Info on this film version is available on the video’s notes on YT.
Here’s info on the Opera it’s based on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_Venice_(opera)
This is a two hour opera. I don’t think I have it in me to watch the whole thing. But I skipped around to a few scenes and it’s filmed like a real movie, with outdoor shots and all that. The photography/cinematography looks good. I had no idea that Benjamin Britten was a filmmaker rather than purely a composer.
The opera is based on a famous Thomas Mann novella with the same title. I had to read the novella in school and write a 5 page essay about it. I called the essay “Death on Venus” and that actually went over pretty well.
I think the film was made by Tony Palmer, for the record.
And, Death on Venus sounds more like Heinlein. I’d read that for sure.
My essay argued that the MC in the novella lost control of his actions because his inner urges overpowered his rationality. It started with the famous quote from Forbidden Planet: “My beautiful Krell! They could never know what destroyed them!”. Heh.