**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 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.