English actor Dirk Bogarde may have lived in the closet, but Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti did not. Visconti also had the luxury of being born into an aristocratic family. So did German novelist Thomas Mann, but he struggled with his sexual identity all his life. And all three collide in 1971’s Death in Venice. Bogarde plays an aging and infirmed composer who’s come to Venice for his health. There he spies an adolescent boy (Björn Andrésen) who enchants him. Though they share only words, and few at that, every moment he sees the teen is another moment of life. If only he’d paid more attention to the odd smells and the hush-hush behavior around every corner. He thought he was the star in a story of romance, turns out it was a tragedy all along. Available now on Blu-ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection.

Death in Venice (1971)
Produced and directed by Luchino Visconti
Screenplay by Luchino Visconti, Nicola Badalucco
Based on the novel by Thomas Mann
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Romolo Valli, Mark Burns, Nora Ricci, Marisa Berenson, Björn Andrésen, Silvana Mangano
Warner Bros., Not rated, Running time 130 minutes, Premiered March 1, 1971

The above review first appeared in Boulder Weekly Vol. 27, No. 42, “Home Viewing: Pride Streams.”