The Innocent (Italian: L'innocente) was the last film made by Italian director Luchino Visconti. Released in 1976, the film is based on the novel The Intruder by Gabriele d'Annunzio.[1] It was distributed in the U.S. by Analysis Film Releasing Corp.
The Innocent | |
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Directed by | Luchino Visconti |
Screenplay by | Suso Cecchi d'Amico Enrico Medioli Luchino Visconti |
Based on | The Intruder by Gabriele d'Annunzio |
Produced by | Giovanni Bertolucci |
Starring | Giancarlo Giannini Laura Antonelli Jennifer O'Neill |
Cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
Edited by | Ruggero Mastroianni |
Music by | Franco Mannino |
Distributed by | Analysis Film Releasing Corporation |
Release dates |
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Running time | 129 minutes |
Countries | Italy France |
Language | Italian |
The main shooting locations were the Villa Mirafiori in Rome, the Villa Butori in Lucca and the Villa Bellosguardo nearby. The soundtrack includes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Rondò Alla Turca and the aria Che farò senza Euridice from Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.
The story is set in the late nineteenth century. Tullio Hermil (Giancarlo Giannini), a wealthy Roman aristocrat married to Giuliana (Laura Antonelli), has a possessive aristocratic mistress, Teresa Raffo (Jennifer O'Neill), and neglects his wife.
His interest in his wife is rekindled when he sees Giuliana's happiness after she has begun a love affair with a novelist, Filippo d'Arborio. She becomes pregnant by d'Arborio. Tullio urges an abortion but she refuses; d'Arborio then dies of a tropical infection.
Tullio cannot tolerate the healthy male child delivered to Giuliana, although he tries. While the family are at Christmas mass he exposes the baby and it dies, apparently of natural causes. Giuliana, who knows Tullio has murdered the baby, leaves him.
Tullio attempts to rekindle his affair with Teresa and takes her to his town house where they attempt to make love. When she tells him she no longer loves him, he shoots himself. Teresa picks up her belongings and leaves the estate.
Visconti originally wanted Alain Delon and Romy Schneider for the roles played by Giannini and Antonelli. But Schneider was unavailable, and Delon was uncomfortable with the idea of working with Visconti in what he considered to be a diminished state, post-stroke. Also considered for a role was Charlotte Rampling, who said Visconti wrote the screenplay with her in mind, but she was unable to do the movie because she was filming Foxtrot.[2]
The Innocent received a mixed to positive critical reception. The film holds a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on twenty reviews.[3]
Films directed by Luchino Visconti | |
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