Ludwig (1972)

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Luchino Visconti (story) and
Enrico Medioli (story) ...

Release Date:

8 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero...

Plot Keywords:

King | Madness | Bavaria | Wagner | Based On Supposedly True Story

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins

Cast

Helmut Berger	...	King Ludwig II of Bavaria
Trevor Howard	...	Richard Wagner
Silvana Mangano	...	Cosima Von Buelow
Gert Fröbe	...	Father Hoffmann
Helmut Griem	...	Count Duerckheim
Izabella Telezynska	...	Queen Mother
Umberto Orsini	...	Count Von Holstein
John Moulder-Brown	...	Prince Otto
Sonia Petrovna	...	Sophie
Folker Bohnet	...	Joseph Kainz
Heinz Moog	...	Professor Gudden
Adriana Asti	...	Lila Von Buliowski
Marc Porel	...	Richard Hornig
Nora Ricci	...	Countess Ida Ferenczy
Mark Burns	...	Hans Von Buelow

Also Known As:

Ludwig - Le crépuscule des Dieux (France)
Ludwig II (West Germany)
Ludwig: The Mad King of Bavaria (USA) (long title)

Runtime:

235 min | USA:186 min (original release) | West Germany:144 min (original release) | Italy:185 min (original release)

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

Italian | German | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:T (re-rated) | Italy:VM14 (original rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:12 | Spain:13 | Netherlands:6 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Mega Film

Trivia:

Director Luchino Visconti suffered a stroke during filming.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Costumes from the Films of Visconti (1978)

Soundtrack:

La Périchole

twilight of the Gods

First released in 1972,with a running time of three hours,the movie was a colossal flop and it was sold by auction.It was the eighties before it was re-released as a TV series,with a lot of added scenes :the running time was nearing four hours and the restored scenes gave the movie more substance.Now the film is often broadcast as a whole but its length and its very slow pace might repel some people.

It should not be missed though;it is one of Visconti's peaks,and probably the most underrated .In "la caduta dei degli"(1969),history was on the stage ,with the rise of the Nazis:the hero,Martin,(also played by Helmut Berger),was some kind of puppet in the hands of his mother and the Hitlerians.In "Ludwig",he stands alone,it's really the story of a solitary man,trying to establish a lasting relationship with one human being:first, Sophie,Sissy's sister :but it was not to succeed because he treated her like a Wagnerian heroin,or a Sissy ersatz .Sissy (Elisabeth,Empress of Austria)was not fooled:"do you want me to be your impossible love? " she says;of course she knew Ludwig was an invert.Wagner made use of Ludwig because he helped his career,but there was no friendship from him.Ludwig had to content himself with his (male) lovers he used to pick up everywhere around.

As the movie progresses,Ludwig is more and more alone,and his megalomania knows no bound.He makes up for his sad destiny with his extravagant castles,but politically he was still aware.He first refused to raise troops during the 1870 war and reluctantly did because of the Prussian' s pression;that might be the reason why,when you come to Bavaria today,the people there do not accept the fact Ludwig ended his life as an insane.

Helmut Berger was to make another movie with Visconti(gruppo di famiglia in un interno,1975),then his career quickly waned after Visconti's death;it was really too bad,because he had shown he could be an impressive actor.Romy Schneider portrayed Sissy for the fourth time(after the famous mushy trilogy "Sissi" "Sissi die junge Kaiserin" "Sissi ,Schicksal einer Kaiserin",which Schneider hated,),but this time in an historically accurate way.She acts as if she has got a score to settle with this character.(hear her lines about her husband and her family:it's a far cry from the Ernst Marischka's trilogy)