Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fathers of cinematic neorealism, but later moved towards luxurious, sweeping epics dealing with themes of beauty, decadence, death and European history, especially the decay of the nobility and the bourgeoisie. He was the recipient of many accolades, including the Palme d’Or and the Golden Lion, and many of his works are regarded as highly-influential to future generations of filmmakers.
Visconti is one of the great queer Italian directors from 1970s Italy. As stage director for La Scala Opera house, he was comfortable in the highest circles of Italian society, and the lower depths of gay life in Italy in the 1970s. From wealthy socialite to male escort, from fascist to communist, and everything in between, Visconti puts everyone in the same lusciously decorated room and exposes their inner secrets and desires in his screenplays.
Randy Weinstein
I highly recommend the following films:
- Rocco e i suoi fratelli (Rocco and his brothers)
- La caduta degli dei ( The Damned)
- Morte a Venezia (A Death in Venice)
- Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (Conversation Piece)