"I daresay that calling off the engagement with Princess Sophie  marked the beginning of our misfortunes" "From that inauspicious day, our King lost his interest in State affairs" "Despite everything that was going on in the world, His Majesty seemed interested only in building all of those castles  in which nobody would ever live" "To make matters worse, Prince Otto was getting more and more ill and the Queen Mother sought comfort in the Catholic religion" "Our heart is filled with joy, Your Majesty" "How painful for a mother - he did not want to be caressed" "On behalf of our Provincial Father too, I would like to express my contentment for Your Majesty's decision to attend this ceremony and the deepest sorrow that is caused by seeing him living more and more in seclusion" "Lately, I have been visiting him frequently to ask him about his health" "Very often His Majesty refused to see me" "Remember His Majesty in your prayers" "I never forget our beloved King in my prayers" "But I must admit that it is a cause of great embarrassment and profound dismay having to explain to his Catholic subjects  his position" "Sadly, we are on the verge of a war that at best will end up with the triumph in Europe of the Prussian forces" "And we would like to be able to say that the course of these earthly events which, as the Lord knows are totally alien to us will encourage us to try and strengthen more and more the sacred bonds with the mother church and the Holy Pope" "But our King is not helping us on this" "If God, in his eternal mercy accepted me as His humble servant  I am sure that He will help us" "I have faith" "You are waiting in vain, Father." "His Majesty cannot receive you" "I am here on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen Mother." "Prince Otto is ill" "His Majesty is ill too." "Bad teeth" "Listen to me, Father." "Do not waste your time waiting" "But I could..." "Count Holnstein has been waiting next door this morning" "He came from Versailles, where His Majesty sent him on a crucial mission" " He has been waiting for six hours" " I see" "Tell him I came here" " And the reason why" " Of course, Father" "I cannot wait any longer." "I must see His Majesty the King" "I will take sole responsibility for this" "When did you get here?" "At eight o'clock this morning, and I have been waiting out there since" "As Your Majesty knows very well" "I am ill" "Chloroform is the only thing that helps me get some sleep" " Does the smell bother you?" " Not at all" "Shall I ask someone to open the window?" "I am so cold" "Take a seat" "Thank you." "But I must go tonight" " Really?" "Where to?" " To Versailles" "I have spoken to Chancellor Bismark and I must give him an immediate answer" "What is this?" "Who wrote this?" " I do not understand" " It is the letter that you should write immediately to the King of Prussia" "I should not say this, but Bismark dictated the words to me himself" "And I should write this letter?" "You should copy it and sign it, and I will have it delivered as soon as possible" "What?" "What?" "I should ask William to do me a favour and accept my kingdom as a gift?" "Is this what you want?" "No, you would be asking the future Emperor of the great, new Germany to include Bavaria in the Confederation of the Allied States" "This is not an alliance" "This means putting the country in their hands" "Becoming slaves, even worse than slaves" "It would mean putting ourselves in the most humiliating position imaginable" "No!" "No!" "I can do anything but I will never do this!" "Slavery?" "Humiliation?" "I do not understand" "You become a slave after being defeated or made a prisoner" "Defeat is a humiliation the unavoidable fate of Bavaria, if it will not join this Alliance..." "It would take a mere sneeze of the great, new Germany to wipe out the kingdom of Bavaria" "Let's put the cards on the table" "Bismark's advice is very wise" "This letter should have been written sooner" "Your uncle, King William, would have surely appreciated it much more" "But we can still make it" "Before he is proclaimed Emperor much to our regret" "Psychologically there is no better time" "Moreover there would be guaranteed financial returns" "Yes, Bismark made me understand that Your Majesty can count on it" "No." "Or at least not now" "I do not want to." "I could not do this" "I will not do it." "No, I will not do it!" "I cannot!" "I do not want to." "I must not" "It is almost five o'clock." "If I can leave Munich at nine o'clock..." "We all know that there is