this be a ravishing and yet spare adaption of thomas mann novelette of the same title . dirk bogarde give his fine screen performance he himself believe so . the dialogue be minimal and so his face must register the nuance of his anguished character a composer ( a writer in the novelette the only major alteration ) who travel to venice in 1910. visconti revel in the portrayal of beauty and it pass and and the whiff of decay beneath . train a an opera director and visconti blend mahler music and imagery seamlessly in his fine film since the leopard ( another stunning film and which greatly influence coppola sicily in the godfather ) .