E1 ENTERTAINMENT Ludwig

Ludwigs tale of loneliness, despair, depression, imprisonment almost makes its telling in this instance far from being eligible for a neo-Greek tragedy classification. Mr Visconti seems to overdirect throughout: we have splendid, splendid scenes, one following the other. But these very same scenes appear to be jump-cut with the result that the viewer can hardly internalize what is going on!Then there is the overuse of filters, making the scenes so dark that they are hardly intelligible. When they are intelligible, these scenes seem to have a silly, empty meaning.The narrative line is carried along by Berger (so who else?), but the poor man is given very little to work with. Example: Ludwig becomes aware of a household lackey, why we are not quite sure. Poor lackey goes about his work: all the while Ludwig broods. The audience is never quite sure why. The young mans assets are never observed as Ludwig may have observed them with stolen glances.Berger has been directed to appear weak and somewhat effeminate. For dramatic action the audience demands much more for the tale of the film to take on the tragic proportions we spoke of above. So we are left with an inconsequential ending when it could have been an ending worthy of using parts of Vangelis Mythodea as music for the final spiritual torture and climax.Had another actor attempted the role, the possibility of his being directed to be a little larger than life would have given the audience a real feeling for the tragic forces at play. The scenes with cousin Elizabeth are just not believable. She, however, carries things along. But her responses to this piece of limp celery are not believable. They would have been believable, had Ludwig been somewhat of a stud. Had he been, the impact of the forces that tore him apart would have been all the more real and deeply affecting.We did like the movie. The costumes and sets were magnificent. That is sort of like saying that one likes a restaurant because of its ambiance. Again, direction! What of the scenes in which Ludwig is preparing to be crowned king? In particular, one scene has a number of women of the court literally bunched together with their long trains in the close space of an antechamber. Their closeness to one another made one think of a dressing room at a venue in Las Vegas rather than a space in palace.It is these continuing jars, shocks to ones sensibilities that helps to render this story telling rather low grade in impact.Theres no question that Ludwig had a problem and a story; but we not once during the film gave up our disbelief of the action in front of us. We hoped that a character would come out of the Visconti gloom who would make the action plausible. Never came.In all, the film will provide opportunity for endless speculation as to how this sad tale should really be presented.

Excellent Blu-ray transfer quality & quite decent DVD picture/sound qualities, a beautiful packaging with an informative booklet, numbers of bonus features including interviews and documentaries, a region-code-free format which enables you to play these disks on ANY Blu-ray/DVD players in ANYWHERE around the world as well as on PC and Mac - and it’s very reasonably priced!! So what’s more to ask for? This special edition contains Blu-ray/DVD combination in both the full-length theatrical edition and the five individual parts of TV broadcasting version of the film. For more details regarding the technical specifics, you can check the professional review on blu-ray.com: there, you can also see some screen shots of the Blu-ray pictures and photos of the actual packaging.Another exciting feature is the original English soundtrack option. Although some part of the English soundtrack is still in Italian, say about 30 to 40% - and you would still need to turn on English subtitles even if you are watching it in English, I am extremely pleased with this “first-time-ever” original English soundtrack option on all 4 Blu-ray/DVD disks - as I have always wanted to see this film with actual voices of the actors.This film was originally shot in English because the actors in this film had different nationalities and native languages including German, English, Italian, and Russian – I assume that English was the only language every one of the actors could speak fluently. Though I wouldn't be surprised if some of the ”monologue” scenes by Italian or German actors had originally been shot in Italian or German (actually, I have noticed it by looking at actors' lip movements in those scenes). In the past in Italy, there were many illiterate people - and Italian dubbing was essential in virtually all old foreign language films there (Have you ever seen the movie called Cinema Paradiso?). So it is quite obvious that the film was initially filmed in English (and a small portion of other languages) on the premise of Italian dubbing.After the original production company of this film went bankruptcy in 1970s, many parts of the original film were sold in pieces for multiple buyers - then they were bought back by Visconti's friends and family after Visconti's death in order to complete this original form of editing (4hrs). Unfortunately, they could not find some of the original English soundtrack and therefore, the Italian dubbed soundtrack was used for the part where the original English soundtrack was missing.Anyhow, I would recommend this special edition of Ludwig Blu-ray/DVD combo with confidence to anyone who loves this film.

I can write a lengthy review, but it'd be simpler to refer you to Bilge Ebiri's review for the Village Voice, available on Rotten Tomatoes. Ebiri "gets" this movie. While critical response to this monumental film was decidedly mixed, compared to the almost universal high praises for The Leopard, I consider this film a bookend to that earlier film. If The Leopard was a eulogy to the lost world of exalted privilege, then this film is an expose of the decrepitude of that lost world, beneath its glamour and dazzling surface allure. But what breathtaking surface allure!I'd have given this restored version 5 stars if not for the somewhat annoying audio. The film was originally recorded in English, and the original version that Visconti put out - more or less the version here - was 4 hours long. The theatrical release was trimmed down by almost 2 hours, and the English audio is from the theatrical version. Apparently the complete English soundtrack for the original version can no longer be found, so a large part of the film is in Italian even when you have English audio on. It's a bit distracting but you get used to it quickly.

Beautiful, just far too lengthy.

