Senso
1953
An extravagantly romantic story about the tempestuous affair between an Italian countess and a dashing Austrian officer. When war and revolution break out, the contessa becomes torn between her fervent patriotic commitment and her obsessive love for one of the enemy. Read more
| Starring | Alida Valli, Farley Granger, Massimo Girotti, Christian Marquand |
|---|---|
| Director | Luchino Visconti |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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Senso
An extravagantly romantic story about the tempestuous affair between an Italian countess and a dashing Austrian officer. When war and revolution break out, the contessa becomes torn between her fervent patriotic commitment and her obsessive love for one of the enemy.
| Starring | Alida Valli, Farley Granger, Massimo Girotti, Christian Marquand |
|---|---|
| Director | Luchino Visconti |
| Studio | OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 56 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: Italian |
| Released | DVD: 09 Jul 2007 Production year: 1953 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Like other Visconti melodramas, sumptuous in its Technicolor expressionism, Senso sees heterosexual love through... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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8 out of 8 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
A wonderful, majestic piece of work
Fabulous to find not just that 'Senso' has been released on a new disc, but that it's the full version, in Italian: there aren't many films around that have, down the years, been so badly hacked around as this one. And it comes up as bright and sparkling as ever, with its tale of doomed passion set against the Italian revolution, as Visconti turned his back with a flourish on the neo-realist movement which his Communism had originally led his to espouse with such fervour.
He starts with a barn-storming scene from 'Il trovatore' and continues in full-on operatic mode, creating sublime, resplendent backdrops and wondrous compositions against which to set his tale of love and betrayal, of the naivete of an older woman against the fickle shallowness of the prettiest of young men (here played by Farley Granger). Alida Valli is magnificent, and even if the film never quite gets the balance right between its ultimately sordid central story, and the momentous events in the background, this remains a key work of fifties cinema. -
Most recent members' review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
High Tragedy
I had wondered whether this would ever be on DVD. Its a fascinating melodrama (and that would I suspect be a positive description for Visconti) which looks sumptuous. But it is the desperation of the main protagonists that shines through. By the end both are sunk in despair and self loathing and the bleak final scenes offer no comfort. This seems a companion piece to The Leopard both in terms of its period (the Risorgimento) and the focus on the decline of the native aristocracy (this time Venetian rather than Sicilian)in the face of revolution. Good news that it is now available again.
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