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Sex and swastikas! — that combo shows up in both trash cinema and high art. Luchino Visconti’s searing look at Nazi corruption sees an industrialist family torn apart by murderous greed and ambition worthy of the Borgias. The fiendish Countess Ingrid Thulin has raised a twisted son (Helmut Berger) to serve her deadly schemes; her path to power involves framing one heir for a killing while another rival is sacrificed in an SS massacre for the good of the Reich. The chilling treachery plays out at family dinner tables, in the offices of a steel mill, and in various bedrooms; Nazi fervor is equated with sex perversion.

The heightened performances and Visconti’s luridly expressionistic use of Technicolor conjure a garish world of decaying opulence in which one family’s downfall comes to stand for the moral rot of a nation.

Decadence and depravity abound in Luchino Visconti’s scathing The Damned, the first in the filmmaker’s so-called German Trilogy, followed by Death in Venice and Ludwig, each of which delineates a different era and style of German psychopathology.

Director: Luchino Visconti
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Ingrid Thulin, Helmut Griem, Helmut Berger, Renaud Verley, Umberto Orsini, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Albrecht Schoenhals, Florinda Bolkan, Nora Ricci
Country: Italy, West Germany
Genre: Drama, War

BD50 | 1080p AVC | 2:38:15 | 45.4 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English-German, Italian
Subtitles: English

Extras:

• Helmut Berger - presented here is an archival episode of the French television program Le monde du cinema in which Helmut Berger recalls how he prepared for the role of Martin von Essenbeck and working relationship with Luchino Visconti. Also addressed is one of the most difficult scenes in The Damned. The episode was broadcast in 1969. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Charlotte Rampling - presented here is an archival episode of the French television program Musiques au coeur in which Charlotte Rampling discusses her contribution to The Damned and interactions with Luchino Visconti. The episode was broadcast in 1990. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Ingrid Thulin - presented here is an archival episode of the French television program Pour le cinema in which Ingrid Thulin discusses her acting choices and recalls her work with Luchino Visconti during the shooting of The Damned. The episode was broadcast in 1969. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).

• Stefano Albertini - in this new video interview, literature and film scholar Stefano Albertini discusses The Damned. The interview was conducted for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Visconti on Set - this archival short focuses on Luchino Visconti's working methods during the production of The Damned. It was directed by John Abbott in 1969. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Luchino Visconti - in this archival interview, Luchino Visconti discusses the conception of The Damned, it style, and the historical accuracy of the events that are depicted in it. The interview was conducted for RAI television in 1970. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (40 min).

• Trailer - a vintage trailer, with mostly proper color values, for The Damned. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).