Senso (Criterion Collection)

This lush, Technicolor tragic romance from Luchino Visconti (LE NOTTI BIANCHE, THE LEOPARD) stars Alida Valli (THE THIRD MAN, EYES WITHOUT A FACE) as a nineteenth-century Italian countess who, amid the Austrian occupation of her country, puts her marriage and political principles on the line by engaging in a torrid affair with a dashing Austrian lieutenant, played by Farley Granger (ROPE, STRANGERS ON a TRAIN). Gilded with fearless performances, ornate costumes and sets, and a rich classical soundtrack, Viscontis operatic melodrama is an extraordinary evocation of reckless emotions and deranged lust from one of the cinemas great sensualists.