Few Americans are familiar with Visconti's name, and fewer still have seen his films. Only Bellissima, perhaps because it starred Anna Magnani, reached the art-theater circuits in this country. Visconti's films are not even widely known in Europe, even among serious filmgoers. While his work has been honored by special showings in Paris and London, and Cahiers du Cindma has written about him, it is only in Italy that his reputation is formidable, and there partly for reasons (as we shall see) not connected with his films, none of which has enjoyed a great box-office success. In Italy Visconti's prestige is unparalleled among the most informed sections of the movie public. At least half a dozen serious Italian directors (Lizzani and Maselli among them) have chosen Visconti as a creative model for their own work, now or at some time in their