The Night Porter – 1974
Il Portiere di notte,
The Most Controversial Picture of Our Time!
Director
Liliana Cavani

Writers
Barbara Alberti story
Liliana Cavani screenplay
Liliana Cavani story
Italo Moscati
Amedeo Pagani story

Producers
Esa De Simone producer
Robert Gordon Edwards producer

Cast
Dirk Bogarde – Maximilian Theo Aldorfer
Charlotte Rampling – Lucia Atherton
Philippe Leroy – Klaus
Gabriele Ferzetti – Hans
Giuseppe Addobbati – Stumm
Isa Miranda – Countess Stein
Nino Bignamini – Adolph
Marino Masé – Atherton
Amedeo Amodio – Bert
Piero Vida – Day Porter
Geoffrey Copleston – Kurt
Manfred Freyberger – Dobson (as Manfred Freiberger)
Ugo Cardea – Mario
Hilda Gunther – Greta
Nora Ricci – The Neighbor
Piero Mazzinghi – Concierge
Kai S. Seefeld – Jacob
Luigi Antonio Guerra

Review by Sven Soetemans

Alright! Who’s up for some controversy
It isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but if you’re into artsy euro-exploitation you might want to check out this ambitious Italian examination on the Nazi culture. The film’s style reminded me a little of “Last Tango in Paris” as it equally centers on bizarre and “forbidden” sexual fetishes. Yet, in this case the setting and characters are even more controversial (and thus more cult-like) : Dirk Bogarde (a former concentration camp guard) who recreates his sexual relationship with the now adult prisoner Lucia (a very convincing Charlotte Rampling).

The events are set in the beautiful city of Vienna, in the post WWII-era. Bogarde’s character carefully tries to keep a low profile there as a porter in the hotel where Lucia is at guest with her famous husband. For as long as director Cavani simply focuses on the interactions between the two protagonists, this is a gripping and very intense drama! Too bad she eventually attempts to cover too many moralistic topics (remorse, politics, decadence…) and the whole thing starts to feel like a high-school history lesson…only with sleaze.

The sequences shot at the opera are beautiful and the flashbacks to the concentration camp are visually astonishing but neither of these aspects can save “The Night Porter” from boredom. I do reckon it’s value in the exploitation field, as this film heavily influenced later shock-films such as “The Beast in Color”,”Salon Kitty”, “Red Nights of the Gestapo” etc etc etc

Night Porter
aka Portiere di notte, Il (1974)

Review by Zetes

Very flawed but interesting and often beautiful film, 23 December 2001

It’s easy to dismiss a film like this or Salo or In the Realm of the Senses as garbage. It’s too easy, in fact, and not very fair. These films are all very interesting, if you can take them. And, if you can’t stand the heat, hey, stay out of the kitchen.

Among the ranks of what I’ll call the Artsploitation flick, The Night Porter is rather tame. There are only a couple of hardcore sex scenes, and there are really only two scenes with nudity.

What I like about this film is, first and foremost, the performance by Dicke Bogarde. The subtle guilt and shame he projects is simply amazing. He really builds a three dimensional character, and mostly without dialogue. Other performers are weaker. Charlotte Rampling, his captive, gives a very uneven performance. Sometimes it seems on the money, other times it seems forced, or blank. None of the others are really worth mentioning, except for that one actor’s ballet dancing, which is quite remarkable.

Cavani’s direction is sensuous. I saw this film for the second time today,

and I had failed to notice before that it was directed by a woman. Unfortunately, that doesn’t affect my reading of the film any, but it is interesting. This definitely seemed like a male project. Cavani’s direction has a certain grace, a certain elegance. The film contains several scenes that could be called masterpieces in the midst of a lesser work. My favorite in the entire film is the one where Lucia locks herself in the bathroom, breaks a bottle in front of the door, and then allows Max to run in after her. This scene is so marvelously directed, it would work particularly well when seen as a separate entity. The famous nude cabaret song, the one depicted on the Criterion cover, is also exquisite.

Technically, it is perfect. The cinematography is beautiful, as I’ve mentioned. The musical score is also gorgeous. It’s possibly one of the greatest. The biggest failure of the film is definitely its script. The story is very difficult to follow. It’s never clear exactly what has happened since the war, and what these former Nazis are doing in Vienna. It’s also unclear what exactly the trials are that are always being brought up. And I’m not sure what they are afraid of, what they originally plan to do with Lucia, or anything like that. Or why they can’t break into Max’s apartment again. A lot of this stuff seems silly. I would have also liked Lucia’s character better developed. We get the sense that she accepted Max’s advances so quickly so that she could get his protection, which she receives in that biblical dance scene. I want more yet. With Max so well developed, Lucia feels somewhat like an object for the plot.

I rate this a high 7/10.