Ludwig: sumptuous and solemn, Luchino Visconti’s biopic of the so-called Mad King of Bavaria may be a long film, but not a second feels wasted. It shows his downward spiral, starting from his coronation, even if his most egregious sins apparently were a distaste for politics and war, a love for the arts and beauty, and his sexual preferences. In any case, he is a complex and rather interesting character, and the portrait is fascinating. Aesthetically, the film matches the excesses of the time; cinematographer Armando Nannuzzi’s lighting can be theatrical and exaggerated, but his camera movement and framing are superb. Likewise, the costume design (by Piero Tosi) and production design (by Mario Chiari and Mario Scisci) are lavish and luxurious, and the use of real-life locations showcases the man’s legacy. The film’s structure, which alternates between angry little men accusing him of incompetency and his life, is a very interesting way of framing the portrait. The performances vary wildly (even discounting the fact that the dialogue was mostly looped): Helmut Berger plays the monarch well, charming and awkward at first; Romy Schneider replays efficiently a character that made her famous, and she is imperious and coldly beautiful; some of the minor roles (Folker Bohnet as a theater actor that is befriended by the king comes to mind) are played with excessive weight, however.