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The lush, aristocratic world of Luchino Visconti has seen a huge revival at repertory film houses over the past year. From the black-and-white “White Nights” by Marcello Mastroianni to the psychosexual drama “Conversation Piece” by Burt Lancaster, the lively melodramas of the Italian grandmother capture souls that are displaced, possessive and sad. Although Visconti may be best known for epics like “The Leopard” and “Rocco and His Brothers,” in his later career up until his death in 1976, the Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker turned his lens on more intimate dramas and marital discord.
A new adaptation of Visconti’s last film, “L’Innocente,” which premiered in Cannes Classics and at the New York Film Festival. Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Laura Antonelli, and Jennifer O’Neill, the film has been lovingly restored by Film Movement Classics to commemorate the film’s 50th anniversary. Below, IndieWire presents the exclusive trailer for the new release. Theatrical release will begin on December 11.
Set in Rome at the turn of the 20th century, the film centers on “rich and self-absorbed gentleman Tullio Hermil (Giancarlo Giannini) [who] pursues an affair with an energetic but possessive widow, Countess Teresa Raffo (Jennifer O’Neill), while treating his faithful wife, Giuliana (Laura Antonelli), with cold rejection. Wounded by his years of neglect, Giuliana finds herself in love with the young novelist, Filippo (Marc Porel). When she becomes pregnant with Filippo’s child, Tullio’s wounded pride cannot be contained, setting in motion a chain of events that will ultimately lead to tragedy.
The film clearly adapts Gabriele D’Annunzio’s 1892 novel. At the time of production, Visconti had suffered a stroke a few years earlier that did not affect his ability to work, but it did make him responsible for getting cast. For “L’Innocente”, Visconti had wanted his star “The Leopard” and “Rocco and His Brothers”, the French actor Alain Delon, in the lead. He also wanted former Delon star and Visconti star Romy Schneider in the film as well, as well as Charlotte Rampling (“The Damned”) at one point. Visconti died in March 1976, just two months before the film’s Cannes premiere. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum called the film “a withering self-critique of male vanity and self-delusion.”
Cinelab Service in Italy created a new 4K digital transfer on an Arriscan film scanner, working from the original camera negative.
