616

#665

The end is dragging, but the rest of this 4 hour recut of the 1972 movie is quite satisfying. Ludwig remains a very complex and interesting character even after the film is finished. See it, if you like Visconti's epics.

Well, it's better than The Leopard. Gotta give it that.

Packed wall-to-wall with elaborate props, costumes, set dressings, and locations. But it takes more than production design to make a movie. The story of Ludwig isn't dull, but this telling of it isn't very interesting... certainly not for 4 hours. There's a lot of unimportant chaff here, and I wish I'd watched one of the edited versions instead. Helmet Berger is passable but uninspiring, running the standard routine for "descent into madness". But I have to place the blame on Visconti.

# 492

542