The Night Porter (1974)

A concentration camp survivor rekindles her sadomasochistic relationship with her lover, a former SS officer - now working as a night porter at a Vienna hotel - but his former Nazi associates begin stalking them.

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 World War II, concentration camp survivor Lucia (Charlotte Rampling) and her tormentor Max (Sir Dirk Bogarde), currently the night porter at a Vienna hotel, meet again and fall back into their sado-masochistic relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | anal sex | oral sex | female full frontal nudity | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

The Most Controversial Picture of Our Time!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Dirk Bogarde considered retiring from acting after making this movie, which he found to be a draining experience.

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Goofs

In the flashbacks, Max is wearing the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords upside down on his SS uniform.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stumm: Good evening.
Max: You're early.
Stumm: I want to get off early tomorrow morning. Ah, here are the flowers, the newspaper and the cigarettes that the countess asked for.
Max: [puts the flowers in a vase] Thank you.
Stumm: Has she called down?
Max: I don't know.
Stumm: You're always sending only me out to buy things for her.
Max: [annoyed] You get tipped, don't you?
Stumm: [sarcastic; shrugs] Oh.

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Connections

Featured in The Look (2011)

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Soundtracks

Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte
(uncredited)
Music by Friedrich Hollaender
Performed by Charlotte Rampling

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

English German Latin

Release Date:

1 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Night Porter

Filming Locations:

Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross USA:

$633,298

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lotar Film Productions, Les Productions Artistes Associés

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1