Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria, his famous castles and the mysterious circumstances of his death, have inspired a lot of filmmakers throudhout all times. This DVD set contains in newly restored versions the two surviving silents about Ludwig II. Rolf Raffé's Das Schweigen am Starnbergersee focusses on the conflict between the king and his family while Wilhelm Dieterles Ludwig der Zweite describes how the king turned in becoming a madman - consequently the film was severly censored and forbidden for screenings in Bavaria. Christian Rischert's documentary Im Ozean der Sehnsucht enlightens the historical background and traces the thoughts of Ludwig II by visiting his galleries, castles and artificial grottos.
The films
Das Schweigen am Starnbergersee - Germany 1920 - Directed by: Rolf Raffé - Cinematography by: Karl Attenberger - Cast: Martin Wilhelm, Ferdinand Bonn, Carla Nelsen, Addy Homberg, Karl Guttenberger, Oskar Bayrer, Anton Herrmann, Ludwig Weng - Produced by: Indra-Film, Munich - Premiere: 24.1.1920 (Kammer-Lichtspiele, Munich) - Rekonstructed by: Filmmuseum München - Edited by: Gerhard Ullmann, Stefan Drößler - Compositing: Christian Ketels - Music by: Günter A. Buchwald - Sound recording by: Gunther Bittmann, Ernst Schillert
Ludwig der Zweite - Germany 1930 - Directed by: Wilhelm Dieterle - Written by: Wilhelm Dieterle, Charlotte Hagenbruch, Lajos Biró - Cinematography by: Charles J. Stumar - Cast: Wilhelm Dieterle, Rina Marsa, Theodor Loos, Trude von Molo, Gerhard Bienert, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, Max Schreck - Produced by: Deutsche Universal-Film, Berlin - Premiere: 10.3.1930 (Titania-Palast, Berlin) - Restored by: Filmmuseum München - Edited by: Stefan Drößler - Compositing by: Christian Ketels - Music by: Joachim Bärenz - Sound recording by: Gunther Bittmann, Ernst Schillert
Im Ozean der Sehnsucht - West Germany 1986 - Directed and written by: Christian Rischert - Cinematography by: Wolfgang Grasshoff - Produced by: Christian Rischert Filmproduktion / Unitel GmbH & Co. KG / Bayerischer Rundfunk - Premiere: 13.6.1986 (ARD)
DVD-Features (2-disc DVD)
DVD 1
- Ludwig der Zweite, König von Bayern 1930, 111'
- Chapter selection
- Piano score by Joachim Bärenz
- Lobby cards of all three Ludwig films
DVD 2
- Das Schweigen am Starnbergersee 1920, 82'
- Chapter selection
- Score for piano and violin by Günter A. Buchwald
- Im Ozean der Sehnsucht 1986, 104'
- 20-page booklet with essays by Alfons Maria Arns and Hans-Günther Pflaum
Edited by: Filmmuseum München and Goethe-Institut München
DVD authoring: Ralph Schermbach
DVD supervision: Stefan Drössler
First edition: July 2009
