Here's the last of my three artwork updates . . .
Original conceptual movie poster painting for the 1974 controversial presentation, The Night Porter, starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling.
I remember seeing this movie during the time of its release. A strangely compelling tale, but one that ultimately leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Artist Vic Fair’s conceptual painting is a clever piece of design work. The (then) modern day continuing sado-masochistic relationship between the Bogarde and the Rampling characters are seen in the wardrobe’s front glass reflection, with Bogarde in his Night Porter uniform almost seamlessly merging with the SS uniform hanging in the wardrobe’s interior. The blank area to the right of the artwork leaves an open area where cast and production details would have been added as captioned text in any resulting final design – though in this case the movie’s distributors ultimately opted for a photographic montage poster campaign that is actually very effective (see additional image).
The Night Porter (Italian: Il portiere di notte) is a 1974 Italian erotic psychological drama film. Directed and co-written by Liliana Cavani, the film stars Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, and features Philippe Leroy and Gabriele Ferzetti. Its themes of sexual and sadomasochistic obsession have made the film controversial since its initial release, with critics being divided over the film's artistic value.
The Night Porter is widely considered to be a Nazisploitation film and a cult classic.
The film depicts the political continuity between wartime Nazism and post-war Europe and the psychological continuity of characters locked into compulsive repetition of the past. On another level it deals with the psychological condition known as Stockholm Syndrome. The movie also raises the issue of sleeper Nazi cells and their control.
More basically, it explores two people in an uneasy yet inextricably bound relationship within the context of a greater political malaise during and after World War II. Lucia (Rampling) is not specifically identified as Jewish but as the daughter of a socialist. Max seems to have a guilt complex, given he's afraid of the light, and lives a modest lifestyle after the war. Allusions to sexual ambivalence can be seen in his relationship with the epicene male ballet dancer.
In responses to The Night Porter, Cavani was both celebrated for her courage in dealing with the theme of sexual transgression and, simultaneously, castigated for the controversial manner in which she presented that transgression: within the context of a Nazi Holocaust narrative. The film has been accused of mere sensationalism: film critic Roger Ebert calls it "as nasty as it is lubricious, a despicable attempt to titillate us by exploiting memories of persecution and suffering," while Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide in 2005 called it "sleazy" and "bizarre". In The New York Times, Nora Sayre praised the performances of Bogarde and Rampling, and the "dark, rich tones" of the cinematography, but began her review by writing "If you don't love pain, you won't find "The Night Porter" erotic—and by now, even painbuffs may be satiated with Nazi decadence." Vincent Canby, another prominent critic for The New York Times, called it "romantic pornography" and "a piece of junk".
In her essay for the Criterion Collection release, Annette Insdorf called The Night Porter "a provocative and problematic film . . . It can be seen as an exercise in perversion and exploitation of the Holocaust for the sake of sensationalism. On the other hand, a closer reading of this English-language psychological thriller suggests a dark vision of compelling characters doomed by their World War II past."
First image is of Vic fair's conceptual painting, with the second being the photo-montage movie poster (one of several variations) that was ultimately used to promote the film during its release.
