One of the Greats, Luchino Visconti, Born on this Day in 1906

Luchino Visconti, who began making films as Jean Renoir’s assistant in 1935 and went on to a career as one of the world’s greatest filmmaking masters, was born on this date on 1906. He did not make as many features as many of his contemporaries but he really made his work count, with epics such as THE LEOPARD, ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS and THE DAMNED among his finest works. In addition to his work on the screen he was an eminent director of Grand Opera, and he staged four Maria Callas productions at La Scala in Milan, along with many others.

Here’s a documentary that gives some insight into the mature Visconti’s craft, as he works with Helmut Berger, Ingrid Thulin and others on the set of THE DAMNED (1969).