Senso (1954)
Criterion Collection Englisch · Blu-ray

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On the eve of the Third Italian War of Independence, Countess Livia Serpieri (Alida Valli, The Third Man) anxiously conspires to make revolution happen. Following a chance encounter at the opera, she begins an affair with Franz Mahler (Farley Granger, Rope), a charismatic Lieutenant in the occupying Austrian army who sent her rebellious cousin Marchese Roberto Ussoni (Massimo Girotti, Ossessione) into exile. As her feelings for Franz intensify, Livia's moral compass waivers. Based on Camillo Boito's novella, Alida Valli and Farley Granger shine in this masterful period melodrama about lust and deception. Senso is widely regarded as among director Luchino Visconti's best work and was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 15th Venice International Film Festival.

This lush, Technicolor tragic romance from Luchino Visconti (Le notti bianche, The Leopard) stars Alida Valli (The Third Man, Eyes Without A Face) as a nineteenth-century Italian countess who, amid the Austrian occupation of her country, puts her marriage and political principles on the line by engaging in a torrid affair with a dashing Austrian lieutenant, played by Farley Granger (Rope, Strangers On A Train). Gilded with fearless performances, ornate costumes and sets, and a rich classical soundtrack, Visconti's operatic melodrama is an extraordinary evocation of reckless emotions and deranged lust from one of the cinema's great sensualists.