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 and Lucia are laughing while caressing each other]
Max: Ah, no, no. Too fast, too fast. Too long. Too long.
[kisses her]
Lucia: Oh, Max, Max...
Max: [stressful] Tell me, why'd you come? Tell me. Tell me!
Lucia: [screams] I WANT YOU!
Max: Tell me what to do. Tell me where to go. Tell me what to do.
Lucia: No...
Max: Tell me what to do!
Lucia: [laughing] No!
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007)

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Soundtracks

Portiere di notte
(uncredited)
Composed by Daniele Paris

User Reviews

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.