La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung)
English title: The Damned
Also known as: Damnés
(les)
Genre:
period and war drama
With: Dirk
Bogarde (Friedrich Bruckmann), Ingrid Thulin
(Baroness Sophie von Essenbeck), Helmut Griem (Aschenbach), Helmut Berger
(Martin von Essenbeck), Renaud Verley (Günther von Essenbeck), Umberto Orsini
(Herbert Thallman), Charlotte Rampling (Elisabeth Thallman), Reinhard
Kolldehoff (Baron Konstantin von Essenbeck), Albrecht Schoenhals (Baron Joachim
von Essenbeck), Florinda Bolkan (Olga), Nora Ricci (Governess), Irina Wanka
(Lisa Keller)
Director: Luchino
Visconti
Screenplay: Nicola
Badalucco, Enrico Medioli and Luchino Visconti
Release: 1969
Studio: Praesidens,
Pegaso Cinematografica, Italnoleggio Cinematografico, Warner Bros. Pictures
Rating: 14A
MBiS score: 8.8/10
‟We are an elite society where everything is permissible.”
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Story-line: in
February 1933, Joachim von Essenbeck, the powerful head of Essenbeck Steel Works,
invites his family to celebrate his birthday at Kleisburg Castle. At first, everything
goes rather well until a news event – the burning of the Reichstag – rattles
some nerves. Then, at the dinner table, tempers flare up again when Joachim
announces that ESW, a well-known arms manufacturer, will cooperate more closely
with the Nazis. The stage is set for a fierce battle among the Essenbecks… on a
personal, corporate and political level.
Pluses: intense acting by Dirk Bogarde (the ambitious Friedrich),
Helmut Berger (a conflicted Martin), Ingrid Thulin (as the passionate yet cold
Sophie), Helmut Griem (the merciless Aschenbach) and Reinhard Kolldehoff (a
ruthless Konstantin), formidable direction by one of the all-time greats, a
full, twisty and relentless screenplay combining fiction and historical events to
achieve a biting, monstrous narrative, excellent cinematography and editing, luxurious
production values and an effective musical score that goes from the exquisite
and sensuous to the dramatic and grotesque.
Minuses: the
first time I watched THE DAMNED, I quit after 10 minutes or so because I got
the characters all mixed up. The following guide may seem fastidious but it
will allow you to distinguish the main characters from the first moment they appear on screen:
(1) the man taking a bath is Konstantin, Joachim’s eldest son and young Gunther’s
father; Konstantin is a member of the SA (a Nazi militia);
(2) the little girl is Thilde, daughter of Elisabeth and Herbert (their
other daughter is Erika);
(3) Thilde will run over to see Gunther playing his cello;
(4) next, we meet Joachim, the family patriarch, who is seen kissing a
picture of his aviator son who died at war;
(5) the couple discussing politics and family matters in a bedroom are Elisabeth,
Joachim’s niece, and her husband Herbert, an ESW executive;
(6) the two men driving over to Kleisburg Castle are Aschenbach (a
member of the SS) and Friedrich (a manager at ESW). You
will hear them exchange pointed views on political issues, corporate matters
and Friedrich’s lover, Sophie);
(7) at the
castle, a show is given in Joachim’s honour; after Gunther’s cello piece,
Martin (Sophie’s son) sings for the guests;
(8) finally, we
see Sophie looking on, enjoying her son’s performance; she is the aviator’s
widow.
Comments: all the glamour that dazzles the eye in the opening scenes will fade away to reveal the tawdry goings-on in the Essenbeck empire. I have read somewhere that a parallel can be drawn between this movie and another great Visconti work, THE LEOPARD; true, both films feature aristocratic families at a turning point but THE LEOPARD is sophisticated and philosophical in tone and content while this one is a festival of deceit, decadence, death and despair, a mean-spirited soap opera in which most characters are despicable yet interesting. THE DAMNED is a clear vision of hell and the quote above is only a hint of the family nightmares you will uncover.
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