Fascism On Film - Episode 19 - The Damned

Welcome to the nineteenth episode of our ongoing series: Fascism On Film. Each episode of this series, the Holmes Brothers look and review a film that has to do with fascism. During the episodes, the brothers look and see how the aspects and portrayal of fascism shown in the film relate to current and/or past events.

On this Fascism on Film episode, the Holmes Brothers sit down to discuss Luchino Visconti's film from 1969: The Damned. A sweeping historical drama set in pre-war Nazi Germany. Events such as the Reichstag Fire and the Night of the Long Knives are featured in the film. The film boasts a big cast of actors that includes: Dirk Bogarde, Ingrid Thulin, Helmut Griem, Umberto Orsini, Reinhard Kolldehoff and Helmut Berger. This was Helmut Berger's first big role and he was awarded a nomination for the Most Promising Newcomer - Male award at the Golden Globes. Regarded as the first film of Visconti's German Trilogy, The Damned is about a wealthy family of steel industrialists called The Essenbecks. Loosely based on the Kupp Family. The film showcases the rise of Nazism in Germany following the Reichstag fire and is told through the eyes of this family. Members of The Essenbeck family and those connected to them hunger for power and high status amongst this new regime.

A dark and strange film that is grand in scope, but messily put and held together. A well acclaimed film that did garner an X rating and controversy at the time, for its sexual content. Aspects of the Night of the Long Knives sequence were removed from the film, however it was restored to the cut of The Damned that we have today.

We hope you enjoy this episode and stay tuned for more episodes of this Fascism On Film series.

Be sure to check out our Monument Valley Film on our YouTube Channel.

Anders's screenwriter work can also be seen at work in the horror, car chase thriller Delivery Run, co-written with & directed by Joey Palmroos. The film has been released digitally and also in select cinemas in the US and the UK. In Finland it was released on Apple TV after finishing its limited cinema run and was the Number 1 film for multiple weeks. You can read a review about it here on the Fangoria website. The film is now available to watch in the other Nordic territories like Sweden, Oslo and of course Denmark. If you live in Denmark, you can watch the movie here on Apple TV by clicking this link.

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