booklet.

Picture and sound are good restored.

Very interesting, the blu-ray disc contains two movie version: the italian spoken with english subtitled version, and the english dubbed version without subtitle.
Hm, somebody has noticed, that the DVD Cover show this picture and not used the movie poster. Hm... I had the same mind when I saw it. I wish they had used the movie poster but well...