I often try to go back through the “classics” of historical costume design on film and TV to see what’s what and so we have broad coverage her on the site. And while the costumes by Piero Tosi are gorgeous, the movie Death in Venice (1971) is a dud (as I’d long feared). It’s based on Thomas Mann’s novella of the same name, which I swear I read in college, but it too did not impress me enough to stick in my mind.
The story is of an artist (a composer in the film, a writer in the book), Gustav von Aschenbach, who goes to Venice for his health. There, at a fancy hotel on the Lido, he watches a beautiful, teenage boy, and falls in love in a both artistic and sexual way. The boy is oblivious, just there on vacation with his mother and siblings.
Nothing really happens. Aschenbach watches the boy forlornly, tries not to be creepy, kind of is creepy, but nobody notices much. He has some flashbacks to or memories of philosophical convos with other artists, and he gets a shitty hair-dye job. There’s a bunch of random scenes around the Lido’s beach and the main part of Venice. Then there’s a cholera outbreak in the city, and Aschenbach dies. The end. Beautifully filmed and costumed, but boring as hell.
And really, the fantastic costumes are primarily on the boy’s mom, Mrs. Moes (Silvana Mangano), who doesn’t have a lot of dialog (OK, nobody does) and doesn’t interact much with Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde) either. She’s just one of the beautiful figures moving in and out of view in the tableau.
So here, I’ll just recap her best couple costumes so you can enjoy that and not bother with the rest of the film, unless you’re a glutton for punishment!
There are a lot of beach scenes, which for this period means elegant linen suits and BIG hats, and this movie really delivers on that front, starting with:
Our friend Maija Hallikas-Manninen took these fantastic photos at an exhibit of Tirelli costumes at the Serlachius Museums in Mänttä, Finland. Check out all the yummy details!
Mrs. Moes has at least one other white suit, this somewhat looser one with tons of lace insertion, plus another BIG hat.
Tirelli has a couple pix of it on display:
Kendra seemed to think this pink satin dress looked a little wrinkly on Silvana Mangano when she wrote up satin for Snark Week, but I think this gown is doing what it’s supposed to. It only looks smoother on the mannequin because that’s standing upright, not sitting and leaning forward. This is gorgeous!
This is too, just a pity the color has faded!
Lastly there’s this pink chiffon gown with sparkly beading that she wears in a dark scene where strolling players bug everyone out on a terrace. Mrs. Moes is swathed in a sort of tulle wrap so you can’t see all the costume details, plus she’s moving so hard to screencap.
Much easier to see on display, although the color has also faded:
Have you tried to watch Death in Venice?
Find this frock flick at:
I’ve said this before, but DiV is one of the few films I’ve seen where the women’s hats upstage the entire thing.
100000000% accurate.
Absolutely. I also love the cream-and-black palette for the day dresses.
It’s a masterpiece and Dirk Bogarde is magnificent in it. For goodness’s sake, don’t watch Wild Strawberries!
I love the 1910s fashion decade! The High waist/columnar silhouette is so pretty! All the Regency-core inspo we’ll ever need!
TBH, I’d rather look at the architecture and art in Venice, but the costumes here – goodness! Thank you for all the detailed photos from the exhibit. You’re sparing me some hours so I can drink in the details that wouldn’t be visible except on a gigantic cinema screen. I know of some costumers who’d likely be able to replicate the details here, and especially appreciate seeing that the appliques on the faded day dress could be replicated with fabric, cording, and embroidery floss rather than being pieces of heavy lace. I loved “Wings of the Dove” for the visuals, but the plot was fairly engrossing. This one here doesn’t interest me. Piero Tosi is right up there with John Bright and Jenny Bevan for getting early 20th century right on the nose.