With this time of the cuckoo, I did not hear a waltz. This Joseph Losey drama is a very depressing account of amoral people, either using others (leading man Stanley Baker steals his brother's work; leading lady Jeanne Moreau steals his heart and stomps on it), and two decent people get hurt in the meantime. Virni Lisi could have chosen director Giorgio Albertazzi who truly loves her, but she marries Baker who ends up breaking her heart. Baker it seems would rather have his heart smashed to bits by the self centered prostitute Moreau than be with the completely decent Lisi. The years go by. One dies, and an obsession continues, and there's no "Fatal Attraction" ending in sight, unfortunately.
With lots of Venice locations (and a bit of Rome), this would have been more pictorial had it been in cplor, but the black and white photography is as black and white as the characters played by Moreau and Baker. You get a hint of the greatness this could have been, but the novel this is based on is one that apparently either could not be filmed, or perhaps the wrong director was chosen. I had no sympathy for Baker, yet I wanted Moreau to at least get some comeuppance. I guess I had to create that in my mind knowing what her future as she aged had in store for her, but that was more my guess than anything that the story reveals. Baker has Sean Connery style looks, but unfortunately, his character is indeed a loser. The repeat of two Billie Holliday over and over after a while added to the tediousness. Not the artistic triumph Losey hoped for, just a pretentious bore.
With lots of Venice locations (and a bit of Rome), this would have been more pictorial had it been in cplor, but the black and white photography is as black and white as the characters played by Moreau and Baker. You get a hint of the greatness this could have been, but the novel this is based on is one that apparently either could not be filmed, or perhaps the wrong director was chosen. I had no sympathy for Baker, yet I wanted Moreau to at least get some comeuppance. I guess I had to create that in my mind knowing what her future as she aged had in store for her, but that was more my guess than anything that the story reveals. Baker has Sean Connery style looks, but unfortunately, his character is indeed a loser. The repeat of two Billie Holliday over and over after a while added to the tediousness. Not the artistic triumph Losey hoped for, just a pretentious bore.