Dirk Bogarde,
Björn Andrésen,
Silvana Mangano,
Marisa Berenson,
Mark Burns
... see more 
Based on a novel by Thomas Mann, Death in Venice stars Dirk Bogarde as a German composer who is terrified that he has lost all vestiges of humanity. While visiting Venice, Bogarde falls in love with a... read more
DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004
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Stats: 402 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (402)
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February 20, 2010Like the sand in the hourglass, there is no stopping the passage of time. This cinematic achievement is unmatched in its visual eloquence, but remains an emotionally unsatisfying experience. Long shots, slow pans, and silence, only punctuated by Mahlerâ??s symphonies, create em... read more
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July 4, 2007A classic of Italian cinema! It's very slow -VERY- but it's definitely worth it. The art direction and the cinematography are amazingly beautiful as in almost all of Visconti's films. On the other hand, since the plot is so slow and it requires such empathy to understand the cha... read more
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December 28, 2011The Single Man, Italian style. Beautiful cinematography, but the languid pace doesn't suit itself well for a 2-hour film. Between this and Don't Look Now, I think I'm sufficiently scared away from Venice for life.
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October 18, 2008i thought this as a gay movie on the onset, but i decided it's really more about the life of a failed aging artist who's been on search for something, and could be yearning for his youthful past when he was more appreciated, accepted, celebrated----& he saw his past being personi... read more
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January 11, 2007I saw this film long before I became an advocate of the Mann novella. It was on late at night and, being as I couldn't sleep, I decided to watch it. I had an eight o'clock class and didn't get to sleep 'till about six that morning. Beautiful, powerful film that slowly unravels--w... read more
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August 10, 2006Luchino Visconti did wonderfully on this rendition of Mann's classic novel. Dirk Bogarde really brought Aschenbach to life. The treat of this movie, however, is Tadzio. Bjorn Andresen was born for this role. Combining the landscape of Venice, Bogarde's realistic acting, and Andre... read more
Critic Reviews
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times
Instead of bringing the story to life, Visconti has, I'm afraid, embalmed it. Full Review
April 12, 2012
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Even critics who didn't like Visconti's version of Mann's novella praised Dirk Bogarde in the lead and the film's production values, especially costume design, which was Oscar nominated. Full Review
September 22, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Can never get to the literary heart of the novel without stumbling along on a curiously suffocating course. Full Review
July 21, 2004
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide
A sumptuous visual feast, a well-told tale of a tortured artist's sturm und drung. Full Review
June 23, 2004
Dan Jardine, Cinemania
Visconti's self-conscious and self-reflexive artistry can be off-putting, but with Death in Venice, he's crafted a sumptuous feast for the senses. Full Review
January 31, 2004
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Bogarde plays Gustav with a hamfist, practically drooling over the kid he's stalking Full Review
July 30, 2003
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Despite the omissions from Mann's text, dependence on flashbacks, and overwrought arguments about art and music between Aschenbach and a colleague, it remains a film of great beauty. Full Review
February 11, 2003
Jamie Russell, BBC
Not even the classical soundtrack can turn this ponderous portrait of one man's obsession into the cinematic classic it has so often been mistaken for. Full Review
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Death in Venice
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