Much like EMPIRE OF THE SENSES, WIFE TO BE SACRIFICED, BLIND BEAST, LAST TANGO IN Paris (and several others...) - THE NIGHT PORTER explores the "dark" realm of sexual obsession amongst like-minded players. The end-result of many of these films are typically similar - and this one is often mistakenly and misguidedly dubbed a "Nazisploit" film due to the non-mainstream subject matter and Nazi sub-text - but ILSA this film is not...
THE NIGHT PORTER centers around an ex-Nazi Officer who ends up as a (what else???) night-porter at a Viennese hotel. During his daily routines, he runs into a former prisoner of the concentration camps that he had an "interest" in who is staying at the hotel. The two had a strange, mutual sado-masochistic relationship - and although the woman is now married and the porter is trying to hide his war-crimes - the two inevitably resume their previous sexual-antics - much to the chagrin of some of the porter's Nazi pals, who are looking to silence ANY witnesses to the porter's previous wrong-doings...
Well-written, well-acted, well-shot - THE NIGHT PORTER is a strong entry for what it is - but honestly - I've seen better (or at least what I personally believe to be better) from this sort of film/subject-matter. All of the films mentioned in the first paragraph are films that I found more powerful at dealing with much the same story-line. Even so - THE NIGHT PORTER will be of interest to fans of more "artistic" yet somewhat "sleazy" material...7.5/10
THE NIGHT PORTER centers around an ex-Nazi Officer who ends up as a (what else???) night-porter at a Viennese hotel. During his daily routines, he runs into a former prisoner of the concentration camps that he had an "interest" in who is staying at the hotel. The two had a strange, mutual sado-masochistic relationship - and although the woman is now married and the porter is trying to hide his war-crimes - the two inevitably resume their previous sexual-antics - much to the chagrin of some of the porter's Nazi pals, who are looking to silence ANY witnesses to the porter's previous wrong-doings...
Well-written, well-acted, well-shot - THE NIGHT PORTER is a strong entry for what it is - but honestly - I've seen better (or at least what I personally believe to be better) from this sort of film/subject-matter. All of the films mentioned in the first paragraph are films that I found more powerful at dealing with much the same story-line. Even so - THE NIGHT PORTER will be of interest to fans of more "artistic" yet somewhat "sleazy" material...7.5/10