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Mar 11, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I wouldn't say this movie is slow, but. . .I thought I had something for this. The great Italian director Luchino Visconti adapts Thomas Mann's famous novella with English actor Dirk Bogarde (who was also in Visconti's "The Damned") as Aschenbach, an aging composer pining for a young, beautiful Polish boy (Swedish actor Bjorn Andersen). Because it's Visconti, it's a sumptuous production, but it's also, per the title, a lifeless one, with no spark or spontaneity. I can't decide if Bogarde is giving a terrible performance or if he's brilliantly playing a rather pathetic, unlikable character. He spends most of the film looking sickly and despondent. He based him loosely on Mahler, whose music is prominently featured. The flashbacks are more distracting than illuminating. It is lovely to look at, but represents the dead end of Visconti's style. Released in 1971, it won a special award at Cannes. It's often grouped with "The Damend" and "Ludwig" as Visconti's "German Trilogy."