The Night Porter (1974)

After a chance meeting at a hotel in 1957, a Holocaust survivor and the Nazi officer who tortured her resume their sadomasochistic relationship.

Director:

Liliana Cavani

Writers:

Liliana Cavani (screenplay), Italo Moscati (screenplay)

Stars:

Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dirk Bogarde	...	Max
Charlotte Rampling	...	Lucia
Philippe Leroy	...	Klaus
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Hans
Giuseppe Addobbati	...	Stumm
Isa Miranda	...	Countess Stein
Nino Bignamini	...	Adolph
Marino Masé	...	Atherton (as Marino Mase')
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

Storyline

Thirteen years after WWII a concentration camp survivor (Rampling) and her tormentor, currently the night porter at a Vienna hotel, meet again and fall back into their sado-masochistic relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

female full frontal nudity | female nudity | 1950s | survivor | ss | 

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Taglines:

The Most Controversial Picture of Our Time!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Night Porter

Filming Locations:

Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lotar Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dirk Bogarde considered retiring from acting after making this film, which he found a draining experience.

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Goofs

In the flashback with the ballet dancer, dancing in a kind of gym, there is a shot with a poster of Himmler against a pillar. There are also 2 guards standing on the right. A bit later the same angle and the poster is gone and the guards have disappeared.

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Quotes

Max: I met her again... my little girl.
Countess Stein: You mean, the little girl from then?
[Max nods]
Max: [clears his throat] I found her again. I found her again. And no one must touch her!
Countess Stein: Who'd dream of touching her?
[Max gestures with his hands in objection]
Countess Stein: Oh, Max, be careful. Before she could testify against you, you should file her away.
Max: Oh... oh, no.
Countess Stein: But...
Max: No... I love her.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Celebrity Naked Ambition (2011)

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Soundtracks

Don Juan
(uncredited)
Music by Christoph Willibald Gluck

User Reviews

Shocking without being vulgar. A gem.

In some ways this film is still very shocking. Although it is neither violent nor vulgar, the situation is disturbing and violent -actually it's something we DON'T see with our eyes: a psychological violence.

Some years after the end of Second World War, a woman meets in a hotel her jailer during her concentration camp period. He was an SS officer, now he's a night porter. With him she re-starts a relationship made of attraction and sadomasochism.

The film is shocking because it describes an insane situation, led by two insane people. These are the disturbing elements of the film, because spectators don't feel well in seeing that. The atmosphere has something very icy and miserable. I think it's precisely Liliana Cavani's goal: a study of insanity, without self-indulgence.

After 30 years "Night porter" remains a gem. An intelligent movie, full of provocation. Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde are extraordinary.