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.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 8 wins & 7 nominations total
John Moulder-Brown
- Prince Otto
- (as John Moulder Brown)
Sonia Petrovna
- Sophie von Wittelstein
- (as Sonia Petrova)
Volker Bohnet
- Joseph Kainz
- (as Folker Bohnet)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRomy 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.
- GoofsCount 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 creditsIn 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 versionsComplete original European version runs 236 minutes; shortened to 173 minutes for US release.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994)
- SoundtracksLa Périchole
Written by Jacques Offenbach
Featured review
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.
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.
helpful•41
- lasttimeisaw
- Aug 14, 2010
- How long is Ludwig?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ludwig: The Mad King of Bavaria
- Filming locations
- Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Bavaria, Germany(on location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime3 hours 58 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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