L'Innocente – 1976 Visconti - The Cinema Archives

Visconti’s last film—release just after his death in 1976
The little details in the opening credits are all Visconti—apparently that’s his hand flipping through the actual source material book (not an uncommon or overly inventive credit sequence) with the gorgeous red background and the bedazzled b/w checkered undershirt (of course)

Visconti is master of set design—a defining auteur trait. Costume work here, discussion s around art, aristocratic (opera in the text again, fencing, surrounded by books), flowers, paintings on the wall—heavy use of red- especially in the opening

These gorgeous circular lamps again—he’d use this back in Senso 22 years before, too
Like Senso this is a middle-finger to love—about infatuation, infidelity- man’s inherent selfishness- nihilistic

25 minutes in Visconti brings back the Death in Venice zoom as a man is eyeing Giancarlo Giannini (really good here)’s wife—a great shot as the gaze goes across the room via film style shot choice
A strong fame at 50 minutes of Giannini and his wife framed by the door — two figures in the frame
Giannini’s character is a spider, Machiavellian—it plays out almost like a horror film with the baby- tough to watch—flames in front of his face give you a Biblical-vision of his darkness. Very Pasolini or Bunuel here
A very strong frame with the suicide in the open door and window in the background and then the final shot and freeze frame of Jennifer O’Neil walking away like a Chaplin Modern Times shot