Private Vices, Public Virtues
Crown Prince Rudolf, the son of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, is believed to have taken himself and his female lover in a heartbreaking suicide pact in 1882 in Mayerling. Due to Imperial cover-ups, the complete story may never be well known. This narrative was filmed a few days, in French in 1935 and in English in 1968. Hungarian director Miklos Jancso recreates those events for their purposes, ongoing his preferred theme of paternal authority's rejection. At Rudolf is a good natured pan sexual GoldenBoy, who cavorts with a host of friends and amazing, aristocratic fans of both genders on his rural estate. He will not leave his country idyll although he has been ordered to by the Emperor, his father. Despite the undeniable fact that for a huge portion of the film, attractive men and women engaging in erotic encounters and go about unclothed, the mood is one of depression as opposed to prurience.
Released: 1976-05-06