7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Ludwig. He loved women. He loved men. He lived as controversially as he ruled. But he did not care what the world thought. He was the world.
Starring: Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Gert FröbeForeign | 100% |
Drama | 63% |
Biography | 4% |
History | 3% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
DVD copy
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Many of Luchino Visconti’s films could probably be described as operatic (for better or worse), and that description is perhaps nowhere more apt than with his 1973 biographical opus of the so called “Mad King” of Bavaria, Ludwig II (portrayed by Helmut Berger in the film). For anyone who has visited the incredibly scenic Bavarian region, it’s virtually an inescapable rite of tourism to visit at least one of Ludwig’s incredible “fairy tale” castles, notably Neuschwanstein, which erupts from a Bavarian hillside like something out of a Walt Disney fever dream, which in itself is probably appropriate since the castle reportedly provided inspiration for Disney’s own Sleeping Beauty fortress. (Neuschwanstein has been featured in a number of films, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.) While Ludwig’s often hyperbolic life would seem operatic at its core, Ludwig is operatic for another salient reason: Ludwig was a major patron of Richard Wagner (played by Trevor Howard in the film), and indeed many historians feel that this friendship aided Wagner, a kind of reprobate whose finances weren’t always exactly in order, in being able to complete some of his most legendary works. Visconti, an Italian director with something of a German obsession (as evidenced by such films as The Damned and Death in Venice), is known for his opulent, some might even say decadently opulent, productions but also for what some perceive as an almost lethargic pace, two elements which are on display in both versions of Ludwig offered on this new two Blu-ray set. Ludwig’s story is fascinating from any number of standpoints, including his struggles with his sexual identity, and while Visconti dabbles in psychological subtext, there’s a curiously distant feeling in this film, perhaps unavoidable given its emphasis on royalty, that may make any real human emotion fleeting.
Ludwig is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information:
Ludwig was restored in 2K resolution from the original 35mm camera negative. The audio was restored from the optical negative. All restoration work was completed at Technicolor, Rome, under the supervision of Luigi Lupi, Movietime.As noted above, this release contains the complete theatrical version as well as what is described as the "television version" (though I haven't been able to track down information on the history of this version, other than some IMDb listings for broadcasts in various countries). Screenshots 1-12 are from the theatrical version, and screenshots 13-19 are from the television version, and to my eyes there was no noticeable difference in either shared footage or the look of the different footage in terms of palette reproduction, general sharpness and clarity and grain structure.
Ludwig is presented with either Italian or (mostly) English tracks in LPCM Mono. Arrow's booket kind of uncharacteristically has even more information about the soundtrack than the video presentation:
This release presents Ludwig with its English soundtrack for the first time on home video. The soundtrack was originally created for the 173 minute version which played commercially in the U.S. and, as such, portions of our full length presentation necessarily revert to the Italian soundtrack where no English dialogue existed.There's really no major difference in the sound between the Italian and English versions, though at times it seemed there might be minimally more hiss present on the English version (we're talking incrementally small amounts, nothing to be concerned about). Whichever audio option is chosen, some actors are going to be dubbed, and so it's kind of a crapshoot in terms of whose lips you want to match with the selected audio. It seemed that many of the major performers (including Berger) spoke English during the shoot, and so while the English track isn't complete, at least for the marquee performers, that track tends to match up with lip movements perhaps a bit more consistently than the Italian version. While both tracks are unavoidably narrow sounding, there's nothing major to complain about, though some of the piano underscore can sound just a trifle bright and tinny at times. Dialogue comes through cleanly and clearly. As noted above in Arrow's disclaimer, there are some abrupt transitions in the English version which can be momentarily distracting.
Furthermore, the 173 minute English language version not only cut sections of the film but also reordered them and, on occasion, altered or added musical accompaniment. Viewers may notice some abrupt changes in the background music as a result. We could have excised these passages and made use of the Italian soundtrack during these moments, but decided it was best to present as much of the original English soundtrack as possible.
During the conform it also became apparent that some of the English language narration did not match up to the full length Italian version. We can only assume that these brief sections were rewritten to accommodate the cuts and reordering of the 173 version. As they do not fit Ludwig in its complete form, we have decided to present them separately, as bonus features.
Disc One
- English Soundtrack Extract #1 (1:28) fits in a scene contained between 1:18:53 and 1:26:50 according to an explanatory note.
- English Soundtrack Extract #2 (00:20) fits in a scene contained between 1:47:24 and 1:50:56 according to an explanatory note.
I personally kind of like the often desultory way Visconti's films can tend to unfold, and that kind of tolerance is probably necessary to make it through the slog of Ludwig. One would think with such a sensationalistic subject Visconti might have gone for the degradation gusto the same way he did in The Damned, but this is often a curiously tamped down affair despite the obviously florid emotions that are on display. The film is quite ravishing from a purely visual standpoint, and lovers of music history may get a kick out of the interactions Ludwig has with Richard Wagner. Arrow has once again assembled a handsomely packaged release with some excellent supplementary material. With caveats noted for the film itself, this overall release comes Recommended.
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