Ludwig (1973)

The reign of the tormented Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from 1864 to 1886.

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Luchino Visconti (story and screenplay), Enrico Medioli (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helmut Berger	...	Ludwig
Romy Schneider	...	Elisabeth of Austria
Trevor Howard	...	Richard Wagner
Silvana Mangano	...	Cosima Von Bülow
Gert Fröbe	...	Father Hoffman
Helmut Griem	...	Dürckheim
Izabella Telezynska	...	Queen Mother
Umberto Orsini	...	Count Von Holnstein
John Moulder-Brown	...	Prince Otto (as John Moulder Brown)
Sonia Petrovna	...	Sophie (as Sonia Petrova)
Folker Bohnet	...	Joseph Kainz
Heinz Moog	...	Professor Von Gudden
Adriana Asti	...	Lila Von Buliowski
Marc Porel	...	Richard Hornig
Nora Ricci	...	Countess Ida Ferenczy

Storyline

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandonned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.

---

Plot Keywords:

downward spiral | king | richard wagner | madness | epic | 

---

Taglines:

Why Care What the World Thinks...When You Are the World

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany Monaco

Language:

Italian German French

Release Date:

8 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ludwig: The Mad King of Bavaria

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mega Film, Cinétel, Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

238 min 186 min (original) 144 min (original) 185 min (original) 133 min (Press Sheet)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Romy Schneider only agreed to reprise the trademark role of her youth as Empress Elisabeth of Austria if the role would avoid all the usual clichés associated with the character and she would be allowed to portray Elisabeth as the cynical and disillusioned woman Elisabeth was known to be historically, though she did concede to put famous diamond decorations in her hair for one short scene.

---

Quotes

Ludwig: But it's easier to fight a duel than to write a letter.

---

Alternate Versions

The recent Fox Lorber video release runs approx. 236 minutes. It was listed, in the opening credits as the "versione integrale" in Italian, produced with the association of RAI. At the end of the film, it credits the dubbers.

---

Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994)

---

Soundtracks

Elegy for Piano in A Flat Major
Written by Richard Wagner

User Reviews

Ludwig

After "Death Of Venice" , this is the second Time I have Encountered Visconti, again its Self- obsessed protagonist captured me. I need more background information about Ludwig II, the mad king of Bavaria. But as far as this film, it solidify Visconti's status of a unique director, a master of gilded resplendence.

The film has extravagant settings which could easily amaze everyone in spite of different backgrounds. I have to say only Visconti has this privilege as he has "blue blood" running inside his veins.

Ludwig is a proud black swan, noble and pure, maybe reflects the image of Visconti himself. His tragedy is that he is not suitable to be a king, he pursues art more than politics, and his homosexuality does offend some people. At his position his demise is destined and nothing he could do to avoid it, it's so cruel to see how he suffers all the way, the ultimate death is the best way to save his dignity as a human being.

The film is almost 4 hours, I have to watch it separately, which helps a lot to digest it. And Helmut Berger is so vulnerable and convincing in his role as Ludwig, plus at that time he was also Visconti's muse. I wonder how come he hasn't become more famous as he unfurls a unisex fascination from this film even could defeat Alain Delon at his peak youth.

Watching Visconti's film is a totally different experience from watching Antonioni's. They both excel over each other in their own ways, by far I still can not figure out I like whose films more, need to see more films from both of them.