Ludwig

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The "Dream King" in a Nightmare!
I have read a considerable amount of material on the life of the tragic Ludwig II of Bavaria. Enough to be totally captivated by the man and his dedication to a life of art and music. For sure, he had many flaws like other leaders, but he was a man made for a future era and was born before his time. This Visconti film had tremendous potential to bring out the truth about this famous eccentric who was in love with the night and was only interested in building castles to fill a romantic vision of Germanic mythology. Unfortunately it fails to communicate properly about the man to the audience. The actor chosen for the role, Helmut Berger, was good. The potential was there, but it falls short. I was much more intrigued by the scenes of Ludwig that were filmed for Richard Burton's "Wagner", and in those short glimpses we understood much more about Ludwig than you will discover in this long film. Especially helpful were the scenes that showed discussions between staffers under Ludwig's employ and the plotting of greedy people. "Wagner" came close but was limited because it was after all a movie about Wagner's whole life. This attempt from 1970 started on the right track with location scenery but appears to be disconnected regarding scenes of Ludwig's life leaving us out of the plot. So much so that to some it appears to be a lot of dark photography of a brooding Ludwig hiding in his castle until the guards come to place him under arrest. Someday I expect the King will be given the full film treatment that he deserves but until now that day has yet to arrive.

Sumptuous, Beautiful, Visconti!
This is marvellous costume drama set in the later nineteenth century, based on the life of the eccentric and fanciful King Ludwig of Bavaria, and set in the splendid palaces and castles that he had constructed according to his whimsically romantic tastes. He is always in search of an ideal fulfillment and love that he cannot find in the world, from which he thus finds himself increasingly detached. His amorous tastes are clearly homoerotic, but he cannot even find what he is looking for in that way either, partly because he cannot find any potential lover whose Romantic sensibility and moody melancholy matches his own. He retreats into his fantasies, expressed through his subsidies of Richard Wagner, his elaborate building programs, and otherwise. And this personal story is juxtaposed with the political context of Prussian ambitions for a greater unified Germany that result in Bavaria's loss of independence. There is thus an atmosphere of foreboding, so that the story is an elegy for a vanished Europe, soon to be lost in the cataclysms of the First and Second World Wars. The effect is ultimately bittersweet and tragic--Ludwig is a man of great imagination, in some ways a poet, unsuited to be king, upon whom the world closes in and finally crushes. Visconti is a great director and this is a great film: not to everyone's tastes, but then what is. Stuff like Titanic is what sells. Visconti's directorial style is perhaps best described as full-blown operatic--very lush, magnificently staged, wonderful to watch just for that, and yet there's much more going on. This is one of the films I love.

Worst film I ever saw
This is one of the worst films I ever saw. So much posing and posturing. Excruciating analysis of the characters' emotional mindframes and moods. Excruciating, period. I thought one would see something about the building of the castles. Not at all. The fact that it is in Italian loses all credibility for this film, and the focus on Ludwig's moodiness is agonizing. So many unconnected bits and pieces are tossed about. There is no real action in the film, i.e. give and take conversation between the characters. It's all moody Ludwig. It's awful, and I can't wait to get rid of it. If you think you are going to see something that shows a flattering picture of the king, you are mistaken. He is made to look like an ogre. The script is particularly awful.

Ludwig II
This movie does not even deserve one star. It was the most disappointing movie I have ever seen. The lighting, the cinematography, and direction was terrible. I bought this set after seeing the Sissi trilogy with Romy Schneider on DVD, on a code free DVD player in the original, which was beautiful. This Ludwig II should be totally trashed and redone properly, with proper lighting, showing the beauty of the scenery properly and without the explanations in between scenes. This is the first time I bought a movie from Amazon.com and the company that distributes and produces this movie - NEVER AGAIN.

worth a watch, if only to see the grotto w swan boat
Ludwig, the mad king of Bavaria, was a very interesting and sad person. He built fantastic fairytale castles and a wonderfull sleigh all in gold that is very ornate.He was not psychologically equipted for real life. This movie just offers a peep into his life, but its a worthwhile peek.