Free screening of rare Visconti film

http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/calendar/index.html
(Recorded info: 510-642-1124)

Ludwig II
Luchino Visconti (Italy, 1972)

New Print! Free Screening!
SUN AUG 29 2004, 5:30 PM
Tickets available at the PFA Theater starting at 4:30

In the life of Ludwig II, the “mad king” of Bavaria, Visconti found a fit subject for his own transcendent sense of spectacle. Ludwig was a tragic figure who made an art out of life itself: born into extreme wealth, he chose to pursue happiness in the realm of the sublime—in art and matters of the heart—but he never achieved anything close to happiness. Nor did his soul “fly free” of his body. He built magnificent fairytale castles in the Bavarian sky and patronized a series of artists, including Richard Wagner, who used him cynically. Increasingly disillusioned, the passions of the “Swan King” grew dissolute, sealing his doom. Visconti places Ludwig, portrayed by Helmut Berger, in context, seducing us with opulent visuals, holding us at bay with the passion play that was Ludwig's life. Romy Schneider is a figure of compassion amid scoundrels as Ludwig's cousin, the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, and Trevor Howard lends his own dark passion to his portrayal of Richard Wagner.

Written by Visconti, Enrico Medioli, with the collaboration of Suso Cecchi D'Amico. Photographed by Armando Nannuzzi. With Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano. (238 mins plus intermission, In Italian with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Cinecittà Holding)