Luchino Visconti

[bergelson]

Continuing my journey for the best versions of some of Visconti's films, does anyone familiar with the French releases of the Damned and Death in Venice? I understand that both of them are 2 disc special editions and that all the extras are subtitled. How about the quality of the films itself?

Thanks in advance.

[Person]

I received the Koch Lorber of Ludwig today. The transfer seems to have been made from a clean element of fairly vibrant color, though the blacks are not inky, being a teeny bit crushed, but overall it's a very good transfer. Mono sound is fine, pretty robust and the score comes across well. Dull-hued yellow subtitles. 2 x DVD-9s. Haven't watched the whole film yet or the extras, but basically, this is a must buy for Visconti and/or Helmut Berger fans.

[jonjao]

Agreed - this Koch Lorber release is superb - and anamorphic too. The best I've ever seen the film look.

[Stefan Andersson]

Is the video master on Koch Lorber´s LUDWIG identical to the Kinowelt one?
The Kinowelt R2 is superb.

How does the UK CONVERSATION PIECE compare to the others?

Much obliged for any and all info.

[Tommaso]

I've been watching the Kinowelt "Ludwig" last night, and while looking through this thread to see what everyone thinks of it, I found this older post:

Anyhow, the original language is Italian, not German, though of course there is a German dub.

Really? "Ludwig", as most Italian films of the time, was completely post-dubbed, and it features actors from Germany, England, Italy, and even Russia, all probably speaking in their native languages during the shoot. However, as the two leads (Berger and Schneider) are German, and the whole film is also set in Germany, I'd say: if you MUST name any original language for the film, German seems a logical choice, even though the original script probably was in Italian. In any case, it's a pleasure to hear Berger and Schneider speak with their own voices.

Another question : the Kinowelt disc breaks the film down into five parts, each lasting about 45 minutes, and all of these come with introductory credits and end credits. I found that pretty annoying, though you can of course skip forward (but you are always transported back to the main menu after each of these parts). So, how come? Did Visconti perhaps shoot this also a sort of TV series (a la Bergman's "Scenes from a Marriage"), and what we are seeing in this reconstructed version is actually some sort of original TV edit? Or are the RAI, who co-produced the restauration according to the credits, responsible for this? In any case, the Kinowelt seems to be the only edition that presents the film in this form.

Another bit of trivia: the end credits mention that the film contains the world premiere of the very last and until then unpublished piano composition by Richard Wagner. Does anyone know more about this piece? Is it published and available now? I assume it's the one with the rather dissonant introductory chord that often punctuates the film.

[Person]

I've been watching the Kinowelt "Ludwig" last night, and while looking through this thread to see what everyone thinks of it, I found this older post:

Anyhow, the original language is Italian, not German, though of course there is a German dub.

Really? "Ludwig", as most Italian films of the time, was completely post-dubbed, and it features actors from Germany, England, Italy, and even Russia, all probably speaking in their native languages during the shoot. However, as the two leads (Berger and Schneider) are German, and the whole film is also set in Germany, I'd say: if you MUST name any original language for the film, German seems a logical choice, even though the original script probably was in Italian.

The première of the film was in Bonn on 29 December 1972, most probably in German. It was also an Italian-German co-production, though it featured a predominantly Italian crew. The film plays better with German language, I feel.

As for the Kino DVD presenting a TV edit, that does seem odd, as the transfer is 2.35:1. It is a bit odd, but this cut is by far he most coherent and dramatically powerful.

[Stefan Andersson]

LUDWIG was severely cut after the premiere. The TV cut on the Kinowelt DVD is, as far as I know, the product of later restoration work, probably led by RAI. It´s been shown on Swedish TV as a TV series. I´ve heard vague rumours of English language tracks for the film.

The Kinowelt DVD is razor-sharp, much better than the Infinity Arthouse. If anybody knows of the Koch duplicating the Kinowelt master, please advise.

[Tommaso]

LUDWIG was severely cut after the premiere. The TV cut on the Kinowelt DVD is, as far as I know, the product of later restoration work, probably led by RAI. It´s been shown on Swedish TV as a TV series.

Yes, that's what I assumed. So even if the film is now complete, breaking it down into five TV episodes seems to tamper a little with Visconti's intentions.

