"The Night Porter" is deadly slow, pretentious and perverse, trying desperately to be a break-out film in its day, 1974. Two excellent actors, Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, are wasted in this sadomasochist exercise. If the basic relationship (a cruel love carried over from a WWII death camp to Vienna in 1957) had been believable, it might have been half a success, despite the glacial pace and long stretches with little or no dialogue. But it wasn't.
shareI totally agree. I was very disappointed I thought the movie would be disturbing, but I found it cold and boring.
shareIt was painful to watch. I almost fell asleep trying to watch this.
When you see my face, your life is done! - Lockdownshare
I'm not quite sure what I thought of it. But I do think Charlotte Rampling gave an incredible performance and elevated the film. If it was not for her, I don't think I'd have bothered.
shareI think it's quite a lovely, elegiac, disturbing film. Sorry you didn't care for it. The love's not cruel, though it is heavily rooted in power--who has it, who is exercising it. Lucia re-enters the relationship of her own free will and in fact becomes the aggressor, while Max seems almost to fade away.
The sexual dynamics are fascinating but most people can't look past the fact that the central relationship takes place between an old camp commandant and a prisoner. That very controversial choice may have been chosen for a reason, you think?
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"It's better not to know so much about what things mean." David Lynch
I watch this movie about once a year. I admit it moves slowly but I do not find it dull or boring... I find it fascinating. The descent into madness and the absurd Nazi storyline are very interesting to me. I'd just maybe chalk it up to being a film that's not for everybody... A very small percentage of moviegoers would appreciate this movie. And that's okay :)
shareCertainly sorta slow. Dull? That's a matter of opinion; wasn't for me. However, the problems I had with it mainly concern the often stilted, awkward dialogue (partly due to dubbing no doubt) and the way some of the more over-the-top histrionics tended towards silliness. Some here are praising Rampling's performance, but I don't see it - in her emotional scenes, she was frequently quite jarringly overwrought & unnatural (some of Bogarde's outbursts seemed ill-timed as well though). And yes, at times - mostly during the first hour - it all looked as if trying so terribly hard to be as uncompromisingly "arty" as possible... I guess that's this faint scent of PRETENTION right there. But it all kind of worked out in the end - more or less. Far from masterpiece, but worthwhile as as curiosity that's rather spellbindingly bleak in parts, I guess.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
I finally watched The Night Porter late last night on Hulu. I watched it to coincide with the fact that the Oscars are this weekend and Charlotte Rampling, the leading actress of this film, finally earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her work in 45 Years.
While I found The Night Porter to be slightly interesting, I thought it was dull at times and very slow to the point that the second half could be very soporific. Don't get me wrong. I love FOREIGN FILMS. I also love ART-HOUSE FILMS. Ingmar Bergman happens to be one of my favorite directors. I also like some of Fellini's films. I like some of John Cassavetes' films. However, I can count on my fingers how many times I almost dozed off during the second half of this movie. I even felt they went a little overboard on the minimal dialogue. I was thinking, "Are they trying to go for a latter-day silent film in color or something?" I can understand some of the complaints on this board about the film being dull and slow.
I even cracked up a few times. When the gay dancer guy and the SS guard are interacting or when Rampling and Bogarde are rolling around on the floor trying to relive their sadomasochistic relationship, I couldn't keep a straight face given the campy nature of this film. I don’t know if that was the director’s intention though but I really couldn’t get over the campy dialogue in this film. The film also had a porno look to it, which is funny, given this is a film about a sadomasochistic relationship.
After watching The Night Porter, Hulu next recommended to me Belle de Jour, a film I've already seen. It's ironic because while Belle de Jour is an erotic film and deals with BDSM much like The Night Porter, I think the former is a much better film. Even in Belle de Jour when there is not much going on, you are engaged by the much subtler sexuality and surrealism Belle de Jour sustains.
The Night Porter is one of those films you watch due to its reputation in 1970s arthouse cinema, not so much its actual quality. I can see why the critics weren't too kind with this film.
5/10