no other solution" "The only harm we can spare ourselves is to discuss it" "If it is true that there is no other solution  if my government thinks that there is no other solution  let my government take this step" "If I told Your Majesty what the government is thinking of doing at this moment Your Majesty would not hesitate to write that letter" "But I do not want to use certain methods" "I am only saying this." "Your Majesty needs a personal alliance" "An alliance with people of the same blood, the same rank" "An alliance that would bring many advantages some of which will be immediate" " Leave him!" " Your Majesty, I do not know if..." "Otto" "Do you recognise me?" "It is me, Ludwig" "Merry Christmas, my dear" "Happy birthday!" "Happy everything!" "This is my gift for the both of you, for you and him" "Nobody has ever given me a better present" "Here." "Take this" "Come here." "Come" "Best wishes, Madame Wagner, from all of us, from the whole world" "Thank you" "Play it again, please" "For the purpose of this difficult inquiry and for a better understanding of the matters we have to solve  I suggest that my colleagues visit all the castles of His Majesty of which only Linderhof was occasionally occupied by him" "I would also like to remind you that Wagner, who left Bavaria long ago was still a burden on our finances" "When his new theatre in Bayreuth was opened in August 1876 with his famous "Tetralogy", it was only because of the financial support that with his renowned greediness, Wagner was able to obtain from our naive King" "He did not have any money left but he did not reduce his spending" "Spending continued at an alarming rate" "For example, he would give huge amounts of money to a waiter  because he had a pretty face and looked smart" "Or to an actor whose voice he liked" ""A glooming peace this morning with it brings" ""The sun for sorrow will not show his head" ""Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things" ""Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished" ""For never was a story of more woe "than this of Juliet and her Romeo"" "Bravo, Mr Kainz." "You were wonderful" "An excellent interpretation" "Bravo, I am very pleased" " Divine!" " You were wonderful, Mr Kainz" " Thank you" " Heartfelt congratulations" "This interpretation, Mr Kainz, was your best so far, believe me" "I was deeply moved" "I am very grateful for this" "Congratulations, an unforgettable Romeo" " Thank you" " A real success, congratulations" " Very good, my dear" " Thank you" "A triumph, Joseph" "Mr Kainz, on behalf of His Majesty the King" " Good evening" " This letter is for you, from His Majesty" "And this too" " Look!" " Well deserved" "His Majesty the King told me to go and see young actor Kainz to bring him a gift and invite him to spend three days at Linderhof castle" "Good evening" "Excuse me, Mr Kainz" "Let me give you some candid advice" "You see, the King was expecting to meet Romeo  not Mr Joseph Kainz" "His Majesty invited Romeo to Linderhof" "If you can be Romeo, or Didier any one of his heroes then your success will be guaranteed" ""Kneel down "in front of each and every one of these crosses "and shed tears of fire "in repentance for the sins you have committed" ""And if you will be allowed to overcome happily "the sorrows and the dangers of the path ahead of you..." ""lf the mountain does not send avalanches on you "from the height of its peaks "you will reach a dewy bridge of splashes as light as dust" ""lf the bridge does not bend "under the weight of your sins "the moment you leave it behind you "you will see a dark door "opening up on the rocks in front of you" ""The daylight "has never penetrated this far" ""Come on, cross "the darkness of that cave "and you will be taken to the glowing beauty "of a valley" ""But you have to cross it very quickly therefore you cannot stop "where peace reigns"" "Oh, Rudolph  royal ancestor of mine" "This is how your descendant will enter the territories of your empire" ""And so you will reach "the highest peaks of the Gottardo "where the eternal lakes are glowing" ""They fill themselves "with the water fallen from the sky" ""There, you will part with the German soil" ""With fast course, another river will bring you to Italy "your promised land"" "I will take you to those very places where your characters lived and suffered" "We will go together to Switzerland following the steps of William Tell" "Then..." "Then to Italy" "Yes, especially to Italy" "No, later on" "We will talk about this