Ludwig - Requiem für einen jungfräulichen König (1972)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg

Writer:

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (writer)

Release Date:

23 June 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Harry Baer	...	Ludwig II
Ingrid Caven	...	Lola Montez & Erste Norne
Balthasar Thomass	...	Ludwig II as child
Oskar von Schab	...	Ludwig I. / Karl May
Edgar Murray	...	Kainz / Winnetou
Peter Kern	...	Lakai Mayr & Hoffriseur Hoppe & Röhm
Gerhard Maerz	...	Richard Wagner (I)
Anette Tirier	...	Richard Wagner (II)
Ursula Strätz	...	Die Bulyowski & Dritte Norne
Hanna Köhler	...	Sissi & Zweite Norne
Johannes Buzalski	...	Emmanuel Geibel / Hitler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Abendroth	...	Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm
Monica Bleibtreu
Rudolf Waldemar Brem	...	Professor Gudden
Gert Haucke	...	Baron Freyschlag
Günther Kaufmann	...	Graf Holnstein
Peter Moland	...	Minissterpräsident Lutz
Peter Przygodda	...	Bismarck
Rudi Scheibengraber	...	Prinzregent Luitpold
Daniel Schmid
Fridolin Werther	...	Kaiser Wilhelm I.

Also Known As:

Ludwig - Requiem for a Virgin King

Runtime:

UK:140 min (16 mm version) | USA:140 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

TMS Film GmbH

Visual Metaphor -- A Good Thing?

This film is an allegorical presentation of the story of Ludwig II. That is, this film depicts the *myth* of Ludwig II. But don't expect the myth to amount to much in terms of a plot. Ludwig's life is told in a series of episodic tableaux, or loosely related visual metaphors (a technique which happens to be one of Syberberg's specialties). This is a good thing, contrary to what you might expect. The clever poetic quality of the film is what constitutes its enjoyment value. At times, however, the symbols are far too ambiguous or esoteric to actually represent anything. The pacing is also unbearably slow at points.

Although Syberberg is usually considered a member of the "Neues Deutsches Kino" movement, his style really has little in common with his contemporaries. You will not find the ungainly, haphazard, gratuitous incoherence typical of Wenders and Herzog. Nor will you find the dark cynicism of those two directors. I would argue that most of this film is genuinely funny, in a subtle and lighthearted way.

You should be aware that Syberberg is prone to the unfortunate Franco-German tendency of characterizing ideas as products of a particular race, and that he spends much time in the film attacking the "Anglo" idea of industrialism. That being said, he also takes swipes at Nazi figures (largely by associating them with the "Anglos"). The politics are at least strange enough to seem pleasingly exotic.