Ludwig (film)

Ludwig
French film poster
Directed by	Luchino Visconti
Written by	Luchino Visconti Enrico Medioli Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Produced by	Dieter Geissler Ugo Santalucia Robert Gordon Edwards
Starring	Romy Schneider Helmut Berger Silvana Mangano Trevor Howard Gert Fröbe Helmut Griem John Moulder-Brown
Cinematography	Armando Nannuzzi
Edited by	Ruggero Mastroianni
Music by	Richard Wagner Robert Schumann Jacques Offenbach
Production companies	Mega Film Cinétel Divina Film Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion RAI
Distributed by	Panta Cinematografica (Italy) Gloria Filmverleih (Germany) MGM (U.S./U.K.)
Release dates	18 January 1973 (1973-01-18) (West Germany) 7 March 1973 (1973-03-07) (Italy) 15 March 1973 (1973-03-15) (France)
Running time	238 minutes 177 minutes (U.S. cut)
Countries	Italy West Germany France
Language	English
Budget	DM12 million

Ludwig (German: Ludwig II.) is a 1973 English-language epic biographical drama film co-written and directed by Luchino Visconti. The film stars Helmut Berger as King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Romy Schneider as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, along with Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Helmut Griem, and Gert Fröbe. It is the third and final part of Visconti's "German Trilogy", following The Damned (1969) and Death in Venice (1971).

An international co-production by Italian producer Ugo Santalucia and West German producer Dieter Giessler, Ludwig was one of the most expensive European films at the time, and was a moderate success in its home territories, but was more lukewarmly received in the United States, where a heavily truncated 177-minute version was released.^[1] It was filmed in Munich and surrounding parts of Bavaria, and at Cinecittà Studios.

Ludwig won two David di Donatello Awards, for Best Film and Best Director, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Berger and Schneider both received German Film Award nominations for their acting, and Berger won a "Special David di Donatello" for his portrayal of the King.