later" "Recite once again Didier's monologue for me" "Didier, once more" ""Ah, be quiet." "I could have..."" ""Ah, be quiet." "I could have been "unlucky and be born a woman..."" ""But "if the person who spoke to me was an honest man "a fool who can still appreciate honour "if, by chance, I had met a heart still full of illusions "rather than saying to the honest man "This is what I am..." ""Rather than welcoming him full of joy "rather than being the one to warn him that my pure and innocent eyes "were lying the whole time..." ""Rather than being so nasty, maleficent and ungrateful "l would have dug my grave with my own nails"" "Continue" ""You would laugh heartily "if you could see yourself "in the same way as my heart, this strange mirror, saw you" ""You have done the right thing by breaking it" ""My lady, you stayed there "innocent, pure, chaste" ""Oh, woman "what has this man "of kind and profound heart done to you?" ""Bending at your knees "he loved you "for a very long time"" "You will become my best friend" "I will make you the pillar of my theatre" "You will interpret the best plays in the world of all times" "Your fellow actors will be jealous and envious of you" "Expect all of this, but do not be afraid" "You will be under the protection of the King" "The King is protecting you from sorrows and worries" "But you you have to be loyal to him" "I only expect your loyalty" "Wagner was hated by everybody too" "I have imposed him on the whole world" "But Wagner  betrayed my trust" "I was that man with a heart, still full of illusions" "Since then, I have been looking for a real friend" "And now... now I have found him" "We will leave as soon as possible." "We will be travelling a great deal" " And if they will not allow me..." " Who could not allow you something?" "You are the King, the Master" "Being a king is not always easy" "So...why do you not abdicate?" "Do not dare talk to me like that again!" "Never again, never!" "I am very tired, Your Majesty" "I would not mind going to sleep for a couple of hours" "Sleep?" "The sleigh is ready, come!" "I will show you my real kingdom, my mountains under the moonlight" "A world for ourselves, pure and uncontaminated." "Think about your soul, Didier" "Do not think about your body" ""The peaks quiver "the weak bridge trembles "but the hunter walks a difficult path with a steady heart" ""With bold steps, he crosses on the treacherous glacier" ""Over there, where spring never comes "and branches never dare grow"" "You were snoring." "This was not the poem I was expecting to hear from you" ""The wind starts blowing from the south..." Come on, recite!" "No, I cannot" "I cannot do it" "I cannot bear to be somebody who recites on command" "I am an artist!" "Please, just this" " I cannot" " It is an order!" "I cannot!" "I cannot help it, I cannot bring myself to do it" "We have been travelling for a week" "I am exhausted, I feel like I have not slept at all" "My mind is confused, Your Majesty" "If you are tired, you should get some rest" "Mr Kainz states that the letters written to him by His Majesty the King and sent to him almost daily  in the short time they were friends  have all been taken away from him" "Mr Kainz lied." "Mr Kainz sold the King's letters for a high price in the same way that he sold many of the precious gifts from him" "He sold all the letters in Switzerland to an officer employed by me" "I have the letters with me" "In my opinion, these letters are the proof the hardest and clearest proof, that His Majesty  is mentally incapable" "I put up, as much as I could as a loyal servant of the kingdom and the State with a tyrant who knows no limits  in order to indulge in all his fancies" "Reluctantly, I helped Wagner in Bayreut  I tolerated the building of Linderhof castle and then Neuschwanstein castle" "But after the building of Herrenchiemsee castle  I decided to present the Cabinet of Ministers with a detailed report on the current situation" "I also sent a copy to Empress Elisabeth and then I resigned" "Why is that black veil on the piano?" "I had heard about it." "The King ordered it to be put up for Wagner's death" "It was long time ago" "Osterholzer!" "I cannot see her" "I cannot receive her." "Go!" "Say that I am ill" "It is plausible" "I am ill, very ill" "I do not want anybody's pity" "Go!" "Hornig, tell her that I am sorry and that I will visit her as soon as I feel better" "Obviously, Neuschwanstein is all hers" "She can stay for as long as she wishes" "I cannot receive her." "Go" " Tell His