Directed by:
Luchino ViscontiCast:
Alida Valli, Farley Granger, Rina Morelli, Christian Marquand, Sergio Fantoni, Massimo Girotti, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Ernst Nadherny, Mimmo Palmara (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
This lush, Technicolor tragic romance from Luchino Visconti stars Alida Valli as a nineteenth-century Italian countess who, during 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. Gilded with ornate costumes and sets and a rich classical soundtrack, and featuring fearless performances, this operatic melodrama is an extraordinary evocation of reckless emotions and deranged lust, from one of the cinema’s great sensualists. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
The Italian baroness and the Austrian officer are attracted to each other by more than just the natural love of a man in a well-fitting uniform with gold insignia for a woman with a magnificent wardrobe (and gold coins in a chest). They are drawn to each other, whether they want to or not, by the affinity of fate of their own social group. Just as they cannot resist love, they cannot resist the inevitable fate of their own class, which slowly but surely (and sometimes headlong and tragically) walks towards the graveyard of history in times of victory of popular national revolutions. It was either about denying their love and thus denying themselves, or staying in it until the bitter end.
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I have a problem with Visconti. His films are interesting; they contain quite strong emotions, but that doesn't change the fact that they fail to draw me in and simply don't entertain me. Alida Valli is excellent, her emotions literally radiate from her, and her destruction is captured brilliantly - but ultimately, the film just didn't resonate with me.
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A tasteful romance set against the backdrop of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The opening is a nicely-defined melodrama set in an auditorium during a reprise of Verdi's "The Troubadour." At times as moving as Angelique, at times more dramatic than Dishonored. A lavish experience.
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Gallery (30)
Photo © Les Acacias
![The Wanton Countess - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/169/115/169115368_zoj5d3.jpg)
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