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The Tragic Curse Of Being The Most Beautiful Boy In The World

TruthBTold

By TruthBTold
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TruthBTold Grand Master

TruthBTold

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This movie opens at Sundance on Friday. It is a documentary that discusses the tragedy that befell the young boy who was chosen by openly gay director Luchino Visconti for his movie Death In Venice in 1970. The boy is incredibly beautiful and huge stardom results from the movie. This new movie shows the dangers that such popularity can come to child actors, particularly for children who come from rather tragic circumstances before their stardom. However no one seems to want to protect the children's interests and the children seem incapable to do so even as adults. When Visconti was casting for his movie Andersen (the lead) was so beautiful he looked like something out of a Caravaggio painting. In the movie Visconti notes however that "to put the eyes on beauty is to put the eyes on death."

 

http://36.media.tumblr.com/2ca9e0fe59e18f0aa0d4e47049ee71b3/tumblr_mo7girWmQf1rt9ynxo1_1280.jpg

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TruthBTold Grand Master

TruthBTold

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I don't find him all that attractive, at least not in that pic. And when I saw the headline of the thread I thought "I've never met @TruthBTold -- what the hell does he know about my childhood?" ? ? ?

 

Sorry (not sure when you were born) but he may have preceded the wearing of the crown. It is the title of the new documentary and features certain sad events of his life. I guess you will have to see the movie to find out what those were. Something tells me childhood sexual abuse but that is just a guess. And as to your life I am going to leave that to lie. :)

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EastbayMike Veteran

EastbayMike

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'Death in Venice' one of the most beautifully crafted films. Perhaps Dirk Bogarde's best as an actor.

 

This will be interesting to watch when released.

 

I saw Death in Venice at the Castro Theater in the late 90s. It was one of the worst, most boring movies I've ever seen. We had to force ourselves to sit through to the end. What made it even more difficult was most of the people around us left halfway through it. They were the smart ones. Awful experience. Awful waste of time.

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JulianLondon Rising Star

JulianLondon

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EastbayMike

 

What is interesting and I agree it's a slow burn of a film is that Thomas Mann who won the nobel prize for literature and was deeply interested in psychology is intent on digging deep into human nature and as a gay man understands profoundly the insecurities that represents, especially in that era. I believe the film relays the meaning he intended to express from the book.

 

His better book though is possibly The Magic Mountain.

 

I'm a Bogarde fan too, so I come at this film from that angle, but the themes of hubris, humanity, desire and longing not to mention the developing pandemic which makes this so prescient.

 

It's a film best watched more than once, sorry to say Eastbaymike!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/20/death-venice-arthouse

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EastbayMike Veteran

EastbayMike

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EastbayMike

 

What is interesting and I agree it's a slow burn of a film is that Thomas Mann who won the nobel prize for literature and was deeply interested in psychology is intent on digging deep into human nature and as a gay man understands profoundly the insecurities that represents, especially in that era. I believe the film relays the meaning he intended to express from the book.

 

His better book though is possibly The Magic Mountain.

 

I'm a Bogarde fan too, so I come at this film from that angle, but the themes of hubris, humanity, desire and longing not to mention the developing pandemic which makes this so prescient.

 

It's a film best watched more than once, sorry to say Eastbaymike!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/20/death-venice-arthouse

Thanks for the follow up. With so much content available these days, I'm afraid watching D in V again will remain quite low on my queue!

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WilliamM Grand Master

+ WilliamM

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EastbayMike

 

What is interesting and I agree it's a slow burn of a film is that Thomas Mann who won the nobel prize for literature and was deeply interested in psychology is intent on digging deep into human nature and as a gay man understands profoundly the insecurities that represents, especially in that era. I believe the film relays the meaning he intended to express from the book.

 

His better book though is possibly The Magic Mountain.

 

I'm a Bogarde fan too, so I come at this film from that angle, but the themes of hubris, humanity, desire and longing not to mention the developing pandemic which makes this so prescient.

 

It's a film best watched more than once, sorry to say Eastbaymike!

 

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/20/death-venice-arthouse

I am not a fan of the film even though Thomas Mann is one of my favorite authors. Mann won the Nobel Prize in Literature for "Buddenbrooks"and his short stories. I prefer "The Magic Mountain," but the Nobel Comittee had a problem with the novel.

 

I do like Benjamin Britton opera of "Death of Venice." Perhaps the live performance of an opera made the difference.

 

There's no doubt that I must watch the film after reading your post.

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scrtlovr Community Regular

scrtlovr

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Like a lot of Visconti's films it just didn't age well and is much too slow paced by today's standards. But if you put it in context it shows remarkably well Dirk Bogarde's character's longing and desire for beauty and youth while he himself (along with Venice) is decaying and dying (a slapstick comedy it ain't) and - however tedious - the movie remains a classic. As for the boy, I suppose he represented a vision of beauty which is also somewhat dated.

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TruthBTold Grand Master

TruthBTold

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I was trying to remember a film with a similar theme and I believe it starred Ian McKellan. The object of his desire is a slightly older character than the one in Visconti's film. I tried looking for it but could not find it. I began to think that I just made it up. Does anyone remember something like that?

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Rod Hagen Grand Master

Rod Hagen

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Like a lot of Visconti's films it just didn't age well and is much too slow paced by today's standards. But if you put it in context it shows remarkably well Dirk Bogarde's character's longing and desire for beauty and youth while he himself (along with Venice) is decaying and dying (a slapstick comedy it ain't) and - however tedious - the movie remains a classic. As for the boy, I suppose he represented a vision of beauty which is also somewhat dated.

 

We can't evaluate something's merits, in this case pace, now based on the unfortunate fact that currently many people think Avengers movies and Hunger Games books are the cadence to aspire toward. A Visconti's film is the perfect pace for a Visconti film, then and now.

 

Thinking of Visconti, have you ever seen Conversation Piece? It's bathshit and I love it.

 

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EastbayMike Veteran

EastbayMike

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I saw Brandon Fraser al.most naked on stage in Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" two days before 9,/11. Hot man, definitely

I saw him in Four Dogs and a Bone at the Geffen Playhouse in 1995. I don't remember if it was costar Elizabeth Perkins or Parker Posey, but in one scene she was all over him trying to seduce him. Brandon got a nice-sized erection on stage very visible through his pants.

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