Majesty I am here" " His Majesty is ill, he cannot see you" "His Majesty says that the castle is at Your Majesty's disposal for as long as you wish" "We are going back to Possenhoffen" "And then he started crying" "He threw us out of the room" "But we could hear him anyway" "He was crying and calling, "Elisabeth!" "Elisabeth! "" "Karl!" "It is your turn now" "Who did you put in charge of carrying out this inquiry?" "Count von Holnstein, Highness" "The Count has always been very close to His Majesty" "His advice is therefore very helpful for us" "I have always distrusted favourites" "And ex-favourites have to be regarded with even more suspicion" "What part does Colonel Durckheim play in all of this?" "He has been close to Ludwig since he was young" "Highness, we thought it would be better to keep this situation as confidential as possible due to the decisions we may have to make should our King be declared incapable of ruling" "As Your Majesty may know  in spite of the King's eccentricity and the recent excessive spending on his empty castles the people still love Ludwig very much" "Moreover, it is in the interests of some people to have a king who does not rule" "Are you saying that Colonel Durckheim is one of these people too?" "No, not at all." "We are very fond of Colonel Durckheim" "I feel the same as you" "So, I am sure you gentlemen will not mind  if I want to hear his opinion on the matter" "I also think it is more fair if we hear him while you are present" "Call Colonel Durckheim" "The Cabinet of Ministers, represented by Count Torring here  is offering me the regency of Bavaria in case it becomes necessary to make our King Ludwig I I abdicate" "From what I hear, it is clear that he is of unsound mind" "Please, Colonel, take a seat" "Obviously, I would only accept the regency if there was a medical report confirming this necessity" "I very much appreciate your impartiality, Colonel" "I know that on many occasions you showed loyalty to the King" "So, I would like to know your opinion" "I..." "I am the first one to admit that over the past few years His Majesty  has shown less and less interest in State affairs" "Loneliness gave him shelter  but are we sure that his lack of interest is not just a facade?" "And that maybe his eccentricity is only a way to show to himself and to the whole world the privileges he has the right to allow himself?" "I apologise, Your Highness, but this is my opinion" "The King's private life is as eccentric as his own Government wanted it to be" "Before putting an end to the excessive spending for his castles this was regularly approved by the Treasury" "Somebody must have wanted to keep the King occupied in his follies" "Somebody who has been very close to the King in the past few years and who has had a bad influence on him" "He was appointed by the Government" "Forgive me, Your Highness, but Colonel Durckheim seems to be accusing our Government of plotting against the King" "You are saying this, not me" "It is my duty to answer honestly to His Majesty's question" "I realise the seriousness of what I said  but the proof is in the fact that some measures have been considered  before making any attempts to help the poor soul, if I may say so" "Our King is going through a crisis..." "How many years has this crisis been going on for, Colonel Durckheim?" "Let us look at the facts" "Obviously, the Government tried to be very understanding  because it wanted to prevent a scandal before it was too late" "If there will be one" "We are carrying out a detailed inquiry" "Colonel Durckheim will be interrogated and he will repeat what he said to us in private" "And maybe there will be others who, like him will think that the Government's responsibilities are much heavier than the King's" "In this case, dear Pfistermeister our only option will be to resign and go to see a doctor" "Because if it will be proved that the King is mentally capable, we will look crazy!" "I am professor Bernard von Gudden  head psychiatrist at the Munich Psychiatric Institute" "Following the assessment on His Majesty the King's mental health this commission has reached the following verdict" "His Majesty  is in the advanced stage of a mental disorder  known to psychiatrists as "paranoia"" "Such disorder does not allow freedom of action therefore the King is incapable of ruling his kingdom" "Such incapability will continue for the rest of his life" "Thank you" "What?" "What?" "Osterholzer" "Gentlemen, listen, please!" "If that groom manages to speak to the