Original subtitles

Hugues!

Hugues!

- Are the horses ready? - Whenever you wish.

- Get them now! - Your guests are still in bed, Milady.

I slept badly last night!

Wake them, I need fresh air!

I want to ride, to forget this dream I had!

Are you sure it was a dream?

Sometimes you forget what is true...

...and I am the only one who can remind you that you're lying.

You've said enough. Always around me. Get out of here!

At 22 years of age, Frederique,

...Countess of Metzengerstein,

...became heir to a vast family fortune.

Seldom had a noble of her country...

...possessed an estate of such magnificence.

She ruled capriciously:

Day was night, or night day, according to her fancies.

That morning, haunted by the nightmare of the dawn,

...she decided to take her guests to the castle...

...where she had spent her childhood.

Marquis! Give me something to drink!

Blood!

Swine!

- Milady! - What!

We haven't the right to amuse ourselves any more?

I love this place.

It's beautiful!

You have ten castles better than that.

Better than the whole of my childhood? Fool!

Still around you, that milksop?

Shall I throw him this way?

And supposing he flies... It would be a pity!

Shoot straight and true! The cord must break!

Shameful debaucheries, flagrant treacheries,

...unheard of cruelties soon taught her vassals...

...that nothing would guarantee them security...

...against the remorseless fangs of this petty Caligula.

Come!

Come on!

Give me the necklace, boy!

- Is this our room? - I have a surprise for you.

For me?

- What? - Wait.

There it is. Like it?

You shouldn't be so silly! I knew him long before you did!

Oh, come on.

The other way!

All encouraged her in her whims, not only her depraved friends,

...but many another who feared her displeasure.

With one exception,

...a distant, less wealthy branch of her house, the Berlifitzings,

...hereditary enemies of the Metzengersteins.

He openly condemned her conduct.

The two families had been at variance for centuries,

...their deadly enmity reaching back so far...

...that none could remember its origins.

At this time, the young Baron Wilhelm of Berlifitzing...

...lived alone in his family's castle.

Although he was her close neighbour,

...he had never spoken to his redoubtable cousin,

...Frederique of Metzengerstein.

For her part, Frederique, if by chance she caught sight...

...of her cousin from afar,

...would mock him and openly show her scorn.

But Wilhelm seemed not to notice her.

With his quick mind, he could have scored many a success in society,

...but nothing interested this young recluse...

...who passed his days in the stables or the hunting field.

Help me!

Quickly!

When they find the wretch that set this trap,

...he'll get two hours whipping and vinegar on his wounds.

I'll pour it myself.

Well, I'm waiting. Don't stand there gawking!

When a vixen's trapped, she says nothing and plays dead.

You open the trap, and she runs away, even on two feet.

Does it hurt?

Chance alone brought Frederique and Wilhelm together.

The young countess might have wished to hate this face,

...till then unknown to her, but she was never to forget it.

Some change had taken place within her.

Haunted by the memory of his mocking melancholic eyes,

...Frederique longed to see Wilhelm again.

Looking for a vixen, Wilhelm Berlifitzing?

Sultan!

Sultan!

He'll be back.

It's cold.

In the Metzengerstein family, a man would offer his cloak to a lady.

Apparently not in yours!

You never speak, Cousin.

I still have a mark on my ankle, like teeth.

Prince!

You speak only to animals?

Come and dine this evening.

You'll feel at home. Most of my guests are buzzards...

...or bears or boars.

It should amuse you.

I have no wish to join your menagerie.

I'm not accustomed to being refused.

I want you to beware of bad habits, Cousin.

Who do you think you are?

A happy man.

Frederique!

Wilhelm!

Rejected, scoffed at, when for once she had been sincere,

...Frederique's fury overwhelmed the sentiments...

...that had drawn her to her cousin.

Hugues!

Hugues!

Now she could think only of her vengeance.

Hugues!

- Yes, Milady? - How did he come here?

He came out of the fire, covered with flames and galloped straight here.

- Whose is he? - No one knows.

Not even the Baron Wilhelm's servants.

No one's ever seen him. He's mad. No one can approach him!

I shall.

Milady, the Baron Wilhelm is dead!

What?

He tried to save the horse he loved and died.

Everything burnt. Everything.

Hugues!

Hugues!

Hugues!

Yes?

You will repair this... as it was before.

But that's impossible, Madam!

You will, because I wish it!

Get the best weaver there is.

When she ordered the burning of the stables,

...Frederique had never imagined that Wilhelm might perish in the fire.

His death satisfied neither her passion nor her wrath.

Sombre forebodings possessed her.

Terror fell upon her senses.

You're mind is wandering, but where?

Nowhere. Go on.

Go on.

From this day, a marked change took place...

...in the outward demeanour of the dissolute young countess.

