Greg: The city is most famous for being the location of the James Bond movies ‘Moonraker’ and ‘Casino Royale’ as well as ‘Don’t Look Now’. It was also chosen for ‘Death in Venice’.
Sam: You surprise me.
Greg: Have you been? I never have. I like Italy but haven’t made it to Venice yet. I hear it’s sinking?
Sam: Yes, I went there and shuffled around in Bogarde’s footsteps in 2014. Funny you mention ‘Don’t Look Now’, as there’s a little passageway behind the big theatre there, which is also used by Bogarde when he’s stalking Björn Andrésen. It’s shot from a different angle but a very memorable spot.
Greg: We must go there and make a pilgrimage. Is there a blue plaque? Does it say: “Bogarde shuffled here in 1970”?
Sam: That’s the great thing about Venice – so many of the locations look the same, albeit slightly more restored than the crumbling version we see in ’71. I’ll tell you something else that makes this film special: Gustav Mahler’s lilting music. Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony – it tops and tails the film. Extraordinarily moving.
Greg: It’s well-chosen. Mann is said to have based Gustav von Aschenbach on composer Gustav Mahler. I adore that piece and listen to it often, usually whilst doing the washing-up. A lot about the film captures me, the music, Bogarde’s performance, and the locations. The whole thing, along with Visconti’s eye for beauty, makes for a stunning aesthetic experience. That’s why I enjoy it. What happens? Not a lot. A convalescing musician potters around Venice slowly losing his mind and then dies in a deckchair. It’s not exactly high-octane, is it?
Sam: Ah, well, no. I gifted a DVD to a couple once who gave up on it after half an hour and said it was dull! Yes, it’s slow-moving, but so is the novella. It’s about a man who goes on holiday and sits in a hotel. I took great pleasure in texting you the highlights as they happened last night: “45 minutes in: Dirko has just eaten a strawberry… now he’s unpacking his washbag. 40 minutes later: Dirko is at a railway station waiting for luggage. Now he’s going to the bank…”
