History Film / TheDamned

** 1976 film ''Salon Kitty'', where Helmut Berger ans Ingrid Thulin once again team up in a story about the depravity of German society in the early days of Nazism.

* FanDisservice: While the film is known to be sexually risqué, most of the sexual scenes consist of child molestation, a depraved homosexual Nazi orgy that ends in a bloody massacre, and a sexually explicit incestious sex scene.

* FanDisservice: While the film known to be sexually risqué, most of the sexual scenes consist of child molestation, a depraved homosexual Nazi orgy that ends in a bloody massacre, and a sexually explicit incestious sex scene.

* ShoutOut: [[spoiler: Sophie and Frederick suicide after their wedding is an obvious one to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler's suicide with Eva Braun.]] Herbert Thalmann shares his surname with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Th%C3%A4lmann the leader of Weimar Germany's Communist Party]].

* FreudianExcuse: If ever any movie character had one, it's Martin. Lost his father in WorldWarOne and is constantly reminded of his heroism; his mother is a domineering schemer with strong squicky hints of incest. Little wonder he turned out so messed up.

* BreakTheCutie: Gunther's arc from sensitive violinist to prospective SS recruit, as the bad things that happen to him kindle a hatred within him.

* BreakTheCutie: Gunther's arc from sensitive violinist to prospective SS recruit.

Set in the early days of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, ''Film/TheDamned'' depicts the downfall of the Essenbecks, a prosperous German steel family. Patriarch Joachim (Albrecht Schoenhals) announces his retirement from the family business. Frederick Bruckman (Dirk Bogarde), an ambitious company executive, conspires with Joachim's daughter Sophie (Ingrid Thulin) and SS official Aschenbach (Helmut Griem) to murder Joachim and take over the company. This sets off a vicious power struggle between Frederick, Sophie, Aschenbach, Sophie's son Martin (Helmut Berger) and Konstantin (Rene Koldehoff), an SA leader. Caught in the middle is Herbert Thalman (Umberto Orsini), Joachim's vice president whom Frederick frames for Joachim's death, his wife Elizabeth (Charlotte Rampling) and Konstantin's son Gunther (Renaud Verley).

* BigScrewedUpFamily: It doesn't get more screwed up than incest, murder and currying favor with Nazis.

%%* AristocratsAreEvil
%%* BigScrewedUpFamily: You know, they should be the page image.

%%* TheCorrupter: Aschenbach, again.

* DragQueen: Martin is his first scene sings one of MarleneDietrich's song.

* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: Herbert and Frederick. Martin ends up being the VillainProtagonist]]

%%* VillainProtagonist

* {{Blackmail}}: [[spoiler: Konstantin offers to Martin to cover his dirty affair with the Jewish little girl in exchange of being nominated president of the company. Later he's HoistByHisOwnPetard. ]]
%%* BookBurning: Literally depicted.

%%* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: Herbert and Frederick.]]

%%* LadyMacbeth: Sophie is a particularly nasty example.

%%* OedipusComplex: Oh, Martin. And it's only the first of his issues.

''The Damned'' was extremely controversial in its day, for both its sexual content and graphic violence. It remains a polarizing movie: some critics consider it a masterpiece, others think it's overblown and sensationalistic. Compare for instance Vincent Canby's [[http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173AB22CAA494CC2B779958D6896 glowing review]] with RogerEbert's [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-damned-1970 scathing one]]. One notable fan is director RainerWernerFassbinder, who said it "means as much to the history of film as Shakespeare to the history of theater."

%%* TheChessMaster: Aschenbach

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Essenbecks are clearly modeled on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krupp Krupp family]].

%%* StraightGay: [[spoiler: Konstantin.]]

* RecycledInSpace: ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' meets ''Literature/{{Buddenbrooks}}'' in NaziGermany with some Dostoevskij put in the middle.

* AmbitionIsEvil
* AristocratsAreEvil
* BigScrewedUpFamily: You know, they should be the page image.

* BookBurning: Literally depicted.

* TheChessMaster: Aschenbach

* TheCorrupter: Aschenbach, again.

* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: Herbert and Frederick.]]

* DevilInPlainSight: Aschenbach

* DinnerAndAShow
* DownerEnding

* EvilNephew: C'mon Martin...

