DEATH IN VENICE Theory of Art Decay Morality & Taste dir. Visconti Dirk Bogarde Mark Burns | SCENE

Thomas Mann embodied as Gustav Mahler, a.k.a. Gustav von Aschenbach. Far from the prurient fixation of usual discussions of this film, instead we have the sin of aging in the city of decay--the beautiful and sinking Venice, and the young man as Greek statue, ageless and reminding us of the last grains of sand in the hourglass. And no matter how we try, the ideal is never achievable. 1971. Dir. Luchino Visconti. Also starring Björn Andrésen, Silvana Mangano, Marisa Berenson, Romolo Valli. Costumes by Piero Tosi. Adapted from the same-titled novella by Mann. No copyright claimed or implied. For purposes of critical analysis.