Review wanted: The Night Porter Criterion
04-18-01, 11:01 AM
#2
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A very strange film, and a mind bender as well. The story is simple, a concentration camp survivor meets her former captor years latter. They begin their bizarre sexual relationship again, which is nothing short of disturbing.
The performances are top notch, Dirk Bogarde plays a great former Nazi, and Charlotte Rampling is convencing as the survivor. If your a fan of the dark side of the mind, then this is the movie for you. The DVD itself is excellent, the transfer is as good as this film has ever looked. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track is really a mono, which in all honesty could have been better. The only thing that is missing is extra's(there are hardly any), which is sad for a Criterion.
The performances are top notch, Dirk Bogarde plays a great former Nazi, and Charlotte Rampling is convencing as the survivor. If your a fan of the dark side of the mind, then this is the movie for you. The DVD itself is excellent, the transfer is as good as this film has ever looked. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track is really a mono, which in all honesty could have been better. The only thing that is missing is extra's(there are hardly any), which is sad for a Criterion.
04-18-01, 11:14 AM
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It's one of my favorites - not so much because of the film as a whole, but because of Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling. The intensity within these two performances transcends this film beyond what some people have called a ridiculous soft porn "art" movie. It is disturbing, more so by what it says about the nature of love and violent eroticism, than by the surreal nazi camps portrayed through flashbacks (the homoerotic ballet sequence!). The film has a memorable score, with one of those melodic themes you won't forget. All in all I highly recommend it, if you are a Charlotte Rampling and/or Dirk Bogarde fan - BUY IT! If you are curious, rent it first. After watching it, check out Bogarde's biography (An Ordinary Man?) and his notes surrounding the production - in particular the night they shot the last scene in Vienna - and the reaction he got from the assembled crowd of onlookers, when he appeared in full Nazi uniform.
04-18-01, 11:43 AM
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04-19-01, 04:29 PM
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This is a very beautiful film, yet very disturbing. This film will most likely make you feel somewhat uncomfortable, but not in a gross way as Salo would. I asked for a review of this film a couple of months ago and I got many good responses. I would recommend it to you if you like to watch films with odd themes. I hope you enjoy it. 
