In partnership with Cinecittà, today we announce the full programme for Luchino Visconti: Decadence & Decay, a new season celebrating the work of the Italian filmmaker from 1 to 30 January 2025 at BFI Southbank.
A pioneer of the Italian neorealism movement, as well as a maestro of luxurious historical drama, Luchino Visconti was an artist of great contradiction and a singular product of his time. With an eye for the darkness of dynastic power struggles and the volatility of men obsessed by the past, his work revelled in wry humour and bold sensuality, from his early neorealist pictures to the opulent period pieces he would become known for.
Beyond the precision of his historical detail and costuming, Visconti was also a filmmaker of psychological acuity, capturing the perversity, despair and cruelty of individuals who strive to make or remake meaning in a changing world. Behind the painterly elegance, Visconti’s cinema is one of queer desire, hysteria and transgression. Titles screening throughout January will include Ossessione (1943), La terra trema (1948), The Leopard (1963), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), Ludwig (1973) and The Innocent (1976), with several 4K restorations and 35mm prints playing courtesy of season partner Cinecittà….