Raro: First Look at New 4K Restoration of Luchino Visconti's Conversation Piece
HomeRaro: First Look at New 4K Restoration of Luchino Visconti's Conversation Piece
Posted January 13, 2026 09:08 PM by Webmaster
Raro Video and Kino Lorber have provided a promotional trailer for the new 4K restoration of Luchino Visconti's Conversation Piece (1974), starring Burt Lancaster, Helmut Berger, Silvana Mangano, Claudia Cardinale, and Dominique Sanda. A Blu-ray release is scheduled to arrive on the market on March 31.
The new 4K restoration will premiere at Film Forum in New York on January 23, before expanding to select cities nationwide.
Description: A retired professor and art lover leads a solitary life in his abode in Rome. Countess Bianca Brumonti insists on renting a floor of his mansion. He agrees in exchange for a unique painting that he wants for his collection. The arrival of the countess's eccentric family turns his quiet life upside down.
Silvana Mangano and Helmut Berger star alongside Burt Lancaster in the roles of Bianca and her young lover – central characters in this family possessing rather unusual moral values. In the film, the professor succumbs to the charms of Konrad Huebel, despite his vulgar nature. A strange relationship – based on desire and domination – comes to exist between them. For some, this fictitious couple is a metaphor for the relationship that was formed between Luchino Visconti and Helmut Berger.
The restoration was carried out by CSC – Cineteca Nazionale (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) using the original 35mm camera negative and the optical sound negative. Image processing, scanning to 4K, and final grading were completed at Studio Emme, Rome. This new edition restores Visconti's precise chromatic design, elegant interior compositions, and sonic detail with unprecedented clarity and fidelity.
The new 4K restoration will premiere at Film Forum in New York on January 23, before expanding to select cities nationwide.
Description: A retired professor and art lover leads a solitary life in his abode in Rome. Countess Bianca Brumonti insists on renting a floor of his mansion. He agrees in exchange for a unique painting that he wants for his collection. The arrival of the countess's eccentric family turns his quiet life upside down.
Silvana Mangano and Helmut Berger star alongside Burt Lancaster in the roles of Bianca and her young lover – central characters in this family possessing rather unusual moral values. In the film, the professor succumbs to the charms of Konrad Huebel, despite his vulgar nature. A strange relationship – based on desire and domination – comes to exist between them. For some, this fictitious couple is a metaphor for the relationship that was formed between Luchino Visconti and Helmut Berger.
The restoration was carried out by CSC – Cineteca Nazionale (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) using the original 35mm camera negative and the optical sound negative. Image processing, scanning to 4K, and final grading were completed at Studio Emme, Rome. This new edition restores Visconti's precise chromatic design, elegant interior compositions, and sonic detail with unprecedented clarity and fidelity.