From what I've seen of reviews of Ludwig, people either seem to love it or hate it. Personally I love the slow pace, it really fits with the overall decadence and sumptuousness of the film. The performances are fantastic and the use of real life locations makes it look really authentic. But enough about the film.This happens to be the third release of this film that I own. I have an English subtitled Italian DVD release from the UK and a non English subtitled German Arthaus release. I only watched the Italian DVD once because it was annoyingly letterboxed and also I did not like the Italian dubbing. The German release, although the audio was lower quality and it was not subtitled, had much better picture quality and used at least some of the same actors in the dub (though not Helmut Berger - the interview with him on this release explains that he was busy with another project at the time and was not available to dub the film).By comparison with these two releases, the picture quality is better on this Blu-ray. I didn't notice any significant steps up in terms of colours from the Arthaus release, which was already a good restoration. It is also fantastic to get the original English audio for about 2/3 of the runtime, but obviously very disappointing that it is not available for the full duration of the film. The accompanying booklet is upfront about this, though does not explain what happened to the rest of the original audio, since almost all the actors are speaking English throughout. I can only assume it was lost after the film was cut down to the shorter running time.The main downside is the Italian audio used to "fill in the gaps", as other reviewers have mentioned. I would love to have a release using the German dub instead, even though the audio quality is not quite as good as the Italian audio. The other thing that gets quite jarring is the use of different musical score in some parts of the English audio, particularly in scenes towards the beginning of the film which flip between English and Italian audio. Although this is probably the best release we're going to get, my wishlist (if the rest of the English audio is truly lost) would be a release where the English audio was intercut with German audio, and the rescored parts were replaced.On a final note, the packing for this film is quite bulky. There are 2 standard size (14 mm spine) clear Blu-ray cases both holding a Blu-ray and a DVD disc each, and a detailed booklet with making of information and critical response that is about 3 mm thick. This is housed in a study cardboard slipcase. Just FYI if you were expecting a single Blu-ray case holding 4 discs.

Visconti's fabulous film sounds a strange note that puts it beyond all the clichés of costume drama. Ostensibly telling of the life of Ludwig II of Bavaria, it carries a great deal of weight in terms of the artistic and intellectual life of Germany in the later 19th century, which is felt to underpin events while also being held somewhat apart from them. There is a chamber-like quality to the way it is filmed, even the opening coronation containing a lot of close-ups and zooms that take us into the heart of the opulence. The effect is quite cosseted, and gives a sense of intimacy. This ties in both with the focus on the King's emotions, which were impossible to live out on all fronts, and the illumination of the human heart and soul that Wagner's music represents. Ludwig falls (ambiguously) for his cousin, Elizabeth of Austria, who is already married, but flirts with him. Her robustness and spirit contrast with his ineffectual leanings, emphasising his psychological fragility. Their scenes together are delightful and elusive, not least because of Romy Schneider's beauty - another aspect of fabulousness in the film. When she tries to visit him later in the film, going from one opulent castle to another in black and observing the extravagance with bemused benevolence, the effect of her veiled face and supreme grace combine with the ever-present Wagnerian strains to create a total magic, coming as it does when the sense of doom is already writ large.Beauty is everywhere in this film, in effect - in Ludwig's haunted face in Helmut Berger's superb portrayal, in John Moulder-Brown's amazing allure as the King's younger brother, Otto, who goes mad, the actor Kainz whom the King falls for, and a number of other male servants whom he becomes infatuated with. Visconti presents these movements of the heart discreetly but in a way that points to the King's impasse and increasing isolation. Wagner is also a vital presence, of course (another remarkable performance - and physical likeness - from Trevor Howard), but one who becomes increasingly filtered through the way Ludwig hears the music. In the end there is a long scene where his music is played over and over on a music box, tinkly and prettified, as if the King's soul has been reduced to hearing it as a travesty of what it really is. However the music is constantly taken out of context, at least partially. We never hear a single sung note, the Tristan chord is frequently played on the piano, and the orchestral score sounded to me as though occasional changes were made. This is certainly the case with Schumann's Kinderszenen, heard near the beginning, which is constantly subject to minor distortions. Perhaps this is intended to mirror the subjectivity of Ludwig? At all events, it reflects the distortion of seeing lips move in English while hearing the dialogue in Italian. Normally this doesn't work, but here the distancing is oddly effective, relating to a certain clumsiness in the length of some of the scenes, yet drawing you in and holding your attention. It really is a riveting film that leaves you wanting to go back into its close-up look at one man's decline, with its enormous political resonances. In fact the style - both intimate and opaque - almost reminds me of the closeness to her subjects achieved by the photographer Nan Goldin, even if by quite different means: many roads lead to Rome, after all.

Maybe my fault but I was expecting English audio after reading the review. I was also expecting to see more of the locations where Ludwig lived and the film was shot. Having recently returned from Bavaria and visited 3 of Ludwig's palaces I was disappointed. If I didn't already know the main story I would have been completely lost just from watching the film. The picture on the screen would not expand to full screen on my TV. As a gift and thank you to my partner the film was a sad disappointment. Best read the review thoroughly and make sure you buy the same version as discussed in the review. Now that I can compare the cover with the on-line picture I can see its not the same (the picture on the cover is the same but the wording is different.

Für alle, die sich wundern, wie der Film (im sogenannten "Extended cut" von "Filmjuwelen") auf eine Laufzeit von 256 Minuten kommt: Das ist eine falsche Angabe hier bei Amazon - die Spieldauer beträgt 238,5 Minuten (steht auch so auf der Blu-ray-Hülle). Es exisitert auch überhaupt keine längere Version dieses Films (nur die - nicht auf Blu-ray erhätliche - TV-Fassung wäre aufgrund der Zwischentitel theoretisch noch leicht länger), d.h. die Blu-ray Disc von Filmjuwelen ist zu 100% identisch mit derjenigen von Arthaus, welche 2015 erschienen ist. Als einzigen Pluspunkt bietet die Neuveröffentlichung von Filmjuwelen eine zusätzliche DVD mit Bonusmaterial (welche allerdings früher bereits schon einmal Teil einer DVD-Veröffentlichung von Ludwig II. war - zusätzliche oder neu produzierte Extras sind nicht enthalten).

Expected subtitles in english. Hopes dashed.Useless for my purposes.