962 Death in Venice

[movielocke]

I appreciate seeing the scopes up thread, the out of balance blue channel is glaring.

But I watched the criterion last week and was stunned at how good the actual video on my system looked. Given the context of the scirocco in the film, I soon was able to not expect the skies to look normal.

The entire grade felt balanced and rich, not too blue nor too yellow and definitely not the old school magenta push seen in some of the above caps.

[ellipsis7]

In 1971 at the world premiere of DEATH IN VENICE in London, Italian director Luchino Visconti proclaimed Björn Andrésen, the teen star of his latest film as ""THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD" . Now this new documentary which premiered at Sundance 2021 tells the story of the enduring effect of the film and his newfound fame on Andreson, the 14-year-old Swedish actor playing Tadzio... Looks an absolutely fascinating and not a little disturbing study of obsession, the objectivisation of beauty and its lifelong impact on an often vulnerable human being... Has garnered a range of positive reviews which seem to reflect an incisive & intelligent piece...

[ellipsis7]

More on THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD from The Guardian...

[Mr Sausage]

One of the best books I've read this year is Philip Kitcher's Deaths in Venice: the Cases of Gustav von Aschenbach. Kitcher, a philosopher by training, takes Mann's novella, Britten's opera, and Visconti's film, and dives deep into those works, looking particularly to open up new perspectives on them and see how they address some of philosophy's fundamental questions, like what constitutes a valuable life. Obviously Mann gets most of the attention, but Kitcher has some interesting things to say about the Visconti, finding more worth there than Mann devotees tend to. In particular he raises the idea that the movie is not a direct adaptation of Mann's novella, but fuses Death in Venice with Mann's later Doctor Faustus in order to tackle Mann's characteristic themes. There are also some terrific sections at the end analyzing Mahler, a major presence not just in Visconti but Mann's work as well.

The book has a lot of very keen insights into the story, always trying to find new perspectives and challenge assumptions. For instance, it persuasively argues that Aschenbach does not die of cholera as is generally assumed, but from heart failure. It also unpacks the influence of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on the book and, again persuasively, shows that people take for granted that Mann is simply reproducing Nietzsche's Apollonian/Dionysian argument from Beyond Good and Evil when Mann is using his philosophical sources in subtle and ambivalent ways. There are also some wonderful sections about the place of philosophy in fiction, arguing contra dualists like Ray Carney (not mentioned in the book, but whom I think of) who too quickly separate head from heart in proclaiming that if they wanted philosophy they'd read a philosopher, by showing how fiction can address philosophy, can engage in its conversations, without itself doing philosophy. And there's an equally good argument for the place and even necessity of emotions in decision making (again, contra those who think we ought to be logical robots to make proper decisions, or who think decision making ought to be left to AI). It's a smart and often wise book.

While written by an academic, it's free of jargon and obfuscation. Any intelligent reader can take it up, although it helps to've read Mann's major works as they're often referenced (tho' Kitcher does not presume you've read them, and will give full descriptions of what he's referring to). If you're a fan of the movie or novella (or I guess the opera), it's a must read. Insights on every page. And if you haven't read Mann's novella yet, it's well worth the small time investment (it's only 80 pages in my Penguin edition).

Kitcher has written a wonderful book. It's a model of scholarship, passion, and careful, non-dogmatic thinking. Highly recommended for film, lit, and music nerds alike.

[denti alligator]

Thanks for the recommendation!