Episode 161 – Luchino Visconti’s Senso

Scott, David, and Trevor discuss the passion, history, opulence, and tragedy in Visconti's melodrama.

This time on the podcast, Scott is joined by David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett to discuss Luchino Visconti’s Senso.

About the film:

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.

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Buy The Film On Amazon:

Watch Criterion’s Three Reasons Video:

Episode Links:

Senso (1954) – The Criterion Collection
Senso and Sensibility – The Criterion Collection
Senso (1954) – IMDb
Senso – Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Roger Ebert’s Great Movies Essay
Visconti’s Senso and the Evolving Italian Cinema
A Second Look: Luchino Visconti’s Senso – LA Times
Movie Review – Senso – Luchino Visconti’s ‘Senso’ Arrives on Bleecker Street – NY Times

Episode Credits:

Scott Nye (Twitter / Battleship Pretension)
David Blakeslee (Twitter / Criterion Reflections)
Trevor Berrett (Twitter / Mookse and Gripes)

Music from this episode is by Gino Paoli and Jonas Kaufman, the latter from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il Trovatore.