The Night Porter (1974)

Vienna, 1957. Max (Dirk Bogarde, The Damned, Death in Venice) is the night porter in one of the city's most luxurious hotels. He is a former Nazi officer who works hard and tries not to think about the past. He is in his early 40s and living alone.

One day, an elegant young woman (Charlotte Rampling, Flesh of the Orchid, Under the Sand) enters the hotel. She immediately recognizes Max. A series of flashbacks then reveal that years ago she was one of his inmates in a camp where the Nazis did various experiments, and that they had a relationship.

Lucia is now the wife of a respected American conductor with a busy schedule. While her husband works with the local symphony orchestra, she decides to approach Max. The two meet in the hotel and have one of the most unusual romantic reunions ever filmed.

Meanwhile, a group of elderly Nazis who specialize in removing knowledgeable Holocaust survivors that could jeopardize their safety begin investigating Max. They suspect that he might have ignored the group's rule to report anyone capable of exposing their true identities. The leader of the group mentions a young and beautiful American woman who has recently arrived in the city together with her well known husband. Soon after, a killer is dispatched to remove the woman.

Max and Lucia continue to meet. When they make love, they often hurt each other. They aren't sadomasochists, but pain is something they have both come to expect from each other. Various flashbacks reveal why.

Eventually, the group's killer moves in a room right across from the one where Max and Lucia have been spending most of their time. In a desperate attempt to keep his lover alive, Max barricades himself and Lucia inside the room. They continue to make love - until they run out of food.

To say that Italian director Liliana Cavani's The Night Porter is a dangerous film would be a major understatement. There are two reasons why: First, it explores the darkest corners of the human soul with such authority that it is absolutely impossible to dismiss it as an exploitation film. Exploitation films cannot be dangerous because they aren't believable. This film definitely is. Second, The Night Porter boldly challenges serious taboos which throughout the years only a few respectable films have had the courage to address in a familiar fashion.

Given the nature of the project, the cast is absolutely phenomenal. There are some truly unforgettable sequences with Rampling, who essentially plays two entirely different characters. The one sequence where she is seen entertaining the Nazi officers is particularly disturbing because it does not look kitschy at all. Bogarde is also terrific as the guilty man whose obsessions are slowly destroying him.

The film was lensed by the great cinematographer Alfio Contini, who during the 60s and 70s worked with some of Italy's greatest directors, including Michelangelo Antonioni (Zabriskie Point), Franco Rossi (A Rose for Everyone), and Mario Monicelli (Lady Liberty). The film's color scheme is particularly striking. It favors mostly very cold greens, blues, and grays, which further enhance the already remarkably tense atmosphere.

The outstanding set decors and production designs were created by Oscar winner Osvaldo Desideri (Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom, The Last Emperor, Once Upon a Time in America).

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