History Creator / LuchinoVisconti

He [[BourgeoisBohemian was an aristocrat but a lifetime member of the Communist Party]]. He was from Milan but made movies about Southern Italy and Sicily. He was a man of the opera and the theater but the movies were his real passion. His life was no less inspiring. If [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] were Italian and an artist, and gay, he'd be Visconti. He fought against the Nazis as LaResistance during [=WW2=] and participated in a cinematic revolution with his first films, ''Ossessione'' (an adaptation of James M. Cain's ''Literature/ThePostmanAlwaysRingsTwice'') and ''La Terra Trema'' (which was shot in location in the local Sicilian dialect and had to be subtitled for distribution in the North).

[[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard Count Don Luchino Visconti di Modrone]] (2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was a one-of-a-kind figure. He [[BourgeoisBohemian was an aristocrat but a lifetime member of the Communist Party]]. He was from Milan but made movies about Southern Italy and Sicily. He was a man of the opera and the theater but the movies were his real passion. His life was no less inspiring. If [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] were Italian and an artist, and gay, he'd be Visconti. He fought against the Nazis as LaResistance during [=WW2=] and participated in a cinematic revolution with his first films, ''Ossessione'' (an adaptation of James M. Cain's ''Literature/ThePostmanAlwaysRingsTwice'') and ''La Terra Trema'' (which was shot in location in the local Sicilian dialect and had to be subtitled for distribution in the North).

While most critics rate his early films (up to ''The Leopard'') highly, there's little consensus on his later works. Opinions on them range from sprawling, operatic masterpieces to ponderous, decadent and self-indulgent. In either case, his best work is highly rated around the world and he's considered one of the greatest film-makers of the 20th Century.

* ''Ossessione'' (1943)