Il portiere di notte (1974)

Director:

Liliana Cavani

Writers:

Barbara Alberti (story)
Liliana Cavani (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 October 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Most Controversial Picture of Our Time!

Plot:

Thirteen years after WWII a concentration camp survivor (Rampling) and her tormentor, currently the night porter at a Vienna hotel...

Plot Keywords:

Night Porter | Hotel | SS | Porter | Nazi

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Maximilian Theo Aldorfer
Charlotte Rampling	...	Lucia Atherton
Philippe Leroy	...	Klaus
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Hans
Giuseppe Addobbati	...	Stumm
Isa Miranda	...	Countess Stein
Nino Bignamini	...	Adolph
Marino Masé	...	Atherton
Amedeo Amodio	...	Bert
Piero Vida	...	Day Porter
Geoffrey Copleston	...	Kurt
Manfred Freyberger	...	Dobson (as Manfred Freiberger)
Ugo Cardea	...	Mario
Hilda Gunther	...	Greta
Nora Ricci	...	The Neighbor

Also Known As:

The Night Porter (USA)

Runtime:

118 min | Argentina:116 min | Italy:115 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Japan:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 (1975) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Ital-Noleggio Cinematografico

Trivia:

According to an interview given by Charlotte Rampling on the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air", the scene where she dances and sings topless in a Nazi outfit was the first scene filmed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte

I can't get this out of my head!

I saw this film quite by accident last night on IFC and have been walking around in a state of near tears ever since. What really struck me about the story was not the sadomasochistic aspect which I actually found to be rather minor, (He slaps her around a bit and there is a scene where she is chained to a bed), but rather the tenderness and love shown by Max. He calls her "his little girl" throughout the movie and indeed that seems to be the most accurate description of his feelings. I couldn't help thinking of Lolita and indeed it is a similar idea. In both stories the man is both the tormentor and the tormented. Because he is in a position of absolute power of course he is the exploiter, but also it is almost as though he is held captive by "her", the illusive girl/child/women he want to both take care of the way one would a daughter and also penetrate like a lover. And in both stories this proves of course to be impossible as the mans very nature (in one case he is a pedophile, in another a Nazi) prevents it from being so.