* LadyMacbeth: Sophie is a particularly nasty example.
* LotsAndLotsOfCharacters
* NaziNobleman: [[spoiler: Martin at the end.]]

* OedipusComplex: Oh, Martin. And it's only the first of his issues.

* ParentalIncest: [[spoiler: Martin and Sophie.]]
* PrettyBoy: [[EvilIsSexy Martin]] and Gunther as well.
* PsychopathicManchild: Martin...Martin.
* ThePurge: The Night of the Long Knives.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil

* StraightGay: [[spoiler: Konstantin.]]
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Both Martin and Gunther.
* ThoseWackyNazis
* UncannyValleyMakeup: Sophie in the end.
* UnholyMatrimony: Sophie and Frederick, if only they can marry.
* VillainProtagonist
* VillainousIncest: A particularly disturbing example.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Aschenbach's attitude towards Frederick and Sophie late in the film.

Set in the early days of NaziGermany, ''Film/TheDamned'' depicts the downfall of the Essenbecks, a prosperous German steel family. Patriarch Joachim (Albrecht Schoenhals) announces his retirement from the family business. Frederick Bruckman (Dirk Bogarde), an ambitious company executive, conspires with Joachim's daughter Sophie (Ingrid Thulin) and SS official Aschenbach (Helmut Griem) to murder Joachim and take over the company. This sets off a vicious power struggle between Frederick, Sophie, Aschenbach, Sophie's son Martin (Helmut Berger) and Konstantin (Rene Koldehoff), an SA leader. Caught in the middle is Herbert Thalman (Umberto Orsini), Joachim's vice president whom Frederick frames for Joachim's death, his wife Elizabeth (Charlotte Rampling) and Konstantin's son Gunther (Renaud Verley).

* NaziGermany

* MemeticMolester: Martin is one in-universe. Think of his poor little cousins.

* RecycledInSpace: ''{{Macbeth}}'' meets ''{{Buddenbrooks}}'' in NaziGermany with some Dostoevskij put in the middle.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''TheNightPorter'', also starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling.

* AbortedArc: Two glaring examples, bordering on TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Some early scenes allude to Herbert stealing corporate documents during his flight from Germany, hence rendering him potentially dangerous. This however is quickly forgotten - it's not even mentioned [[spoiler:when Herbert returns]] - leading viewers to wonder what threat Herbert poses to the Nazis, or [[ShootTheShaggyDog why his family has to suffer]]. Aschenbach even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this, saying that foreign industrialists "won't be able to make use" of Herbert's documents.
** The decree enabling Frederick to become an Essenbeck and hence inherit the steelworks upon marrying Sophie. This proves his motivation for funneling money to the Nazi Party, and later participating in the Long Knives massacre. Near the end, [[spoiler:Martin nonchalantly tears up the decree as "just a scrap of paper."]]

* BookBurning

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Essenbecks are clearly modeled on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krupp Krupp family]]. Herbert Thalmann shares his surname with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Th%C3%A4lmann the leader of Weimar Germany's Communist Party]].

* ShoutOut: [[spoiler: Sophie and Frederick suicide after their wedding is an obvious one to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler's suicide with Eva Braun.]]
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''TheNightPorter'', also starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: Herbert, having fled abroad after Joachim's murder, returns very late in the film to reveal the fate of Elizabeth and his children. He disappears immediately afterwards without further mention. But probrably he got arrested.]]

* WidowWoman: Sophie and does she resents it!

* FakeNationality: Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling (British), Helmut Berger (Austrian), Ingrid Thulin (Swedish), Umberto Orsini (Italian), Renaud Verley (French) and Florinda Balkan (Brazilian) all play Germans.

* StarMakingRole: For Helmut Berger.

* HollywoodHistory: The Night of the Long Knives compresses numerous disparate murders and arrests, spread over three days and across different parts of Germany, into a giant massacre of SA members on one evening at a single location. Not to mention Visconti's depiction of the SA staging a gay orgy.

* ShoutOut: [[spoiler: Sophie and Frederick suicide after their wedding is an obvious one to AdolfHitler's suicide with Eva Braun.]]

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Essenbecks are clearly modeled on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krupp Krupp family]]. Hebert Thalmann shares his surname with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Th%C3%A4lmann the leader of Weimar Germany's Communist Party]].