But anyway, the Kinowelt indeed has an excellent image, considering the disc was released in 2001. Some little edge enhancement and occasionally very slightly visible compression, but wonderful colours, spot-on contrast, and great detail. Not so great is the sound, on the German dub at least. There's a constant vow and flutter on the music, which is far less pronounced on the Italian track (at least in the few moments I switched over to Italian to check). Still a very good disc, and dead cheap on top of it.

Now I have to think about whether I actually liked the film or only admired it...

[kekid]

Is the Koch Lorber DVD of Ludwig identical in length (same "cut") as the Kinowelt?

[accatone]

Now I have to think about whether I actually liked the film or only admired it...

The great Serge Daney on LUDWIG (Its in German language only!)

[Tommaso]

Now I have to think about whether I actually liked the film or only admired it...

The great Serge Daney on LUDWIG (Its in German language only!)

Thanks! A very interesting article, but it only serves to make my confusion about this film even greater. I like the way in which Daney talks about Visconti's camera as the hand of the painter, and it is indeed this painterly approach (much more evident here than even in "The Leopard") which makes the film so fascinating for me. But it is precisely what creates what Daney calls Visconti's 'clinical treatment' of the person of Ludwig. There is an enormous distance, little to help the viewer to empathize with the character; this is something that goes for all the post-"Rocco" Viscontis I've seen - not enough of them, I have to admit - and which often makes it difficult for me to really get 'into' the characters (as opposed to simply admiring the performance, which I absolutely do with this film). But perhaps with such a half-mythical, half-monstrous character as Ludwig, Visconti's coldness is paradoxically probably the best and perhaps the only possible way to get near his personality.

While watching the film, I couldn't help reading the character of Ludwig as a chiffre for Visconti himself (certainly not a highly original idea...): looking at Visconti's career, I can't help finding that he himself more and more drifted away into a self-contained universe of art, though -unlike Ludwig - still fully knowing what he was doing and thus, while creating the wonderful worlds of "The Leopard" or indeed this film, at the same time deconstructing them; but always with a tone of lamentation and celebration. And like Ludwig's castles, the results can sometimes be marvellous, but somtimes also empty ("Morte a Venezia", which I find a big disappointment despite its visual magnificence).

Well, to answer my musings above: The more I think about it, I think I really liked "Ludwig", if only as a perfect expression of the rift between the artist or aesthetically minded person and the world outside, which never allows such a person to fully indulge in his 'mad' vision. Thus the film might be read not only as celebration, but also as a sort of warning (even to those who follow this vision, as it might end up in solipsisms a la current Greenaway).
And the prominence of these themes saves the film from being just another bio-pic, a genre which I normally rather abhor.

[Toby Dammit]

"Vaghe Stelle dell' Orsa" (aka "Sandra") will be launched in Italy next June 23 =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>



Format: DVD
Genre: Drama
Year prod. film: 1965
Duration: 100 min
Director: Luchino Visconti
Actors:Claudia Cardinale; Jean Sorel; Michael Craig; Renzo Ricci; Fred Williams; Amalia Troiani; Marie Bell; Vittorio Manfrino; Renato Moretti; Giovanni Rovini; Paola Piscini; Isacco Politi; Ferdinando Scarfiotti

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Year publ. film: 2009
Area: 2 - Europe / Japan
Encoding: PAL
Video Format: 1,33:1
Audio format: 2.0 Dolby Digital Mono: Italian English
Subtitles: Italian English
Packaging Type: Amaray
Discs in packaging: 1

Plot:Sandra comes back to Volterra, in Tuscany, the little town where she spent her childhood. She is with her American husband, Andrew. She wishes to pay homage to her father who died in Auschwitz where she was still a little child. In Volterra, Andrew meets for the first time Gianni, Sandra's brother. He soon realizes that Sandra and Gianni have a secret since their childhood.

[Scharphedin2]

Longed, and longed, and longed for since long before there was something called DVD. What great, great news!

[rohmerin]

An Italian Sony release means Ripley Home Video super restoration, doesn't it?

[Toby Dammit]

Hi! Rohmerin, tanto tiempo!!!

This is a Sony release.

