Search - The Damned on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1969 DVD Release: 02/17/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 37 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Drama, Political Drama, Family Drama See Also: The Damned

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 (René 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. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dirk Bogarde - Friedrich Bruckmann
Ingrid Thulin - Baroness Sophie von Essenbeck
Helmut Griem - Aschenbach
Helmut Berger - Martin Von Essenbeck
Charlotte Rampling - Elisabeth Thallman

Luchino Visconti's brilliant portrait of the moral collapse of Europe under the rule of Nazi Germany as reflected in one powerful family has been released on DVD in an edition that offers a simple but effective presentation of the film. The Damned has been transferred to disc in letterboxed format at the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which has been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors; the transfer is sharp and well-detailed, and has been struck from a clean print. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono; this edition features the English-language version of the film, with optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. The disc also features The Damned's original theatrical trailer, as well as a short documentary on the making of the film that includes footage of Visconti at work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide