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Ludwig ou le crépuscule des dieux

Original title: Ludwig
  • 1973
  • Tous publics
  • 3h 58m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
6.4K
YOUR RATING
Helmut Berger and Romy Schneider in Ludwig ou le crépuscule des dieux (1973)
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Period DramaBiographyDramaHistory

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

  • Director
    • Luchino Visconti
  • Writers
    • Luchino Visconti
    • Enrico Medioli
    • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
  • Stars
    • Helmut Berger
    • Romy Schneider
    • Trevor Howard
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    6.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Luchino Visconti
    • Writers
      • Luchino Visconti
      • Enrico Medioli
      • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
    • Stars
      • Helmut Berger
      • Romy Schneider
      • Trevor Howard
    • 41User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 8 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Ludwig
    Clip 2:17
    Ludwig

    Photos178

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    Top cast47

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    Helmut Berger
    Helmut Berger
    • Ludwig
    Romy Schneider
    Romy Schneider
    • Elisabeth of Austria
    Trevor Howard
    Trevor Howard
    • Richard Wagner
    Silvana Mangano
    Silvana Mangano
    • Cosima von Bülow
    Gert Fröbe
    Gert Fröbe
    • Father Hoffman
    Helmut Griem
    Helmut Griem
    • Dürckheim
    Izabella Telezynska
    Izabella Telezynska
    • Queen Mother
    Umberto Orsini
    Umberto Orsini
    • Count von Holnstein
    John Moulder-Brown
    John Moulder-Brown
    • Prince Otto
    • (as John Moulder Brown)
    Sonia Petrovna
    Sonia Petrovna
    • Sophie von Wittelstein
    • (as Sonia Petrova)
    Volker Bohnet
    Volker Bohnet
    • Joseph Kainz
    • (as Folker Bohnet)
    Heinz Moog
    • Professor von Gudden
    Adriana Asti
    Adriana Asti
    • Lila von Buliowski
    Marc Porel
    Marc Porel
    • Richard Hornig
    Nora Ricci
    Nora Ricci
    • Countess Ida Ferenczy
    Mark Burns
    Mark Burns
    • Hans von Bülow
    Maurizio Bonuglia
    Maurizio Bonuglia
    • Mayr
    Alexander Allerson
    Alexander Allerson
    • Secretary of State
    • Director
      • Luchino Visconti
    • Writers
      • Luchino Visconti
      • Enrico Medioli
      • Suso Cecchi D'Amico
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews41

    7.56.3K
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    Featured reviews

    dwingrove

    "I Will Remain an Enigma - To the World and to Myself!"

    This long and lavish biopic of the mad Mittel European monarch is both Luchino Visconti's grandest and - oddly enough - his most intimate and personal film. Visconti's autobiography in all but name, it tells the story of a cultured aristocrat who ruins himself through an obsessive love of art, luxury and handsome young men. The film paints King Ludwig as a well-meaning but hapless victim of his grasping courtiers, artists and lovers. If Visconti himself was an arch-manipulator and a bit of a sadist, well...Ludwig is one of those films where life and art never do quite match up.

    Most revealing is its portrayal of the aging king's obsession with a pretty but none-too-talented actor, Joseph Kainz. It is tempting to view their romance as a mirror of Visconti's own passion for the exquisite Helmut Berger, who - a twist within a twist - actually stars as King Ludwig in this film. In the roles he played without Visconti as his Svengali, Berger is barely competent. In Ludwig (as in The Damned) he gives a staggering performance, ranging from fresh-faced idealism to homoerotic heartbreak to bloated waste.

    Shot just after the collapse of Visconti's long-cherished film of Proust, Ludwig is rich in characters who reflect (whether consciously or not) the gilded Belle Epoque monsters that haunt the pages of A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu. As the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, poor Ludwig's magnetic but manipulative cousin, Romy Schneider might just as well be playing the Duchesse de Guermantes. The opportunistic composer Richard Wagner (Trevor Howard) and his scheming wife Cosima (Silvana Mangano) stand in as the vulgar social-climbing Verdurins. The king himself is a kindred spirit of the Baron de Charlus - a doomed aesthete who refined tastes are at odds with his sordid love-life.

    With its majestic cast and flawless photography and design, Ludwig has all the makings of a screen masterpiece. Alas, it falters badly in its last hour - which depicts the bourgeois conspiracy that topples Ludwig from his throne. Perhaps Visconti (who identified so closely with the mad monarch) could not face up to the waning of his own powers. He suffered a crippling stroke after finishing this film, and would never again attempt work on such a scale. Ludwig stands as a flawed testament - as a portrait of one enigma by another.

    >
    10Quibble

    Sumptuous, epic, and wonderful...

    I have not seen the highly edited 180 minute version of Ludwig, available in the US. However, I am lucky enough to have seen the full 4 hour and 7 minute version available on DVD in Germany. Alas, there are no English subtitles or soundtracks, but my mother is fluent in German and so I was able to get a line by line translation!

    And my GOD, was it worth it. Although I felt it was a little slow in places, I was utterly drawn in to Ludwig's world as the film progressed. I can't speak for the US video version, but the full cut is divided into 5 parts. As each part comes and goes, we are steadily immersed into the world of Ludwig II (Helmut Berger in compelling form once more, as he was in Visconti's The Damned [1969]). Ludwig has often been dismissed as "mad", but this film really lets you identify and understand the tormented man's life. One cannot help being on the verge of tears in sympathy towards the end of Part IV, when Ludwig is hiding in his absurdly decadent and expensive castle and Elisabeth (Romy Schnieder) tries to visit him. Wagner's Tristan und Isolde blazes on the soundtrack and he cannot bear to be seen by her in his state. He cries out her name repeatedly and sinks down on the ground. Some people have criticised Berger for being too melodramatic (Helmut 'Ham'-Berger one review once said), but he is perfect in this role. Not only does he strongly resemble the original Ludwig, but his acting is spot-on for capturing Ludwig's romantic and highly emotional personality.

    This film deals with many themes that Visconti continually returned to in his career. It was made after his planned film based on Proust's epic masterpiece 'In Search of Lost Time' fell through (and what wouldn't I give for Visconti to have made that film!!) and might be seen to contain similar themes. There is decadence, decay, decline, homosexuality, and music. Not only is this film a fine study of historical events (the 'wars of Unification' in 1866 and 1870-1), but also of art and music (Ludwig's relationship with Wagner and the influence of Wagnerian art on his life), and of Ludwig's own highly-strung personality.

    In short, this is yet another Visconti masterpiece. It's a CRIME that no-one has given this film a DVD release in its restored (or even any other) form in the US or the UK. The film was also filmed in English, but no English soundtrack is available on the German DVD, or subtitles. Again, this is another example of Visconti's work being overlooked and ignored - the sound quality is also not what it could be (the sound quality on the German track being DIABOLICAL, as opposed to the good Italian track). This film TRULY deserves a proper DVD release - music, direction, acting, and script are superb and this film deserves a far wider audience than it is allowed to receive. At least the German DVD is in the correct aspect ratio (2.35 : 1) as this film deserves to be seen in it's full glory (sets - most the real locations - and costumes are utterly stunning). I urge anyone who reads this to see Ludwig - even if one must resort to a horribly cut VHS version (how can you loose a whole HOUR from this film?!!). This is another Visconti masterpiece and cries out for a better and more widely available DVD release.
    9Barbouzes

    Complete immersion in a vanishing world

    I loved it. The historical story is phenomenal of course, but its treatment by Visconti is not banal either. I just saw the restored version (I am speaking of the 4-hours long version in Italian (subtitled in English) in a movie theater recently on a big screen, and that kind of total immersion in the world of "mad" king Ludwig gives you empathy with this notoriously elusive character, as bizarre as his behavior might have appeared to his contemporaries, and a sensual feel for the era. I am still swooning over the lush art direction, astounding costumes, plethora of decorative details - and it certainly does not hurt that the film crew used the real Bavarian locations of Ludwig's life. Gorgeous Romy Schneider's as Empress Elizabeth of Austria steals the screen from Helmut Berger on her few appearances, but , oh boy, all the actors do a great job, and by the end of movie, this entire cast of strong and weak characters becomes as familiar to the viewer as... your own family.
    10wobelix

    Glitter and glamour with a pale shade of death

    Luchino Visconti's masterpiece - beautifully restored to the full 4 hours+ length on dvd in Germany - is breathtaking due to the Maestro's imprints alone. We see lush castle's, gold glitter, men in black or silver talking morals, and persons fighting their destiny ... and loose. Ludwig has something extra though: never seen the 110% Englishman Trevor Howard better as the very German Richard Wagner. And words will never be enough for yet another brilliant role of Romy Schneider, portraying Elisabeth rather than her renowned Sissy here.

    The sheer brilliance of Visconti comes to light with the performance of Helmut Berger. Quite known as an actor in both Italy and the German speaking territories, he really goes above and beyond in his role as King Ludwig, the boy destined to drown in himself as a man.

    Please do not miss this superb film, even though the bilingual (Italian-German) DVD of Kinowelt/Arthaus silly enough doesn't give any English subtitles.
    9dbdumonteil

    twilight of the Gods

    First released in 1972,with a running time of three hours,the movie was a colossal flop and it was sold by auction.It was the eighties before it was re-released as TV series,with a lot of added scenes :the running time was nearing four hours and the restored scenes gave the movie more substance.Now the film is often broadcast as a whole but its length and its very slow pace might repel some people.

    It should not be missed though;it is one of Visconti's peaks,and probably the most underrated .In "la caduta dei degli"(1969),history was on the stage ,with the rise of the Nazis:the hero,Martin,(also played by Helmut Berger),was some kind of puppet in the hands of his mother and the Hitlerians.In "Ludwig",he stands alone,it's really the story of a solitary man,trying to establish a lasting relationship with one human being:first, Sophie,Sissy's sister :but it was not to succeed because he treated her like a Wagnerian heroin,or a Sissy ersatz .Sissy (Elisabeth,Empress of Austria)was not fooled:"do you want me to be your impossible love? " she says;of course she knew Ludwig was an invert.Wagner made use of Ludwig because he helped his career,but there was no friendship from him.Ludwig had to content himself with his (male) lovers he used to pick up everywhere around.

    As the movie progresses,Ludwig is more and more alone,and his megalomania knows no bound.He makes up for his sad destiny with his extravagant castles,but politically he was still aware.He first refused to raise troops during the 1870 war and reluctantly did because of the Prussian' s pression;that might be the reason why,when you come to Bavaria today,the people there do not accept the fact Ludwig ended his life as an insane.

    Helmut Berger was to make another movie with Visconti(gruppo di famiglia in un interno,1975),then his career quickly waned after Visconti's death;it was really too bad,because he had shown he could be an impressive actor.Romy Schneider portrayed Sissy for the fourth time(after the famous mushy trilogy "Sissi" "Sissi die junge Kaiserin" "Sissi ,Schicksal einer Kaiserin",which Schneider hated,),but this time in a historically accurate way.She acted as though she had got a score to settle with this character.(hear her lines about her husband and her family:it's a far cry from the Ernst Marischka's trilogy)

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    History

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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. She did however concede to put famous diamond decorations in her hair for one short scene.
    • Goofs
      Count von Dürckheim-Montmartin was 16 years old when the German War of 1866 happened. In the movie he is portrayed as a man in his 40s.
    • Quotes

      Elisabeth of Austria: What do you want anyway? To go down in history with the help of Richard Wagner? Like my mother-in-law with her ridiculous painters? If your Richard Wagner is really so great then he doesn't need you. Your pathetic friendship only gives you the illusion to have done something creative. Just like I give you the illusion of love. You don't want to be left alone. You want me to become your unrivalled love. To confirm yourself. You need help I can't give you.

    • Crazy credits
      In the first closing credits every main actor is shown with separate credit. The last one is the one of Romy Schneider, which sets it apart, due to the frame around her name.
    • Alternate versions
      Complete original European version runs 236 minutes; shortened to 173 minutes for US release.
    • Connections
      Edited into Wagner: Episode #1.10 (1983)
    • Soundtracks
      La Périchole
      Written by Jacques Offenbach

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 15, 1973 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • France
      • West Germany
      • Monaco
    • Languages
      • Italian
      • German
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Ludwig - Le crépuscule des Dieux
    • Filming locations
      • Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Bavaria, Germany(on location)
    • Production companies
      • Mega Film
      • Cinétel
      • Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 3h 58m(238 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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