La caduta degli dei (1969)

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Nicola Badalucco (story) and
Enrico Medioli (story) ...

Release Date:

18 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

The dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.

Plot Keywords:

Baron | German | Nazi | Germany | SS

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dirk Bogarde	...	Frederick Bruckmann
Ingrid Thulin	...	Sophie Von Essenbeck
Helmut Griem	...	Aschenbach
Helmut Berger	...	Martin Von Essenbeck
Renaud Verley	...	Gunther Von Essenbeck
Umberto Orsini	...	Herbert Thallman
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Konstantin Von Essenbeck (as René Koldehoff)
Albrecht Schoenhals	...	Joachim Von Essenbeck (as Albrecht Schönhals)
Florinda Bolkan	...	Olga
Nora Ricci	...	Governess
Charlotte Rampling	...	Elisabeth Thallman
Irina Wanka	...	Lisa
Karin Mittendorf	...	Thilde Thallman
Valentina Ricci	...	Erika Thalman
Wolfgang Hillinger	...	Janek

Also Known As:

Die Verdammten (West Germany)
Luchino Visconti's The Damned (USA) (poster title)
The Damned (Götterdämmerung)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, nudity and aberrant sexuality. (edited version)

Runtime:

156 min

Country:

Italy | West Germany

Language:

Italian | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Ireland:18 | Spain:18 | Italy:VM18 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (cut version) (1979) | USA:X (original rating) | West Germany:16 | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Attersee, Upper Austria, Austria

Company:

Ital-Noleggio Cinematografico

Trivia:

Footage shot during the "Night of the Long Knives" sequence but never shown previously in the United States is restored in the 2004 DVD release. It is in subtitled German and expands the running time to 156 minutes.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the massacre scene of SA men, the SS are shown using MP-38 sub-machine guns. However the movie is set in 1934, 4 years before the MP-38 were in production for the German armed forces.

Quotes:

Martin Von Essenbeck: I will destroy you, Mother!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality (2004)

Soundtrack:

Nachts ging das Telefon

Incest, Rape,Gay Orgies, Suicide, Murder, Drug Abuse......it's Great!

Just saw this movie on DVD and was totally blown away by one of the most demented, yet outstanding films on the raise of the Nazi party in pre-WWII Germany.

Some of the highlights (or should I say low) of this film include: family murders, sexual abuse of an 11 year old girl (who hangs herself), a gay orgy of stormtroopers (many cross-dressing), drug abuse, a gang rape, and a son stripping and bedding his own mother!

The first part of the film is slightly boring and you have to play close attention to the plot and characters because there are a number to choose from. By the time the film ends, 6 members of the main cast will have been murdered or commit suicide.

The acting is outstanding, the little 11 year old kissing her molester is greatly disturbing, as is the scene of the nude mother moaning and groaning as her son "does her up". This movie is not for the faint of heart.