"Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs" or "Mad Emperor: Ludwig II" or just "Ludwig II" is a West German 110-minute film from 1955, so this one already had its 60th anniversary last year. The title is a perfect information what the movie is about, the life and times of Ludwig II. The director is Helmut Käutner and he filmed a script by 3 screen-writers that I am not familiar with. But Käutner is among the most known directors of his time here in Germany. The lead actor here is O.W. Fischer, also among Germany's most respected actors back then, and he received a German Film Award for his portrayal here. Klaus Kinski had only very little screen time, but it was enough to score a nomination in the supporting category. The film generally received some decent praise, was also nominated in Cannes back then. I personally enjoyed the watch. The film delivers convincingly in terms of costumes and sets and we should not take it for granted. But the heart and soul of the movie is Fischer as the lead. I can see why he received a lot of praise and this is probably the most known work of his career more than a decade after his death. He is everything that Tambrea wasn't in the fairly recent take on the story. And even beyond acting and visuals aspects (that were helped a lot by the fact that this is a color film), this film is worth a watch as it delivers an interesting history lesson in terms of Ludwig's preference of the arts, his relationship with Richard Wagner and his mysterious death. This movie only dragged very rarely and that's decent achievement as it comes close to the 2-hour mark. I recommend the watch. Thumbs up.
