Rent The Damned (1969)

3.4 of 5 from 132 ratings
2h 30min
Rent The Damned (aka La Caduta degli dei / Luchino Visconti's the Damned) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
The most savagely subversive film by the iconoclastic auteur Luchino Visconti employs the mechanics of deliriously stylized melodrama to portray Nazism's total corruption of the soul. In the wake of Hitler's ascent to power, the wealthy industrialist von Essenbeck family and their associates - including the scheming social climber Friedrich (Dirk Bogarde), the conniving matriarch Sophie (Ingrid Thulin), and the cruelly deviant heir Martin (Helmut Berger) - descend into a self-destructive spiral of decadence, greed, perversion, and allconsuming hatred as they vie for power, over the family business and over one another.
Actors:
, , , , , , , Albrecht Schoenhals, , , , , Karin Mittendorf, Valentina Ricci, , , , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
Ever Haggiag, Alfred Levy
Writers:
Nicola Badalucco, Enrico Medioli, Luchino Visconti
Aka:
La Caduta degli dei / Luchino Visconti's the Damned
Studio:
Warner
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
Collections:
A World of Difference: A History of Gay Cinema, Drama Films & TV
BBFC:
Release Date:
24/05/2004
Run Time:
150 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, French Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Arabic, Dutch, English, English Hard of Hearing, French, German, Romanian, Spanish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • "Visconti" – a profile of the director on set
  • Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
25/10/2021
Run Time:
157 minutes
Languages:
English LPCM Mono, German LPCM Mono, Italian LPCM Mono
Subtitles:
English, English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Technicolor
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Interview from 1970 with director Luchino Visconti about the film
  • Archival interviews with actors Helmut Berger, Ingrid Thulin, and Charlotte Rampling
  • Visconti on Set, a 1969 behind-the-scenes documentary
  • New interview with scholar Stefano Albertini about the sexual politics of the film
  • Trailer

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Reviews (4) of The Damned

A German Requiem - The Damned review by MW

Spoiler Alert
17/08/2016

Visconti's films are all about the ethical condition of man and The Damned is no exception. But it's a difficult, flawed movie. The relationship between the principal players is somewhat confusing. Like others by Visconti the film is a little ponderous and overlong and the acting mannered. Yet as a metaphor for all that was vile, corrupt and murderous in the Nazi regime this bleak and tragic story of the moral decline and fall of a wealthy industrialist family in 1930s Germany is brilliant in its way. Just be prepared for a picture of utter despair from this most intellectual of directors.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

A valuable and fascinating film - The Damned review by RD

Spoiler Alert
14/03/2022

Setting the greed, ambition and depravity of a wealthy steel making family against the backdrop of 1933 Germany with Hitler's Brown Shirts on the rise, this is a detailed and intelligent film. The cinematography is excellent with superb lighting and good acting from all, and the renovation of the film yields colours and sharpness that make the film look a lot younger than 1968/9.

There are some flaws however, some strange edits clip the end of speech, and the plot becomes very elusive and secret at times leading to viewer confusion. This is often due to some low level indistinct dialogue which leaves the viewer wondering what just happened.

Some scenes become clearer later on in the film when you can then work out what happened earlier, so my advice is to either read a detailed synopsis before viewing the film, or watch the film twice when the second viewing may bring some clarity to the plot.

Overall a clever and worthwhile film.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Bleak melodrama - The Damned review by JO

Spoiler Alert
16/11/2018

Bleak melodrama about the fall of a family of industrialists during the rise to power of the Nazis, in Germany from 1933-34. The storyline is confusing: it's hard to work out the relationships between the characters. But as a parable about the power of the immoral Nazi regime its quite illuminating. The cinematography captures a world of corrupted opulence and Bogarde delivers a strong as one of the few morally conflicted characters, Frederick. Overlong and unrealistic but The Damned is still worth watching for its unremittingly downbeat vision of the evil of the Nazis.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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