The fabulous architecture, the romantic lagoon, the glorious light and the sense of timelessness that surrounds it make Venice an ideal movie location. Movies set in Venice are tricky because while beautiful, the cities’ tight spaces, water and boats are not friendly to camera equipment. That said dozens of movies have been filmed there through the years. These are some of my favorites.
1 The Tourist (2010) Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Run time: 103m
While not a critical success, this whole film is a journey through the city. The plot is a mess but the cinematography is gorgeous. Watch it with the sound off for a beautiful travelogue of Venice. Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp star as two strangers, one of whom is a math teacher, the other is an undercover agent from Scotland Yard. Among the locations featured are the Palazzo Pisani Moretta with its’ Venetian Gothic flora façade (which stands in for the Hotel Danieli); the Fondaco dei Turchi,( a 9th Century Byzantine palazzo on the Grand Canal featured in a Ball scene):the interior of the Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia (interior shots of the ball); the Arsenal (stands in as the location of Interpol headquarters):and many more including the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni aka the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Piazza San Marco and Giudecca Island.
2 Casino Royale (2006) Director: Martin Campbell, Run time: 144m
Bond film #21 stars Daniel Craig and rebooted the series. It features lots of beautiful globe hopping locales but the climax of the film takes place in Venice. This movie depicts James Bonds’ 1st mission as 007. His mission is to defeat a terrorist funding banker in a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro. Needless to say, things don’t go smoothly and, after the mission, Bond convalesces in Venice. Daniel Craig and Eva Green cruise the Grand Canal in a sailing yacht (something which required special permission as it hadn’t been done in 300 years). One of the best scenes takes place in the Palazzo Pisani, which, seemingly, (spoiler alert) collapses and sinks into the sea! It’s a breathtaking scene and one that leaves you wondering “Did they really do that?” (No palazzos were harmed in the making of this movie.) Among the other locations featured are St. Mark’s Square, the Grand Canal, The Accademia and Rialto bridges, and the Santa Maria della Salute.
3 Summertime (1955) Director: David Lean, Run time: 100m
Starring Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi. Summertime is the story of an unmarried secretary from Ohio who goes on her dream trip to Venice and has a brief but passionate romance with a Venetian shop owner. Most of the film was done in and around St. Mark’s Square and the Campo San Barnaba where Brazzis’ fictional antique shop was located. Kate stays at the Pensione Fiorini (which is now the Splendid Hotel. She visits all the famous places including the islands of Murano and Burano. It’s a beautiful portrayal of the city as seen through the eyes of a tourist. During the filming, Kate had to fall into the Grand Canal by the Church of St. Barnaba for multiple takes, (something she insisted on doing herself). As a result, she caught an eye infection that lasted the rest of her life. See Venice, but stay outta the water!
4 Death in Venice (1971) Director: Luchino Visconti, Run time: 130m
Based on the Thomas Mann novel of the same name. This movie stars Dirk Bogarde. Set in the 1800s, it is the story of a dying composer who goes to Venice to convalesce. While there he becomes obsessed with a young teenage boy staying at his hotel. It’s been described as “a lush, emotional cinematic wallow, with a soundtrack by Gustav Mahler.” Except for a few interior scenes, it was filmed almost entirely in Venice. Among the locations featured are the maze of small canal side paths behind the Teatro La Fenice opera house, St. Marks Square, the beach at the Lido and the Grand Hotel des Bains on the Lido.
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Director: Steven Spielberg, Run time: 128m
The third Indiana Jones movie contains one of my favorite scenes filmed in Venice. Like the 007 films, the Indiana Jones movies are famous for their globe-trotting settings. While most of this movie was filmed on soundstages in England, they did actually film in Venice too. One of this films highlights is a thrilling motorboat chase through Venice’s’ Grand Canal. It’s considered one of the best chase sequences in the entire Indiana Jones franchise. The Campo San Barnaba and the Church of St. Barnaba are stand-ins for the library Indiana visits to search for clues to the location of his missing father. The church is a plain building built in the 18th century with one of the oldest bell towers in the city. It’s no longer used as a church but instead contains various exhibits. Other locations featured in the movie include: Ponte dei Pugni Bridge, and the Fondamenta Alberti which is one of the longest canal side streets in Venice.
