The Damned (1969)

Visconti's bizarre examination of a powerful and wealthy family whose downfall both parallels the rise and foreshadows the fall of the Third Reich is never less than entertaining, it has to be said. Certainly not to the tastes of all, it seems to revel in the decadence and debauchery it portrays in much the same way a tabloid paper feels it has to publish dozens of photographs of the pornography it pretends to condemn. Look how depraved these incestuous cross-dressing Nazis were; apart from one pious voice the whole nation, it seems, is condemned with one broad stroke and we are given no contrast against which to compare such depravity.

The characters of the Von Essenbach family are each representative of a facet of 30s German character, all joined in a desire for power or the need to be protected beneath its wing, prone to making strident and unyielding demands and dismissing the rights of those who stand in their way. This leaves us with a morally repugnant lot, none of whom we can empathise with, and also tempts the cast to overact at times. Ingrid Thulin is particularly guilty, and even the usually laconic Dirk Bogarde becomes overwrought at times.

For all these faults, the film is shamelessly entertaining and fascinating to watch. It plays like a Shakespearian tragedy at times, and you feel compelled to see it through to the end just to find out the fate of each character.

Fmovies: Visconti outdid himself on this one! In 'The Damned' we take a long look into the dark world of a perverted German family during Hitler's rise to power. Little bit of everything in this one; treachery, murder, incest, molestation... nothing pretty here, but a fantastic story. Well told and nicely photographed, The Damned is not for the squeamish, but very much worth a look.

The first chapter in Lucino Visconti's trilogy of "German Decadence", "The Damned" ("Götterdämmerung"), 1969 is a deep and heavy drama; or rather tragedy with many references to Shakespearean and ancient tragedies themes. The film follows a German rich industrialist family, the munitions manufacturers (possibly modeled after Germany's Krupp family) who attempts to keep their power during the rise of Nazism regime. It takes place from the night of the Reichstag fire when the Von Essenbecks have gathered in celebration of the patriarch Joachim's birthday to their eventual downfall ("The Fall of Gods" is the film's Italian title) shortly after the Night of Long Knives.

A Marxist and an aristocrat, Visconti was both repelled by and drawn to the decaying society that he depicts in impressive and loving details and often in a flamboyant style - the examples are the scene with Helmut Berger impersonating Marlene Dietrich's Lola-Lola "Blue Angel", the beer party, the orgy and following them massacre during the "Night of Long Knives".

Both film's titles, "The Damned" and "The Fall of the Gods" prepare us for entering the gates of Inferno - "Abandon hope all ye who enter here". The characters we met, the members of the respected and famous family are "Fallen Gods" and they are ready to take the eternal damnation of their souls in the exchange for Power which is above money, love or any human feelings. The weakest and tender will vanish; the most unscrupulous, merciless, backstabbing, hating and cruel will celebrate on this feast during the time of plague.

The acting is very impressive by all members of a fine international cast that includes Ingrid Thulin, Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Renaud Verley, Umberto Orsini and Helmut Berger. I just want to say couple of words about Ingrid Thulin (Baroness Sophie, the widowed daughter in law of a steel baron Joachim) and Helmut Berger as her son, Martin. I've never seen Ingrid Thulin as beautiful, desirable yet wicked and evil as the German Lady Macbeth/Queen Gertrude/Agrippina the Younger. I dare say that I like her in Visconti's film better than in Bergman's films that made her world famous. Helmut Berger was born to play Martin - immoral, corrupted, and bad to the bone playboy-pedophile Hamlet/Nero in Nazi uniform yet at some point strangely sympathetic. And was he pretty as Lola-Lola :).

8/10

The Damned fmovies. Most of the previous reviews noted the link in this sumptuous piece of high camp with Hamlet, but only one noted the secondary English title was a direct reference to Wagner's Twilight of the Gods. Presenting the rise of Nazism as a camp Wagnerian Soap Opera was what Visconti was after, I think. He succeeds brilliantly. Yes, it is distasteful in it's perversions, but Nazism was pretty distasteful in it's reality, and perverted too. I am not gay, but the Night of the Long Knives is one of the most memorable bits of cinematography I have seen- a cross dressing SA thug by the Wannansee having a premonition of doom at the hands of the SS- go figure! Thulin and Rampling are superb, Bogarde believable (in an utterly unbelievable role), and Berger chews the carpet in a way that gives overacting a good name. Not to be missed.

Caduta degli dei, La is one of the most shocking movies in screen history. I truthfully don't believe this film could be made today, it's just too perverted.

Swedish actress Ingrid Thulin of Wild Strawberries fame is fantastic as a ruthless countess who will do anything, and I mean anything to achieve her desires for power. About 44 years old in 1969, Thulin presents a sexy and dangerous screen aura. She's blonde, lanky, and uses her stunning exotic looks and fit body to get what she wants.

This film is very demented, but it's symbolic of the fall of normality in Germany as the Nazi Party gains power. Scenes of gay orgies, nude men, gay cross dressers, and child molestation leave a bitter taste in your mouth. However, Ingrid Thulin's scene in which her sexually mixed-up son strips before her and then tears off her top is even further over the top. Thulin plays the part to perfection and as she lays half-naked in bed both crying tears of agony and moans in excitement, it's an outstanding symbolic scene of the damnation that over-took Germany.

Ingrid Thulin's greatest and most controversial scene role.

Italian filmmaker Luchino Viconti's 1969 film "The Damned" is a haunting work of art that may quite easily be regarded as one of the boldest and most disturbing works in the whole of cinema. The Damned is a testament to the genius of Visconti who at the height of his power produced cinema that not only transcended the conventional boundaries but also had the courage to tackle themes that even today are considered forbidden. The Damned is often described as hysterical, but what can a movie that's set during the tumultuous phase of Nazi holocaust be anything but hysterical? The movie adorns a stellar international cast (led by Ingrid Thulin and Dirk Bogarde) and it does take sometime to get used to their different accents. A casual viewer can be further unruffled by movie's convoluted plot. But, patience does have its rewards and in this case, tenfold.

Those who have already watched another of Visconti's masterpieces, Death in Venice would be greatly surprised to witness the Italian maestro's range as an auteur. The subtlety and timidness that underline Death in Venice are completely absent here, at least in an explicit sense, and are replaced by the expressions of brusqueness and chutzpah in full effect. Dirk Bogarde plays a Macbeth-like character with religious fervor. While his remarkable performance in Death in Venice is easily his best ever (arguably one of the all time best performances in the history of cinema) his portrayal of an insecure usurper in The Damned is nothing short of outstanding. But, the real star of the show is Ingrid Thulin. Anyone who has seen her in Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light will get the shock of his/her life. As the imperious, glacial, ravishing Sophie Von Essenbeck in The Damned, Thulin is a sight for the sore eyes, an elixir for the perturbed souls, a poltergeist for the envious. Helmut Berger as Sophie's effeminate son Martin Von Essenbeck is equally chilling.

The Damned is replete with homosexuality, incest, gore and endless grotesqueries, and even makes most contemporary holocaust films like Schindler's List and The Pianist appear ridiculously juvenile. The Damned is a profoundly disturbing work of cinema that captures the pervasive insanity of the holocaust days as an irrefutable proof of the diabolical, debasing, animalistic character that defines the dark side of human psyche. The Damned is not meant for the faint-hearted and can only be savored by eschewing bigotry, prejudice, and conservatism.

http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/