Luchino Visconti season announced for BFI Southbank in January 2025

In partnership with Cinecittà, today we announce the full programme for Luchino Visconti: Decadence & Decay, a new season celebrating the work of the Italian filmmaker from 1 to 30 January 2025 at BFI Southbank.

A pioneer of the Italian neorealism movement, as well as a maestro of luxurious historical drama, Luchino Visconti was an artist of great contradiction and a singular product of his time.  With an eye for the darkness of dynastic power struggles and the volatility of men obsessed by the past, his work revelled in wry humour and bold sensuality, from his early neorealist pictures to the opulent period pieces he would become known for. 

Beyond the precision of his historical detail and costuming, Visconti was also a filmmaker of psychological acuity, capturing the perversity, despair and cruelty of individuals who strive to make or remake meaning in a changing world. Behind the painterly elegance, Visconti’s cinema is one of queer desire, hysteria and transgression. Titles screening throughout January will include Ossessione (1943), La terra trema (1948), The Leopard (1963), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), Ludwig (1973) and The Innocent (1976), with several 4K restorations and 35mm prints playing courtesy of season partner Cinecittà.

A centrepiece of the BFI season will be the BFI Distribution re-release of Visconti’s operatic and poignant story of brotherhood, Rocco and His Brothers (1960), in select cinemas nationwide from 3 January. This hypnotically beautiful tale of relocation, loss and sacrifice charts the fortunes of a family who move from a farm in the rural south to find work in modern Milan. Of the five brothers accompanying their mother, Alain Delon’s Rocco is tasked with trying to manage the hedonistic appetites of Renato Salvatori’s Simone. They both fall into the shadowy world of boxing, but when they also fall in love with the same woman their loyalties are tested. A screening at BFI Southbank on 6 January will be introduced by film critic and season curator Christina Newland, with the film also available to stream on BFI Player from 3 January.

“The inherent contradictions of Luchino Visconti’s cinema have always fascinated me,” says Newland. “From my first viewings of Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard onward, I remain dazzled by his painterly tableaus, his eye for the vagaries of the human heart, and his sense of operatic melodrama. Today, in times no less politically troubled and morally skewed than his own, to look upon the works of Visconti – a visionary artist in the truest sense, formed by his unique times and unlikely to be replicated again – is important. It is to celebrate the belief that piercing philosophical and political insight can walk hand-in-hand with maximalist beauty.”

“We are proud of our ongoing collaboration with the BFI,” says Chiara Sbarigia, president of Cinecittà, “which has promoted our legacy over the years by showcasing exhibitions dedicated to Italian masters like Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Bernardo Bertolucci, and many more. Visconti is a visual maestro – his profoundly melancholic vision has brought unforgettable characters to life, blending realism, beauty, and drama with a unique touch.”

The BFI Southbank season will launch with Visconti and His Cinema: Decadence and Decay on 9 January, when Newland will be joined by a panel of guests to take an illustrated journey through the life and films of Visconti – from lesser-known gems to canonical classics. Particular attention will be paid to his unique relationship to fashion and costume design, queer desire and sexuality, and the broad canvas of 20th century Italian history. Meanwhile, 25 & Under: Introduction to Luchino Visconti, a fun and accessible crash course presented by Newland on 11 January, will look at the life, work and influence of Visconti.