Ludwig (1973)

Ludwig Movie Poster Country France Italy West Germany Directed by Luchino Visconti Release Date January 18, 1973 Language German Italian Distributor Gloria Filmverleih AG Main Cast Character Actor Ludwig II of Bavaria Helmut Berger Empress Elisabeth of Austria Romy Schneider Richard Wagner Trevor Howard Cosima von Bülow Silvana Mangano Pater Hoffmann Gert Fröbe

Ludwig is a 1973 French-German-Italian movie directed by Luchino Visconti (Senso '45, The Leopard) and deals with the life and decline of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. At just 19, Bavaria's fairytale King Ludwig II ascends the throne. He is less interested in diplomacy than in the fine arts. He becomes a generous sponsor of artists and musicians, especially Richard Wagner. But the hoped-for thanks are missing. Bitterly he withdraws and hardly cares about government affairs. Only with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria does he find a soul mate who sticks to him but does not return his love. Thereupon Ludwig Sissis married Sophie. He commissioned huge buildings, but his huge dream castles swallowed up enormous amounts. Finally, he is declared mentally ill and disempowered due to his “wastefulness”.

The story was retold in the 2012 movie with Sabin Tambrea as the titular character.

The following weapons were used in the film Ludwig (1973):

Unknown Rifle

Bavarian, Prussian and later German soldiers can be seen carrying rifles of unknown types.

A Bavarian sergeant fires his rifle into the air to scare the deputies.

Right view of one rifle.

Receiver view.

The bayonet and muzzle.

Closer view of the rear part.

A full view.

Rast-Gasser M1898

Count von Holstein (Umberto Orsini) takes an Austro-Hungarian Rast-Gasser M1898 revolver to search for Ludwig II (Helmut Berger) and Professor Bernhard von Gudden (Heinz Moog). This unresolved incident happened in 1886, so the appearance of this revolver is clearly an anachronism. A Reichsrevolver M1879 would be more accurate in this time period.

Austrian Rast Gasser 1898 - 8 x 27mm Gasser

The revolver in his hand after taking it from a drawer.

Von Holstein performs an ammo check.

He holds it in the air to explain how the search should proceed.