Il portiere di notte (1974)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

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:

Porter | Hotel | Concentration Camp | Vienna | 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:

Sonata 1950

A masterpiece.

A jaw-dropping study on love in the most obscure of circumstances. It's an intense and compelling study of these characters who flow in the most opposite of circles (one a Nazi, the other a Jewish prisoner in the concentration camp he works at) and a love that transcends anything I've imagined experiencing. I've heard the film called dull numerous times and I could see why one would think this, but I thought the haunting silences only made the film more engaging and had my eyes further glued to the screen. The structure of spasmodically switching from scenes in the concentration camp to when the two lovers see each other again in 1957 really helped put the viewer into the mind-set of the two main characters. It jars the mind and keeps us aware of this inordinate love and why these people are so confused and attracted to one another. A truly original technique that I really admired. Liliana Cavani uses angles and wide-shots that create a haunting sense of passion and really made the cinematography rank high among my all time favorites. Dick Bogarde and especially Charlotte Rampling are phenomenal. Their performances are passionate, intense and natural. The film certainly lived up to my expectations.