Color, 1954, 123 mins. 28 secs. / 94 mins. / 121 mins. 19 secs.
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Starring Alida Valli, Farley Granger, Heinz Moog, Rina Morelli, Christian Marquand, Massimo Girotti
Radiance Films (Blu-ray) (UK RB HD), Criterion (Blu-ray & DVD) (US RA/R1 HD/NTSC), Studio Canal (Blu-ray & DVD) (France/Italy RB HD/PAL)

Of all the major Technicolor classics in world cinema, few were abused for so long as Senso, the first color film by director Luchino Visconti after a trio of well-respected neorealist classics (Ossessione, La terra trema, Bellissima). The break in style here is obvious from the opening scene as he dives headfirst into lush, operatic melodrama with the ill-fated romance of Livia Serpieri (Lisa and the Devil's Valli), a married Italian countess, and an unattached Austrian soldier, Lieutenant Franz Mahler (Strangers on a Train's Granger), who meet while attending a Verdi opera in Venice. Italy's occupation of Algeria is nearing its end in 1866, and their illicit affair causes more than a few problems which led to resentment, treachery, and ultimately tragedy.

Though poorly treated upon its release, Senso quickly gained significance as the first of Visconti's opulent, exquisitely detailed period films examining the decaying underbelly of the European upper classes (a setting he knew well given his noble bloodline). The artistic line going from this film to The Leopard, The Damned, Death in Venice, Ludwig, and The Innocent is crystal clear, and film buffs have argued for decades over which one is the best. Like many of Visconti's subsequent films, this one was heavily cut in almost every country in which it played (including the wholesale removal of the defeatist battle scene near the end, which was dropped at the insistence of the Italian government) and only released in America many years later by a tiny indie Sensocompany Sensoas The Wanton Contessa, which was almost half an hour shorter. This fate seems odd given that this film was oddly targeted for major international appeal, particularly with the presence of Granger and its credited "dialogue collaboration" with Tennessee Williams and Paul Bowles.

Even worse, every video edition of Senso since the early days of VHS has been an ungodly mess. A badly faded and heavily damaged version appeared on tape from Cinematheque in the late '80s, and that same one-inch master was recycled throughout the DVD era in several countries (including Wellspring in the US) for a number of wretched releases that made mincemeat of its terrific color photography. Finally a full-scale restoration was performed in 2010 for a new HD master by the Cineteca di Bologna working with cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno (who worked on later Visconti films and stepped in to complete this one) and Martin Scorsese, and the results are, to put it mildly, a huge improvement with the damage and muddiness of past scans finally in the past. Studio Canal issued the new transfer first as a French and Italian-distributed Blu-ray with no English options at all, so we'll jump right ahead to the Criterion one instead which followed a few months later. Not surprisingly, the Blu-ray option is the way to go over the DVD; on the downside as with their customary practice, Criterion took the restoration Sensoas is complete with that tan and teal virus that afflicts so many Italian and French-sourced scans. The main feature is presented in DTS-HD MA 2.0 Italian mono audio with optional English subtitles, but just as fascinating is the inclusion here of The SensoWanton Contessa, which was out of public circulation for decades. Though obviously much shorter and sporting a less impressive HD transfer (from the Harvard Archives, no less), it was great to finally see this legendary 94-minute variant complete with Valli and Granger using their own voices in English (the language in which they played their scenes together). It's also a nice opportunity to officially hear some of the Williams/Bowles contributions, too.

Aside from the English cut, you also get "The Making of Senso" (33m46s) which features Rotunno, costume designer Piero Tosi, assistant director Francesco Rosi, and Caterina D'Amico (Luchino biographer and daughter of the screenwriter), who cover the film's historical influences, source novel, production history, and stormy release in its native country. Another featurette, "Viva Verdi" (36m5s), covers the film's relationship to opera (especially Il Trovatore) and Visconti's affinity for the art form, while film writer Peter Cowie (a familiar name from many a Criterion commentary) offers his own 28m27s take on the film's significance and artistic merit. A vintage 1966 BBC episode from Sunday Night (48m15s) about Visconti's work is also included (and has some nice tidbits about his world outside the cinematic realm). Finally, the package also contains liner notes by Mark Rappaport and some relevant excerpts from Granger's showbiz autobiography, Include Me Out, which is worth seeking out in its entirety.

In 2025, Radiance Films issued its own special edition of Senso on Blu-ray as a two-disc set working from the same 2K restoration. However, they've Sensodone a major color correction overhaul that snaps everything back into a vibrant Technicolor look with actual whites and reds finally restored; it's easily the best viewing option out there to date. In an interesting touch, the second disc is Sensodevoted to an alternate presentation framed at 1.66:1, which is workable enough and justifiable since this was released around the time films were being shot to be projected in both Academy and various wider ratios. Unless you really want to fill up your screen as much as possible, most will probably prefer the 1.33:1 as it features more vertical information and shows off more of those gorgeous costumes and locations. Either way, the LPM 1.0 mono audio sounds solid and features excellent optional English subtitles. The first disc houses all of the bonus features including a welcome new viewing option, the English-language version in a much longer edit (now 121 minutes, just a bit shy of the Italian cut) including as much footage from the uncut restoration as possible. It's a nice touch and a much richer way to experience this version, which is always great to see for the native vocal performances of the two stars (even if it still doesn't make much sense for Valli to have a thick Italian accent when everyone else speaks like an American!). With a video history reaching back to a 1999 DVD release from Image Entertainment, the 1999 Carlo Lizzani documentary Luchino Visconti (60m35s) is included here and makes for a solid primer on his life and career with interview subjects including Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster, Francesco Rosi, and Lizzani himself, plus lots of film clips. Wearing a great jacket, critic and fashion historian Matteo Augello appears for a 18m59s discussion of fashion and overall style sense in Visconti including his fastidious attention to detail and love of sensory aesthetics. An entertaining black-and-white 1969 interview with Visconti and the legendary Maria Callas (23m10s) from the series L'invité du dimanche is basically a casual conversation between friends about how they first met at a party, their collaborations together on several opera productions, their own theories on why opera should never be filmed, and the way it's used in his films with this one in particular. A stills gallery is also included, and the limited edition comes with a booklet featuring a new essay by Christina Newland.

Radiance (Blu-ray) 1.33:1

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Radiance (Blu-ray) 1.66:1

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Criterion (Blu-ray)

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Updated review on July 29, 2025