King our mission will definitely be jeopardised" "We cannot wait until tomorrow, we have to act straight away" "Hesselschwerdt!" "How far is this place, Hohenschwangau, from Neuschwanstein?" "It only takes 15 minutes by coach" "Even in this rain" "Gentlemen, we have to leave immediately" "Remember, every minute is precious" "They have come to arrest the King" "They are coming from Munich." "A conspiracy" "I ran away." "They do not know it" " "They" who?" " There are three coaches, Sire" "I have seen them." "They were at Hohenschwangau" "They are about to come up here" "Your Majesty will not be able to give any more orders" "Count von Holnstein said so" "Is von Holnstein here at Neuschwanstein?" "I do not know, Your Majesty" "Von Holnstein" " Did you say von Holnstein?" " Yes, Your Majesty" " Who else is with him?" " I recognised minister Crailsheim  professor Gudden  Hesselschwerdt" "What do they think they are doing?" "I want you to arrest all of them!" "All of them!" "Mayr!" "Mayr!" "I want them to be flogged until they bleed!" "I want their eyes burnt out!" "I want them to be shot!" "I want to do it with my own hands!" "Hurry!" "Call the guards, Mayr!" "Have them arrested!" "Hurry, go!" "Stop right there!" "Another step and I will shoot you!" "We have to take the King to Berg castle" "What do you want?" "His Majesty has been deposed by the Cabinet" "His Royal Highness Prince Luitpold has taken regency" "Put your weapons down and open the gates!" "The King ordered us to shoot anyone who tries to get any closer" "We brought a document with us, stating that the King is mentally ill" "I have the right to read it to him" "They cannot disobey the orders of the Cabinet!" " Count Holnstein, I do not understand" " They are only complicating things!" "We must convince him" "They arrested all of them" "Very good" "Very good" "You, Mayr, find me the key to the tower immediately" "Listen, if necessary, we will go up there" "From up there, I will be able to defend myself better" "Or jump off the top, if they try to arrest me" "Anything but what they have in mind  keeping me alive by killing me, as they did with my brother" "No, I will not let them do this!" "Hurry, I want the key!" "The key..." "We do not have it, Sire" "Find it!" "You must find it!" "Immediately!" "Hurry!" "I must see His Majesty, immediately" "Colonel Durckheim" "Durckheim, I had the conspirators arrested" "I approve of Your Majesty's line of action  but the Cabinet has decided" "We need to urge the people to oppose this decision" "We will take Your Majesty to Munich immediately." "We can count on the Army" "Your Majesty will talk to the soldiers and the stationed officials" "Your Majesty, there is no time to waste" "Trust me." "We must go to Munich" "Munich..." "Munich" "Not even eight elephants would be able to drag me to the city I hate" "Sire" "It is the only hope to save the situation" "Unless Your Majesty prefers to go into exile" "We could try and go through Tyrol and cross the border  but it would be very difficult for you to come back" "The Army, the people are waiting to rush to the aid of Your Majesty, this is what I think  but you have to ask them for help" "You have to win them over." "Only Your Majesty's presence..." "If Your Majesty would prefer to go into exile  I am ready to help you" "I do not want to travel." "Moreover what would I be doing in Tyrol?" "Make sure they leave me alone" "I have always done whatever I could to be of help to Your Majesty" "I failed in the past" "I am failing now" "You could be of much help to me." "Very useful" "I want some poison" "Get me some poison" "You just need to go to the pharmacy in Kempten" "Go, straight away" "Your Majesty  I am here to save you  not to help you die" "Orders of the King" "By order of the King, these gentlemen must stay under close guard" "They must not leave this room under any circumstances" "They cannot receive either food nor drink." "Nothing" "This is what we get" "We do not have much hope" "Munich is far" "We should not have trusted him" "Sergeant!" "I order you to deliver this message to the Prime Minister - "Very urgent." "Our lives are in danger" ""The King has ordered us to be put to death" ""Send help as soon as possible"" "Colonel Durckheim  I would like to know if you informed the Supreme Command of the abuse..." "Colonel Durckheim, I hope you appreciate your responsibility in this" "There will be irreparable consequences for you" "By not looking at our warrant you let Baron Crailsheim, the Foreign Minister, Count