Visconti, Luchino

Visconti, Luchino (lkē`nō vēskôn`tē), 1906–76, Italian film director and writer, b. Milan as Luchino Visconti de Modrone. One of Italy's most acclaimed directors, Visconti has been called the father of neorealism for his early films Ossessione (1942) and La terra trema (1948). His increasingly lavish productions created a heightened sense of melodrama. His late films explore the nature of decadence. Among his other films are Rocco and His Brothers (1960), The Leopard (1964), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), Ludwig (1973), and The Innocent (1979).

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Visconti, Luchino

 orig. Don Luchino Visconti, count di Modrone

(born Nov. 2, 1906, Milan—died March 17, 1976, Rome) Italian film and theatre director. Born into the nobility, he became an assistant to Jean Renoir in 1935. He directed his first film, Ossessione (1942), in a style foreshadowing the Neorealism of Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica. His later films include the documentary-style drama La terra trema (1948), Senso (1954), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), The Leopard (1963, Golden Palm), The Damned (1969), and Death in Venice (1971). As a stage director, he introduced to Italy works by Jean Cocteau, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams, and he staged operas starring Maria Callas that combined realism and spectacle.