[Scharphedin2]

In anticipation of the release of Vaghe stele dell'Orsa... / Sandra of a Thousand Delights by Sony Pictures in Italy this coming week, I updated the DVD-ography of this filmmaker profile.

Since initially posting this profile, several of Visconti's films have seen release. Masters of Cinema has made glorious discs of Bellissima and Rocco and His Brothers available. Unfortunately the label did not also have the opportunity to release Senso, which came out instead in the UK from Optimum releasing in a less than ideal presentation. With a Criterion release rumoured to be forthcoming, it may be well to bide the time on this particular film.

L'Innocente and Ludwig have recently seen release in R1 from Koch Lorber. From what I have been able to deduce, these releases are the best English-friendly versions of these particular films. Formerly the options available were a mediocre release of Ludwig by Infinity Arthouse; and an even less inspiring effort by Nouveaux of L'Innocente. Both are films are visually stunning, even if they are not amongst Visconti's most successful films.

[tojoed]

Senso on BluRay from Studio Canal, France in February.

[zedz]

Senso on BluRay from Studio Canal, France in February.

Great news, but the 'Studio Canal' bit makes me worry that a spanner might have just been thrown in the works of the rumoured Criterion release. Hope it's just me being paranoid.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Fears may be unfounded for Senso as it is according to Studio Canal exclusive for France. It does look dicey though for Breathless and Pierrot.

[zedz]

IN any case at "worst" they will all be B only which is OK for us colonials.

Does Studio Canal habitually include English subs on its Blus, or only for the ones which are intended to be multi-region from the outset (e.g. Contempt)?

[Knappen]

Just saw Lo Straniero in a fresh copy at the Champo in Paris, which is a typical sign that a DVD is on its way.

[Knappen]

It was in Italian.

Pretty straight forward adaptation it seemed to me, though I'm hardly an authority as it's been 12 years since I read the novel.

Of course MM is miscast. Who would you have liked to see for the role, David?

[ellipsis7]

Assume that SENSO is the new resto (and a substantial improvement on the Optimum DVD)...

[Tommaso]

I'm a bit surprised to see no further comments on the Italian disc of "Vaghe stelle dell'orsa..." here. I had the pleasure to watch this film for the first time last night, and am quite impressed by this rather little known film. First things first: the transfer is very good indeed, although it looks a little blackness-boosted, as if someone wanted to imitate CC's handling of black and white material. A little bit more problematic are the English subs: with the caveat that I didn't check back with the English dub, I would say that the subtitles are dub subs, and thus are not always faithful to what is actually being said in the Italian version. My Italian is truly basic, but there were some moments - especially in the sequence when Sandra reads Gianni's manuscript - where the differences were apparent even to me. In another scene we see Sandra simply sobbing without any words, but the subs give us the name "Gianni" in addition. The title of the Leopardi poem is rendered as "Bright stars of the Great Bear", whereas "vaghe" rather means "vague" or "unclear", even "lovely" according to my dictionary. Anyway, all in all this is not too annoying and never distracting. Extras consist of press material and some screenplay photos, plus an unsubbed audio interview with the director. Not too impressive, but certainly alright for a cheapo disc.

The film itself is not only historically the ideal connecting piece between "The Leopard" and "The Damned". The disintegration of society and the family, which was still handled with some quiet nostalgia in the earlier film, seems to come to a much grittier foreground here, and perhaps the film is still even a bit too beautiful for its theme. While I first thought Visconti was adapting to the modernism of Antonioni with this film, the longer I watched it, strangely enough I was more and more reminded of someone I would never have associated with Visconti before: Ingmar Bergman. The hidden secrets of the plot and the neuroses of the characters (great performance by Maria Bell as Sandra's mother, btw), also the gorgeous b&w-imagery and many a close-up reminded me strongly of the Swedish master, although the film of course still feels like a Visconti piece. Perhaps it's not one of Visconti's major achievements, but it's a nice 'small' film which deserves to be better known, I think.

[Saimo]

As I have already posted elsewhere, Ripley's Home Video released a good edition of Visconti's Ossessione...

Comparison
RHV transfer corresponds to an already released Italian disc. The film has been digitally restored, but this time we don't have La terra trema immaculate quality... However, it looks inarguably better than ever.

... and the disc is English-friendly.

Extras have english subs, too.