v.
orig. Don Luchino Visconti, count di Modrone
born Nov. 2, 1906, Milan
died March 17, 1976, Rome
Italian film and theatre director.
Born into the nobility, he became an assistant to Jean Renoir in 1935. He directed his first film, Ossessione (1942), in a style foreshadowing the Neorealism of Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica . His later films include the documentary-style drama La terra trema (1948), Senso (1954), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), The Leopard (1963, Golden Palm), The Damned (1969), and Death in Venice (1971). As a stage director, he introduced to Italy works by Jean Cocteau , Arthur Miller , and Tennessee Williams , and he staged operas starring Maria Callas that combined realism and spectacle.