6. The Wings of the Dove (1997) Director: Iain Softley, Run time: 102m
This movie is based on the novel of the same name by Henry James. Helene Bonham Carter stars as a broke English woman living in Venice with her aunt. Circumstances force her to choose between a privileged life with her wealthy aunt and a poor life with her journalist lover. She befriends a dying American heiress who is attracted to her (Helene’s) own lover. She hatches a plan to have both the privileged life and the lover she can’t live without. The city becomes a character in the film, dazzles with its’ beauty. Its’ gondolas, palazzi are portrayed in lush period style as a backdrop to the story. The movies sober London locations are contrasted with Venice’s’ brilliant locales. Locations featured include St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica, Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, the magnificent Santa Maria della Saute, and the Palazzo Barbaro (where, incidently, Henry James wrote the original novel).
7. Casanova (2005)Director: Lasse Hallström, Run time: 112m
Casanova is synonymous with Venice. In this movie, Heath Ledger stars as Giacomo Casanova, a notorious womanizer who is facing expulsion from Venice by the Doge for crimes against morality…unless he gets married. The problem is, the woman he falls in love with seems impervious to his charms. In a movie filled with mistaken identities, there’s no doubt who the real star is, Venice in all its magnificent splendor. This movie is one of the rare films shot entirely in Venice and it is truly is a love story to the city. It’s a portrayal of Venice as we like to imagine her in all her glory in the late 1700s. From the grandeur of the interiors in the Doges’ Palace, to the visual feast and sumptuousness of a Venetian Carnevale, this movie recreates the look and feel one imagines when one thinks of Venice. Featured locations are too numerous to list but highlights include a recreation of the famous Venetian Carnevale in St. Marks Square, a night-time hot air balloon ride over the city (CGI but who cares), interiors of the gothic Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel which dates from the 1470s, the Grand Canal, St. Marks Square, a dazzling l masked ball was filmed in the Scuola di San Rocco, The Doge’s Palace, the magnificent façade of Santa Maria della Salute, and the Palazzetto Pisani.
8. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) Director: Anthony Minghella, Run time: 139m
Based on Patricia Highsmiths’ novel of the same name, this movie stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, with Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchette. In the late 1950s Tom Ripley, a scheming young man who thinks it’s better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody, is hired by the parents of a rich spoiled playboy, Dicky Greenleaf, to convince him to return to the U.S. from Italy. Ripley worms his way into the lives of Dicky and his girlfriend but things don’t go quite as planned. A case of mistaken identity escalates into a web of lies and ends in murder. Portions of the movie take place in Venice. The Café Florian on St. Marks Square, the Calle Traghetto Vecchio and the basilica Santa Maria della Salute are all featured in scenes.
9. Brideshead Revisited (2008) Director: Julian Jarrold, Run Time: 133M
This film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Evelyn Waugh. Matthew Goode stars as Charles Ryder, a man who befriends the wealthy British Lord Sebastian Flyte (played by Ben Whishaw) and becomes wrapped up in his life and family. They travel to Venice early in the film and stay at Sebastians’ Venetian palace which is actually the Palazzo Contarini Polignac, a late 15th century Palazzo right on the Grand Canal. In the early 1900s, this palazzo belonged to the daughter of Isaac Singer (the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company) and was the site of a great artistic and intellectual salon which hosted many famous musicians and artists. Today the palazzo is a private residence. While only a portion of the movie is set in Venice it’s worth seeing. Featured locations include the canal and square of the Church of the Holy Apostles, a 7th century Catholic church (one of the oldest in the city), and the Basilica of Zanipolo, (one of the largest churches in the city and built in the late 1300s-1400s).
10. Don’t Look Now (1973) Directory: Nicolas Roeg, Run Time: 110M
Adapted from a short story by Daphne du Maurier, this is a thriller starring Julie Christie & Donald Sutherland. They portray a married couple who travel to Venice after the accidental death of their daughter. He’s there to renovate one of the cities old churches. If you can’t stand dreamy, romantic, travel films and love a good thriller, this one is probably for you. Venice in this film is dark and crumbling. Locations include; the Hotel Gabrielli (a Gothic palazzo overlooking St Mark’s Basin waterfront); the Church of St. Nicholas of the Beggars (one of the oldest churches in the city, dating from the 12th Century); and the interiors of the magnificent Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa.
Sirocco Books 