It is a performances centric movie

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

A former Nazi SS officer crosses paths again with a former concentration camp prisoner who he had an affair with. But a group of other former Nazis who are determined to eliminate any incriminating evidence or indeed people who might expose their past deeds know about this woman who they see as posing a real threat to them.Obviously this was very controversial when it was released with many film critics calling it trash and exploitative. But it's neither of these. It feels dignified, rich and not just made to be sensationalistic and play on 42nd Street's Deuce.The photography is breathtaking with the locations almost becoming another character of the film. Both Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling as amazing in the lead roles and their interactions crackle with electricity. The film pulls no punches in the nature of their relationship with elements of sadomasochism being played out. This is certainly a brave film but all the more brilliant because of it. Critics and audiences alike eventually came round to discovering the film's genius premise and vision. I'm so glad this has been released by The Criterion Collection- the final validation for a film that was clearly ahead of it's time.

A hotel clerk in 1957 Vienna recognizes one of his guests as the once-frail and imprisoned woman from the Nazi death camps of World War II when he was an SS officer and she was his half-scared/half-curious sex slave. She recognizes him as well and, despite now being the glamorous wife of an opera conductor, finds herself still drawn to this man. She spies on his private meeting with Nazi sympathizers, who fret about potential "witnesses" bringing their crimes to trial, but the clerk declares his love for the woman and chains her up (willingly) in his apartment. Director Liliana Cavani, who also co-wrote the screenplay, managed to incite a mild uproar from the critics by using a Nazi concentration camp as a backdrop for this kinky relationship, yet the irony of emaciated prisoners of war watching passively while the officer flirts with his pretty, wide-eyed captive is intriguing (at first). But Cavani isn't interested in making a death camp movie; her aim is to be erotic and daring, and the rest is just window-dressing. Once the woman moves into the clerk's room, their neurotic union begins to seem like a watered-down variation of the relationship from "Last Tango in Paris" (in that one, the couple turned on with butter; here, it's raspberry jam). Cavani finally junks the irony and settles instead for melodrama--shot in ghostly color--leading to a woebegone conclusion. Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling don't embarrass themselves, though Bogarde (whose character appears to be bisexual, though this is never expanded upon) has a few moments in the present-day section wherein he looks totally lost as an actor. Also, a lengthy sequence of a male ballet dancer performing in a jock-strap for Nazi soldiers appears to be a flashback to the camps, but the dancer is revealed to be a party sympathizer, and so the scene (which is the only one that has an erotic thrust) is merely padding. *1/2 from ****

W.A.Mozart wrote sublime music - surely the ultimate expression of the beauty of the human mind - including "The Magic Flute",referred to by Neville Cardus as "The only opera that could conceivably have been written by God" which features extensively in "The Night Porter". On the other hand,the Nazis - presumably God's worst nightmare - fulfilled the polar opposite expression of the human mind and it is the clash of these two cultures and their affect on men and women faced with extraordinary stresses that the film explores. Max and Lucia - former prisoner and captive - have a savage and sadistic relationship dating from the Death Camps which is rekindled a dozen years later. Max is outwardly a clever,cultured and charming man,but he is wracked with guilt and fear over the possibility has past will be revealed. Lucia has her own guilt issues because of what she did to survive the Holocaust. Music plays a strong part,from the ballet dancing Nazi Officer to the song Lucia sings to entertain her captors,and its constant counterpoint to the action on the screen. When news of Lucia's re - appearance reaches Max's fellow ex - Nazis,they demand she should be killed,but he runs away with her instead sealing both their fates. Mr D.Bogarde and Miss C.Rampling are both extraordinary in this film, a performance equal to his in "The Victim" and one she has never approached since. It is not easy to watch but I recommend it wholeheartedly because it shows that love - albeit an unusual kind - will endure.

This movies has been reviewed in depth (reading them inspired me to write this), I just wanted to add a small comment.When most people talk about the convoluted and twisted relationship of the main characters they seem to miss one point, their current positions.Max has gone from a man of great power, life and death by the wave of his hand, illustrated by his present to her at the dance. And she was a "dead" person, sent to a camp to die, kept alive by his simplest wish, the slightest misstep and she is dead.Now, years later he is a basic servant, reduced to hiding by night and waiting on other people. She has become rich and powerful, people wait on her.Other people mentioned the guilt felt by Holocaust survivors, and here she is knowing that not only did she survive, but she survived by not only collaborating with the enemy, but (possibly) enjoying herself while doing it. Imagine the guilt in that situation. Her return to his control is less of a S/M response and more of a guilt reflex, she cheated death in the arms of the enemy and guilt drives her back to suffer for her sins. He has a chance to return to his former glory, he regains control over her and by opposing his fellow Nazi's, he once again has control over not only her life, but his own.They return to their former roles out of guilt, the love and the sex are by-products, a way of reinforcing the return to their former roles.The Stockholm syndrome might have influenced her actions at the camp and therefore would have added to her guilt, but I think her reaction to meeting him again is driven more by the guilt of her past than a desire to relive it.They are driven by the guilt of their past actions, he deserved to die for what he did, she did not deserve to live while so many others died.By the way...I'm probably totally wrong in my assessment.Also by the way, I'm not a person obsessed by guilt, I just feel in reference to this movie it is an important addition to the plot.All that said, I liked the movie, I found it engrossing and was drawn into the story, others have mentioned how great the cinematography was, but I found that I was too interested in the story to notice (a sign of great cinematography).A movie that to really appreciate you must look past the story and into the dark soul of life.