Torring..." "The King has ordered your release" "Do what you have to do" "If I may suggest something act with caution." "His Majesty  needs protection from himself" "Do you believe in the immortality of the soul, Weber?" "Yes, of course, Your Majesty." "I believe in it" "So do I" "I believe in the immortality of the soul and in God's justice" "I have read many things about materialism" "It can never satisfy a man" "He does not want to be put on the same level as beasts" "I will not need this anymore" "Here" "Drowning is a fine death" "There is no mutilation of the body" "But jumping off the top..." "Take these too" "I will write a letter" "Should this watch be returned to the Royal Treasury  in the event of my death they will have to pay you 25,000 gulden as compensation" "Your Majesty" "Your Majesty!" "I have the key" "The key to the tower" "Mayr, Mayr!" "And there I was thinking you were no good" "Your Majesty, I have never had to fulfil a sadder obligation than this" "Four psychiatrists expressed their opinion on Your Majesty's health" "As a result of this  His Highness Prince Luitpold took regency" "I was ordered to take Your Majesty to Berg castle this very night" "My loyal Sauer" "Please" "It is raining again" "It will never stop" "Never" "Your Majesty should eat something now" " What do you think I should eat?" " Anything" "You can eat anything you want, Your Majesty" "No knives." "A peculiar way of setting up the table" "Only one dessert fork" "Am I supposed to start with the dessert?" "I am not hungry." "I want to sleep" "Of course, Your Majesty" "Wake me up at midnight" "I will take a walk then I will eat" "Your Majesty is expected to follow a more regular schedule from now on" "Of course" "Sleep at night, eat at set times and with regard to going out - maybe in the future" "Soon I will ask them myself to grant you permission, Your Majesty" "I would like to rest now, and be left alone" "If possible" "Of course, Your Majesty" "He has been treating everybody with royal kindness" "Always very disciplined" "He did not show any signs of restlessness" "He gave adequate answers to questions" "To be honest, I do not think we should deny His Majesty  permission to take walks in the park" "It would be cruel, and for no reason" "It is the only concession he has been asking for" "It is not raining now  but it could start again any minute" "Moreover, it should not be difficult for a doctor to advise him against it" "Actually, His Majesty has a strong constitution" "Obviously, I will make sure I advise him to wait until the weather improves, but if he insists  I am ready to accompany him myself as long as he is not denied once again" "Yes, I will accompany him myself" "You have been won over, Dr Gudden." "But be careful" "There is nothing more beautiful and fascinating than the night" "They say the cult of the night, of the moon  is a maternal cult" "The cult of the sun, of daytime  is a masculine myth, therefore paternal" "However, the mystery the greatness of night for me lie in the infinite, sublime kingdom of the heroes" "Which is also the kingdom of reason" "Poor Dr Gudden!" "You are forced to study me from dawn to dusk, and from dusk to dawn" "But I am an enigma" "And I want to be an enigma forever" "For the outside world and for myself" "Excellent" " Delicious" " You feel tempted to have some more" "It is half past seven" "Dr Gudden said he would not stay out for more than one hour" " What time did they leave?" " I saw them." "It was before six" "Send somebody to look for them." "They must have taken the path by the lake" "Get some torches, quick!" "Who went with them?" "They were alone" "Dr Gudden did not want nurses to accompany them" " His Majesty seemed very calm today" " How crazy!" "So irresponsible!" "Dr Muller, do I have to teach you that crazy people can be clever too?" "Go, quick!" "As soon as you find them, send somebody to inform us." "Quick!" "So?" "Count von Holnstein" "Telegraph Munich immediately!" "Say that the King has disappeared." "I am going to look for them too" "If I find them  I will shoot once in the air to let you know" "Our King has committed suicide" "In order to do so, His Majesty had to kill Dr Gudden" "Take the bodies to the castle, immediately!" "The last original composition for piano by Richard Wagner unpublished until today, is presented for the first time in this film" "Special thanks to those who, with their efforts and enthusiasm made it possible to restore the original version of Luchino Visconti's Ludwig"