Saturday | June 23, 2018 7:00 pm

The Wanton Countess

Screening on Film

Directed by Luchino Visconti.
With Farley Granger, Alida Valli, Massimo Girotti.
Italy, 1964, 35mm, color, 90 min.
In English.

This abridged version of Senso, featuring dialogue by Tennessee Williams, is more interesting as an artifact than as a polished work of its own. More than a studio ploy, the Williams collaboration is rooted in an older friendship and sense of mutual artistic appreciation between the playwright and the director. Visconti would adapt The Glass Menagerie (1946) and A Streetcar Named Desire (twice, in 1949 and 1951), and Williams would visit the set of La Terra Trema, penning an essay of his experience that currently resides in the Harvard Theatre Collection. As for the film itself, one of the main draws is watching Farley Granger’s performance un-dubbed in the original English. For those only familiar with Italian version, the experience is as fascinating as it is alienating.