**SPOILERS THROUGHOUT** The movie takes place in 1933 to 34 Germany. It's about a rich, wealthy family (the Essenbecks) who are destroyed by the Nazis coming into power. It basically focuses on Martin (Helmut Berger) who turns into a cold-blooded killer. Along the way there's murder, incest, cross dressing, pedophilia, suicide, rape, a gay orgy and mass murder! To be truthful none of it is really explicit--for instance the gay orgy scene only shows some casual male nudity and has NO sexual content at all! I'm surprised this got an X rating even back in 1969. BTW it's since been lowered to an R with no cuts. The film is beautiful to watch--director Luchino Visconti made films that were gorgeous to watch and dealt with adult subject matter. ("The Conformist" is another one like this) Each shot is like a beautiful painting. It's totally at odds with the subject matter which I think is the point. In the 2004 DVD release the colors are rich and the print is in perfect condition. The acting is great all around but the best performances come from Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Ingrid Thulin and especially Helmut Berger.

The film isn't perfect. It's way too long at 157 minutes and you sort of become numb at all the back stabbing and evil happening. Martin's rape of his mom should be shocking but it comes near the end after two hours of evil and it sort of doesn't shock you. Also Thulin's appearance at the wedding at the end was a bit too much. Still this is a beautiful and fascinating film. If you see this on DVD I suggest you turn on the English subtitling. All the actors speak English but the heavy accents make some of their dialogue impossible to figure out.

The first chapter in Lucino Visconti's trilogy of "German Decadence", "The Damned" ("Götterdämmerung"),1969 is a deep and heavy drama; or rather tragedy with many references to Shakespearean and ancient tragedies themes. The film follows a German rich industrialist family, the munitions manufacturers (possibly modeled after Germany's Krupp family) who attempts to keep their power during the rise of Nazism regime. It takes place from the night of the Reichstag fire when the Von Essenbecks have gathered in celebration of the patriarch Joachim's birthday to their eventual downfall ("The Fall of Gods" is the film's Italian title) shortly after the Night of Long Knives.

A Marxist and an aristocrat, Visconti was both repelled by and drawn to the decaying society that he depicts in impressive and loving details and often in a flamboyant style - the examples are the scene with Helmut Berger impersonating Marlene Dietrich's Lola-Lola "Blue Angel", the beer party, the orgy and following them massacre during the "Night of Long Knives".

Both film's titles, "The Damned" and "The Fall of the Gods" prepare us for entering the gates of Inferno - "Abandon hope all ye who enter here". The characters we met, the members of the respected and famous family are "Fallen Gods" and they are ready to take the eternal damnation of their souls in the exchange for Power which is above money, love or any human feelings. The weakest and tender will vanish; the most unscrupulous, merciless, backstabbing, hating and cruel will celebrate on this feast during the time of plague.

The acting is very impressive by all members of a fine international cast that includes Ingrid Thulin, Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Renaud Verley, Umberto Orsini and Helmut Berger. I just want to say couple of words about Ingrid Thulin (Baroness Sophie, the widowed daughter in law of a steel baron Joachim) and Helmut Berger as her son, Martin. I've never seen Ingrid Thulin as beautiful, desirable yet wicked and evil as the German Lady Macbeth/Queen Gertrude/Agrippina the Younger. I dare say that I like her in Visconti's film better than in Bergman's films that made her world famous. Helmut Berger was born to play Martin - immoral, corrupted, and bad to the bone playboy-pedophile Hamlet/Nero in Nazi uniform yet at some point strangely sympathetic. And was he pretty as Lola-Lola :).

8/10

The great Luchino Visconti concocts a stunning banquet of horrors with some of his favorite gourmet dishes: the corruption and decadence of the upper classes, incest, mamma's boys and monstrous/fascinating mothers. The setting this time is National Socialist Germany where the perversions find their perfect home. There is, however, a slight but disturbing enjoyment of the whole putrid thing. Visconti's extraordinary attention to detail requires more than a couple of viewings. Ingrid Thulin's hairstyles are a masterpiece on their own. After Ingman Bergman, Visconti gives her her most showy role. She's a pervert's mother if I ever saw one. Magnificent in her over the top understatement. Creepy Helmut Berger is perfect here. Even his real voice adds to the luridness of his character. In "Ludwig" he was dubbed by Giancarlo Giannini transforming his third rate talent into something,seemingly, transcendental. Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Umberto Orsini plus the gorgeous Renaud Verley and Florinda Bolkan contribute considerably to the rigid and humorless vision of one of the greatest aesthetes the movies have ever known.