- Born
- Died
- Birth nameLuchino Visconti di Modrone
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Born in his ancestral palazzo, situated in the same Milanese square as both the opera house La Scala and the Milan Cathedral, Luchino Visconti (1906 - 1976) was raised under the auspices of aristocratic privilege, theater and Catholicism. This triangulation of monuments would create an equally titanic filmmaker whose work remained stylistically sui generis through arguably the most impressive decades of 20th century filmmaking. The quietude of La Terra Trema (1948) is managed with an operatic virtuosity, and the baroque period pieces-for which he is best known today-clearly point to a noble upbringing. However, there is also a Gothic character to Visconti-embodied in the spired cathedral that overshadowed his childhood-that has remained largely unsung. The relationship between the Visconti family and Gothic architecture stretches back to the Medieval Era. In 1386, Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti envisioned a cathedral in the heart of Milan, though it was fated to remain under construction for almost half a millennium until Napoleon ordered its completion in the 19th century. Just as his ancestor brought Northern Gothic architecture to Italy, so, in 1943, did Luchino introduce the groundbreaking cinematic genre of Italian neorealism to the peninsula. Doing away with sets, neorealist cinema was set in the raw environment of postwar Italy. In one sense anti-architectural in its desire to transcend the bonds of interior space, this same ambition is what makes the style a perfect cinematic analog to the Gothic. The Gothic is an architecture of exteriority: Throwing ceilings to the sky and opening walls onto the outside with large windows, the Gothic presents light as the manifestation of divinity within a place of worship. The mysticism of light, dating back to the pseudo-Dionysian theology of Abbot Suger of St. Denis Cathedral, translates well to the medium of light that is the cinema. In any Visconti work, lighting is intimately connected to set design: It is often seen in the gleam of curtains, the radiance of starlight or the glow of Milanese fog, where the director carries the religiosity of Gothic architecture into his realism. Visconti's religion (or should we say religions? For he was also a Marxist) adds an ethical weight, powerful and challenging, to his works. The term decadence, often associated with Visconti, only attains meaning through being in excess of contemporary mores. Neither the Catholic Church nor the Italian communists could accept Visconti's homosexuality, and a resultant displaced angst is plainly worn by his protagonists-monumental individuals who bear the full weight of their social milieus. While neorealism has come to be packaged with its own mythology-a new cinema for a liberated nation, the idea of a new "Italian" style-re-centering our historical gaze on the Gothic Visconti allows one's imagination to spread across a much larger plane of geography and time. From his cinematic apprenticeship with Jean Renoir in France-the very cradle of Gothic architecture-to his German trilogy, Visconti's style has always been one of cosmopolitan effort. This international flavor also matches the deeper etymological referent of the Gothic-the Goths, those barbarian invaders who toppled the Roman Empire. Among Visconti's formal signatures are many borrowings from foreign directors, including the particularly pronounced influence of Jean Renoir, Josef Von Sternberg and Elia Kazan. Global in scope, timeless in influence and architectural in spirit: This is the legacy of Luchino Visconti.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Harvard Film Archive
- ParentsGiuseppe Visconti di ModroneCarla Erba
- RelativesGuido Visconti di Modrone(Sibling)Anna Visconti di Modrone(Sibling)Luigi Visconti di Modrone(Sibling)Edoardo Visconti di Modrone(Sibling)Ida Visconti di Modrone(Sibling)Uberta Visconti di Modrone(Sibling)Giovanni Gastel(Niece or Nephew)Eriprando Visconti(Niece or Nephew)
- Frequently collaborated with Burt Lancaster
- The collision between old and new
- The decay of the nobility and the bourgeoisie
- The sociopolitical gap between generations
- The decline of an old social order and the rise of modern times
- Born into one of Northern Italy's richest families as one of the Duke of Modrone's seven children.
- His film Obsession (1943) was based on James M. Cain's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'. Because of copyright issues, it was not shown in the United States. The picture also engendered the ire of Benito Mussolini's censors who had Visconti thrown in jail. He was to be executed and only survived because of the timely arrival of American troops. 'Ossessione' was later hailed as an early example of Italian neo-realism.
- Developed the movement of "Italian neo-realism" together with other directors such as Vittorio De Sica or Roberto Rossellini in the 1940s and 1950s.
- Longtime companion of actor Helmut Berger from 1964 until his death.
- A descendant of the 13th Century ruling dynasty of Milan, he received an aristocratic education, notably horsebreeding and the classics (which included painting, music and theatre). He played the cello and visited La Scala from an early age.
- [1976 comment on Luis Bunuel] I think today there are too many directors taking themselves seriously; the only one capable of saying anything really new and interesting is Luis Bunuel. He's a very great director.
- [on Marcello Mastroianni] He's very human and easily identifies with the man in the street. He's never a hero. Rather, he's an anti-hero, and that's why in turn the public adores him. That's his great merit and his appeal.
- [on Burt Lancaster] The Prince in "The Leopard" was a very complex character -- at times autocratic, rude, strong -- at times romantic, good, understanding -- and sometimes even stupid, and above all, mysterious. Burt is all these things too. Sometimes I think Burt is the most perfectly mysterious man I have ever met in my life.
- [on Giancarlo Giannini] An extraordinary actor.
- [on Vittorio Gassmann] He's a monster. Nature has made him prodigiously gifted and that's not always a blessing. His monstrous technical ability make him neglect to go deeper into the roles he plays. All the same, what an actor!
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