‘Ludwig’

In this sumptuously-told story of Ludwig II (Helmut Berger, pictured with Romy Schneider) master director Luchino Visconti was able to express his own paradoxical nature as an aristocrat and a Marxist to the fullest. For him Ludwig was at once the most foolish and irresponsible of rulers and a hero for his patronage of the arts--the great, enduring art of Richard Wagner in particular. In this memorable 1973 film Visconti makes of Ludwig a tragic figure, as enigmatic in death as in life (Bravo Monday at 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday at midnight).