The Night Porter (Criterion Collection Spine #59)
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Features
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• DVD-Video
• Letterboxed
• Widescreen
• NTSC
In Theaters : 01 October, 1974
DVD Release : 28 March, 2000 |
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The Night Porter (Criterion Collection Spine #59) description
For those who like their love stories dipped in decadence, Liliana Cavani's dark and disturbing 1974 drama--about a concentration camp survivor who fatefully comes face to face with her ex-Nazi captor and lover--has held up quite well over the years despite its sensationalistic tone. It helps that the mysterious, cobra-eyed Charlotte Rampling plays ... review details
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The Night Porter (Criterion Collection Spine #59) Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Some movies better not be rewatched.
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*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
When I first saw Liliana Cavani's controversial film about sadomasochistic love affair between former Nazi officer Max (Dirk Bogard) and a concentration camp survivor Lucia (Charlotte Rampling)whom he used to abuse sexually and physically during the WWII, it had a shock value. I saw it in Moscow in the middle of 80s, and when our friends brought the tape to watch I thought it was a screen adaptation of the Irwin Shaw's novel "Nightwork" which is a completely different story (both were translated to Russian as "The Night Porter" - hence the confusion). As you can see, the film had a triple-shocking value for me - first, I expected to see a different movie; second and third, for its dark and disturbing subject matter and for the breaking all kinds of taboos in the way Cavani had explored it.
I remember that I was very impressed by Cavani's use of flashbacks, music, and her classy cinematography. Both leads were very good as two people who had met at the most horrifying circumstances but according to the writer-director were not able to forget the disturbing relationship and were willing to give anything just to be able to carry on with it. It was a first time I saw Charlotte Rampling and she became one of my favorite actresses.
I saw it again couple of weeks ago and I have to admit that without its original shock value it did not impress me at all. The plot does not seem that shocking, the story does not make much sense. Some of the dialog is just ridiculous. For example, Max confesses to his old friend, Countess Stein ( who knows everything about his past) after Lucia had entered his hotel and his life:
"Max: I found her. I found my little girl.
Countess: Such a romantic story.
Max: It is not a romantic story, it is a biblical story."
The second part of the movie when the couple try to hide in Max's apartment and the other Nazi wait outside for days for them to come out is just bad, IMO. The final scene is plausible and makes sense - there could be never a happy ending to the story like that but, alas, it took too long for the ending to come - I actually could not wait for somebody to finally take the unfortunate couple out of their misery and I was grateful when it happened - not a good sign for the movie where you should sympathize with the main characters.
I am not sure if the movie is one of "Nazi chic" flicks or a serious and honest even if flawed exploration of the very dark depths of human soul. It sure has the characteristics of both.
2.5/5 |
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The Night Porter (Criterion Collection Spine #59) dvd movie.