Dir: Helmut Käutner
Star: O.W. Fischer, Ruth Leuwerik, Marianne Koch, Klaus Kinski
Let me provide you with the sum of my knowledge regarding King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), going into this film. I’ll provide the facts in order of how I perceived their importance.
- Mad
- Built Neuschwanstein Castle
- Drowned
That’s it. Now? Well, #2 and #3 appear to be confirmed, but #1 is on considerably shakier territory, if this film is to be believed. Not that this stopped the movie from being promoted with the English-language title, Mad Emperor: Ludwig II. [I wonder if this possibly confused potential viewers who hadn’t seen Mad Emperor: Ludwig?] That’s certainly a rather more… judgmental title than the original German one, which translates as “Ludwig II: Splendor and End of a King.” The original probably more accurate as well, since it’s generally very sympathetic to Ludwig. If I took anything away from this, it’s mostly that he was less insane, than simply entirely unsuited for the position of monarch.
It begins with his death, which is announced as a drowning, along with his companion, Dr. Gudden, though there are immediately doubts as to whether this was suicide, an accident or murder. The rest of the film is told in flashback, beginning back when Ludwig (Fischer) was young – and a bit of a regal rock star if the movie is to be believed, going by the pack of women hanging outside the palace. Here, we get the immortal line, “But girls, you’re not allowed to climb through the King’s chamber window!” It soon becomes clear that Ludwig is almost naive: “It must be possible to rule without deception, without lies and betrayal.” Yeah. About that…
His kingdom of Bavaria occupies an important strategic position between the Austrian and Prussian empires, and both the Austrian emperor and Prince Otto von Bismarck seek to lean on Ludwig. He, however, doesn’t seem to care about the prospect of war, as is clearly illustrated by this speech: “I have been crowned king of an old, beautiful land, whose inhabitants are happy and peaceful. It is my sacred duty to preserve peace and happiness, and, God willing, to increase it. Do not consider me an enemy of progress. Art and culture are the fields in which I wish my people to wage battle.” As I said: thoroughly unsuited to rule, especially in the saber-rattling era of middle Europe at the time.
So, instead, Ludwig begins a patronage of Richard Wagner, with the resulting expenses ending up forcing a separation, and doing the equally expensive castle building thing. Though at least that turned out to be a worthwhile investment, with Neuschwanstein attracting 1.3 million visitors a year, and more than repaying its cost, the equivalent of 43 million Euros in 2017 terms [Some scenes of the movie were actually filmed there]. He also attempts to find love. The problem is, his real object of affection, childhood friend Sissi (Leuwerik), is now Empress Elisabeth of Austria. As a stand-in, he does have a brief engagement with her sister, Princess Sophie (Koch), but even though she seems to care for him, it’s just not the same.
Meanwhile, Ludwig’s brother, Prince Otto (Kinski), is showing signs of mental deterioration, eventually being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Whispers begin to circulate that Ludwig is also mentally unfit to act as king – though the film suggests this is the result of his unwillingness to be manipulated by court advisers. Actually, I can see their point. Especially given the militaristic times, a country with a leader who is more interested in symphonies and schlosses is asking for trouble. Yet, one feels this could have been handled more tactfully, rather than simply flagging Ludwig as a loony and having him locked up.
Generally, this is a lush biopic, with good production values. It certainly leaves you with a sense that Ludwig has been dealt with unfairly by history, and deserves to be remembered as more than simply the “mad king”. [The script was vetted by family members, in exchange for location filming permission, which may explain its sympathetic tone] It perhaps helps that Herbert von Karajan had a hand in the music, and I was also surprised to see Douglas Slocombe in the opening credits as cinematographer. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he shot the first three Indiana Jones films for Steven Spielberg, as well as The Italian Job and Rollerball – the originals, rather than the unnecessary remakes. This seems to have been the only German film he made, and I’m guessing his selection was by Käutner.
Kinski, sporting an unusual blond mustache, has just the three scenes here, but they are quite memorable. The first and least important comes about half-way into the film, at a ball (above), where Otto introduces Ludwig to Sophie. The meatiest follows at the 70-minute mark, when a considerably more manic brother shows up, positively burbling about the new, unified Germany of which Bavaria just became a part. I was a bit distracted here by Otto suddenly bursting into God Save the Queen, but it turns out the same tune was actually the national anthem of the German Empire up until the end of World War I. He then collapses, triggering the diagnosis of schizophrenia by the questionable Dr. Gudden, though he never quite gets to say whether this kind of thing runs in the family.
Kinski’s third and final scene comes in the last ten minutes, and in it, Otto appears in a vision to his brother. Unlike Ludwig, he seems quite content in his insanity, stating “You’ve no idea how calm it is there,” and when Ludwig asks him, “What should I do?”, Otto replies, “Submit, brother…” It doesn’t quite work out like that, of course. An escape plan concocted by Sissi leading to a watery struggle between Ludwig and Dr. Gudden, that ends up fatal for both men. According to Kautner, Kinski was never again as intense as he was here. While I’d not agree with that, it is perhaps the first example of the famed Klaus ferocity captured on film. Below, you’ll find the second and third scenes involving Kinski.