Dirk
Bogarde, Ingrid Thulin, Helmut Griem , Helmut Berger, Charlotte
Rampling, Florinda Bolkan
In 1969, The Damned (La caduta degli dei) was director Luchino Visconti's
most controversial film to date. Set in the 1930s, the film zeroes
in on a Krupp-like family of German munition manufacturers. The
Essenbeck clan is headed by the Baron (Rene Kolldehoff), but daughter
Sophie (Ingrid Thulin) wants her Nazi boyfriend to take over the
business. Soon the Baron is dead and Bruckman (Dirk Bogarde) becomes
company president. Son Martin (Helmut Berger) is the dope-addicted
teenager who sleeps with his mother and drags her into her own dependence
on drugs. Ever in pursuit of more millions to add to their already
bulging coffers, the family plays along with the Nazis, descending
into corruption, betrayal and murder all along the way. The film
was originally released in the U.S. with an X rating.
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