Ossessione in Context: An Analysis of the F oundations and Achievements of Luchino Visconti's First Film Marco Della Motta Department of ltalian Studies McGill University, Montreal January 2007 A thesis submitted to Mc Gill University in partial fui filment of the requirements of the degree ofMaster of Arts © Marco Della Motta, 2007 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-32515-5 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-32515-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page cou nt, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 would Iike to extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to Prof. Eugenio Bolongaro, whose guidance, encouragement, insight, and profound acumen enabled me to complete this thesis. He provided inspiration when 1 had none, and he rekindled interest when 1 thought it was lost and for aIl that, 1 will be eternally grateful. 1 would also like to sincerely thank my parents, who se loving support kept nudging me towards the conclusion of this lengthy process. This thesis is for them inasmuch as it is for me. 1 would like to express my heartfelt and loving thanks to Geneviève Lachance who always believed 1 could fmish this when 1 was no longer sure 1 could. Last but certainly not least, 1 would also like to thank Dr. Brian Greenfield who not only underscored but helped me understand the importance of finishing what one has started. ABSTRACT The following thesis focuses on the Italian director, Luchino Visconti and his first feature film,Ossessione. It evaluates his film in relation not only to the director's biography but also to its historical and cinematic context. It deals with the manner in which Ossessione was adapted from an American roman noir, refashioning it in its own distinctive way. In addition, it analyses the film' s relation to generic modes of representation, specifically realism and melodrama, and concludes by situating the work as a precursor ofthe Neorealist movement of the mid-20th century. RÉSUMÉ Le mémoire suivant se concentre sur le réalisateur italien Luchino Visconti et son tout premier film, Ossessione. Il étudie le film en relation à la biographie de l'auteur, de même qu'à son contexte historique et cinématographique. Il se concentre aussi sur la façon dont Luchino Visconti a adapté Ossessione à partir d'un romain noir américain. Enfin, il analyse le film et sa relation aux modes génériques de représentation, particulièrement au réalisme et mélodrame, et le situe comme un exemple précurseur du mouvement néoréaliste. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE ............................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 2: THE PARIS YEARS ................................................................................................................ 14 1. A BERLIN PRELUDE ....................................................................................................................... 14 2. CELEBRITIES AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS ................................................................................... 16 3. LOVE? IDEOLOGY? AESTHETICS? PARIS OF COURSE! .................................................................. 20 CHAPTER 3: THE MAKING OF OSSESSIONE ........................................................................................ 28 1. ITALIAN CINEMA ENTRE-DEUX-GUERRES: THE FOUNDATIONS OF A QNEMATIC RENAISSANCE .................................................................... 28 2. FASCISMHAsITS SAY ................................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER 3: THE MELODRAMA OF A CERTAIN REALISM ........................................................... .43 1. THE FICKLENESS OF MELODRAMA ................................................................................................ 44 2. SEARCHINGFORREALITY .............................................................................................................. 49 2.1 Kracauer, Realism and Narrative ..................................................................................... 49 2.2 Bazin and the Artifice ofRealism ...................................................................................... 54 3. THE REALISM OF MELODRAMA? ................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 4: CRIMES OF OBSESSION ..................................................................................................... 63 1. ACT 1: THE BUSINESS OF SEDUCTION ........................................................................................... 63 1.1 The Siren's Cal! ................................................................................................................. 64 1.2 Conjèssions in the Bedroom .............................................................................................. 67 1.3 Death's Shadow ................................................................................................................. 69 1.4 Love on the Run? ............................................................................................................... 70 2. ACT II: TRANSGRESSIONS ............................................................................................................. 71 2.1 The Vicissitudes ofa Character ........................................................................................ 72 2.2 The Question ofthe Gaze .................................................................................................. 73 2.3 Murder ................................................................................................................................ 77 3. ACT III: RETRIBUTION ................................................................................................................... 78 3.1 Greed and Guilt ................................................................................................................. 79 3.2 The Last Chance ................................................................................................................ 80 3.3 Confessions in a Brothel .................................................................................................... 83 3.4 The Futility ofHope and Reconciliation ........................................................................... 85 4. TYINo LOOSE ENDS ....................................................................................................................... 88 CONCLUSION: ALMOST NEOREALIST .................................................................................................. 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................................................. 98 11 Introduction To the initiated, the name Luchino Visconti conjures contradictory associations and impressions. An aristocrat by birth yet Communist by ideology who lived his life throughout in the comfort of luxury and was consequently mocked for his choice of lifestyle by other supposed Leftists, the likes among whom even include one of the most eccentric of the past century's artists, Salvador Dali. His homosexuality was a subject of great ambivalence, a subject which at times expressed Îtself through contempt for others homosexuals and homosexuality in general and, of course, did not go unnoticed. A man who possessed a remarkable generosity and by turns an equally remarkable capacity for tyranny over others in his circle and those with whom he worked. An artist who relished tradition, who could not and did not want to extricate himself from