Ludwig backdrop

DRAMA . 1973 . 3h 58m . 7.4/10

Ludwig_

"Ludwig. He loved women. He loved men. He lived as controversially as he ruled. But he did not care what the world thought. He was the world."

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.

Starring Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard

7.4/10

Rating

3h 58m

Runtime

1973

Year

Updated Feb 16, 2026

Ludwig poster

Ludwig. He loved women. He loved men. He lived as controversially as he ruled. But he did not care what the world thought. He was the world.

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.

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Cast

Helmut Berger stars as Ludwig in Ludwig.

Helmut Berger →

Year context

Ludwig was released 53 years ago in 1973.

Overview

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by hi...

Ludwig is a Drama, History film with a runtime of 3h 58m.

CAST (20)

Helmut Berger

Romy Schneider

Elisabeth of Austria

Trevor Howard

Trevor Howard

Richard Wagner

Silvana Mangano

Silvana Mangano

Cosima von Bülow

Gert Fröbe

Father Hoffmann

Helmut Griem

IT

Izabella Telezynska

Queen Mother

Umberto Orsini

Count von Holnstein

John Moulder-Brown

John Moulder-Brown

Sonia Petrovna

Folker Bohnet

Heinz Moog

Professor von Gudden

Adriana Asti

Lila von Buliowski

Marc Porel

Nora Ricci

Countess Ida Ferenczy

Mark Burns

Hans von Bülow

Maurizio Bonuglia

Maurizio Bonuglia

Alexander Allerson

Secretary of State

BB

Bert Bloch

Weber

MF

Manfred Fürst

DETAILS

Release

March 7, 1973

Status

Released

Runtime

238 min (3h 58m)

Country

Germany, France, Italy, MC

Rating

7.4/10 (177 votes)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Ludwig about?

Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.

How long is Ludwig?

Ludwig has a runtime of 238 minutes (3h 58m).

Who stars in Ludwig?

The cast of Ludwig includes Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Gert Fröbe.

What is the rating of Ludwig?

Ludwig has a rating of 7.4 out of 10 based on 177 votes on TMDB.

GENRES (2)

Drama History