Beautiful but bloated

ace-150

A little bloated, but fantastic performances by Helmut Berger, who chews up the scenery, and Silvana Mangano, who just sits there looking beatific. The music, which seems meant to reinforce Ludwig's obsession with Wagner, is somewhat intrusive. The sets, of course, are Ludwig's own constructions, and quite beautiful in a too-fabulous-to-live way. The costumes tend to overwhelm the actors, making the whole thing a bit costume-drama-ish. The lighting, which is much too bright, unfortunately reinforces the costumeyness. It would be interesting to send it to the lab and give it a more historical lighting tone. Visconti doesn't put any gloss on Ludwig's love for handsome, mostly-naked young men, who make up the bulk of the extras. Fairly daring for 1972, but maybe that was part of Helmut Berger's pay package.

score 8/10

ace-150 11 February 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3181559/