Springtime Sensation

Luchino Visconti was a connoisseur of the gentility, a cultured voluptuary of the highest order. He changed not only the face of cinema but also the lives of his audience with his opulent approach to film making and his touching and compassionate portrayal of the human condition.

His artistry should be apparent to anyone who's interested in serious European art cinema. Although Visconti first made his reputation with Neo-Realist films, he is most well known for his period dramas such as "The Leopard", "Death In Venice", "L'innocente" and "Ludwig".

However, one of my personal favourites is "Senso," which - thanks to Amazon.com - is available again on this new state of the art in high quality DVD format from The Criterion Collection.


The film, Senso is based on Camillo Boito's Italian novella. It is a romantic melodrama featuring Alida Valli as Livia and Farley Granger as Lieutenant Franz Mahler.

Senso is a work of art that captures the persona of Visconti as a lover of melodrama, theatre, opera, costume, interior design and above all, perfection. I would rate Senso as the finest achievement of Visconti - it represents his singular vision. It is one of his first films in colour and it is incredibly sumptuous and emotionally charged film - far more superior than his more well known film, The Leopard. A lot of mainstream audience know Visconti directed The Leopard but very few know Senso.

The visual intelligence and artistic integrity at work in this film is incredibly arresting for it is rare to find a film that breathes such perfection. The story of Senso deals with the concept of revenge which is more cruel, more tragic, more emotionally intense and unduly melodramatic. Visconti lures his audience into a world with medley of high notes, fanciful and whimsical imagery and archly refined observations.

The story of Visconti's strive for perfection is legendary. He was known as 'an iron fist' - once he had decided to do something, he would never change his mind. It's like talking to a brick wall.

The actors knew that there was very little room for discussion as far as Visconti's perfectionism was concerned. Everyone on the set was quite aware of his outbursts and tantrums.

Farley Granger as Lieutenant Franz Mahler in Senso

Once he found out on the set that the actor in Senso, Farley Granger had been behaving like a diva, arriving late and disappearing for hours during the shooting. Visconti apparently slapped him and said, "Don't you ever do this again!" Needless to say, Farley Granger did not make the same mistake again.

The DVD features two disks and it comes with a 36 pages booklet with colour still images from the film and several essays by film critics. The most delightful experience for me is to see the rare interview with Visconti and Maria Callas on the second disk. Callas looks impossibly elegant and she says very little but she looks at Visconti while he speaks with childish innocence and admiration. Her eyes, filled with awe, worship him.

Farley Granger as Lieutenant Franz Mahler in Senso

The Black Brunswicker by John Everett Millais, 1860, Oil on canvas

Costume Designer - Marcel Escoffier

The costume in this film deserves some praise. Visconti hired the designer Marcel Escoffier and Piero Tosi to design each individual garment for this film. I have always admired Sophia Loren's ravishing costumes designed by Marcel Escoffier in one of my favourites 1974 film called IL Viaggio (The Voyage).

Visconti asked Escoffier to replicate the English costume designs from the Victorian period. I believe a lot of visual references for the costume designs were used after studying Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Escoffier's design in Senso did not let me down. Escoffier favoured huge skirt, primary colours and odd asymmetrical hats worn with long veils. Escoffier's costumes in the film express Visconti's romantic nostalgia for the 18th and 19th centuries and from his Proustian memories of his mother, dressed in robes of flowing red velvet, huge hat and a long veil covering her face.


Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822 - 1865)

The stage set and the costumes in Senso remind me of works by the English aristocrat and photographer, Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822 – 1865). Majority of her works are now held by the Victorian and Albert Museum in London.

Although there is no reference of Escoffier's nor Visconti's interest in Lady Hawarden's works, the sumptuous backdrops, theatricality and emotional intensity in their compositions are very similar.

Photography by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822-1865)

To me, Lady Hawarden's photographs capture the notion of fashion as punishment. All the women in her photographs (she mainly used her daughters as her models for both man and woman characters) are caught under several layers of shifts, petticoats, immense yards of heavy silks and voluminous skirts that allows very little movement or physical activity. They are melancholy souls imprisoned in their own clothes.

I would highly recommend Senso. Watching Senso for me is the most unforgettable experience as it transports me the bygone era of cinema combined with lushness and elegance. It's one of my most favourite films by Visconti.

Photography by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822-1865)
Photography by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822-1865)

Photography by Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822-1865)