She was never to be seen beyond her own estate,

...and was utterly without companions,

...unless that unnatural and impetuous horse, which she continually bestrode,

...had some mysterious claim to the title of friend.

To him, Frederique was faithful.

In the glare of the noon,

...in the dead of the night,

...in sickness or in health,

...in calm or in tempest,

...Countess Frederique seemed riveted to the saddle of that colossal horse,

...whose retractable audacity so well matched her own spirit.

Tell me, old man,

...will it be finished soon?

That depends. I don't know.

Sometimes, the threads sing to me and tell me what to do.

And other times, they're silent. They refuse.

How long?

Weeks... months perhaps.

This spell, which she accepted with all her heart,

...continued to work upon her, even in her moments of solitude.

She spent hours studying the tapestry...

...as it was slowly mended.

In fascination, she watched the agile hands of the old man...

...bring back to life the great black charger.

His fingers, so deftly knotting the threads,

...seemed to be weaving with a fatal logic, her own doom.

What's wrong? Why don't you work?

My hands have always obeyed me. Why don't you help me?

You found it?

- You gave them the colour of blood. - No, fire!

Frederique had accepted and longed for this end.

She rushed toward the flames.

Like Wilhelm, with Wilhelm,

...she will find death by fire.

- I want to confess! - After Mass. They're waiting.

- No, right now! - Later, please...

- Now. - That's impossible.

Now, I tell you!

All right.

I don't know how. Tell me what to do.

Help me. I'm not a Catholic.

In that case, my son, we may speak after Mass.

- I want to confess! - Do not shout.

Please, my son. You're in the house of God.

To hell with God!

I want to talk. I want to understand.

I've just murdered a man.

Someone from this town?

I don't know... I don't think so.

A stranger?

Yes. I mean no. I know him.

I've always known him.

- Have you been drinking? - You have to listen! It's your duty.

Why did you kill this man?

I'll tell you everything...

...from the very beginning.

Franz von Löwenstein.

William Wilson!

It's from Italy. It must be from your mother.

Attention!

Break ranks.

Silence! Stop that!

It was Wilson!

Wilson!

Down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down!

- Who's that? - He's the new boy.

He arrived this morning.

- What is your name? - Wilson. William Wilson.

- I said what is your name? - William Wilson.

His name was the same as yours?

The same name exactly.

- That's quite a coincidence. - Yes.

But power cannot be shared.

And suddenly, I had a rival.

A far too friendly rival, whom I knew to be my superior in every way.

Yet, he did not compete.

He held back. He seemed to want to watch over me.

I was filled with uneasy curiosity.

Now what is it? What are they up to?

Savages!

Wilson!

Heavens!

Wilson! You again, it's always you!

They expelled us from school. Both of us.

It took me a long time to forget.

My son, it is clear that this unfortunate episode has haunted you to this day.

- Before leaving church... - Let me finish!

Several years later, I entered the school of medicine... out of curiosity.

Gentlemen, allow me to remind you that the surgeon is also a sorcerer.

Today we shall probe the innermost cracks of life's mystery.

And it is my privilege now to perform for you...

...in corpore vili,

...a miracle of which neither philosopher, priest nor poet...

...is capable of performing.

I shall lay bare a human heart.

If we were dealing with a live body,

...our points of reference would be as follows.

Two fingers' distance laterally from the sternum,

...between the sixth and seventh ribs,

...we find the tip of the heart.

But in the present case, we shall section...

...all the sub-auxiliary ribs on the left and the right, as far as the sternum.

Then we shall liberate the diaphragm...

...and roll back the rib cage like a blind,

...exposing the contents of the thorax.

The heart, gentlemen, is a hollow muscle,

...composed essentially of two masses,

...the ventricular, the consistent one,

...and the auriculo-basal, the flatulent one.

This pump,

...which gives forth as much as it receives,

...is to mankind a symbol of courage and generosity.

Has Mr Wilson any other comments to make?

No? Then we may proceed.

Thank you.

Even when operating upon a corpse,

...always make sure...

...your instruments are clean.

It is said, gentlemen,

...that the heart is the seat of the emotions, the passions. Agreed?

Agreed. But experience shows that...

...it is the seat of our cares,

...our sorrows.

It is generous only in inflicting us.

Thus, when we have cut the ribs, disengaged the diaphragm...

...and rolled back what is generally termed the rib cage,

...we can free the patient from the source of all her troubles.

The doctor is a benefactor.

We shall therefore bring relief to this young lady. Along with the heart...

- ...we shall remove... - No!

...her despair and pangs of passion.

Gentlemen, we shall restore her to original purity,

...to the peace of the Garden of Eden.

No!

Ah, even when operating on a living body,

...always make sure your instruments are sterile.

Here, put this on.

Cover yourself.

Did the poor girl die?

To hell with the girl! It was him! The other.

I had to leave the university...

...and join the Austrian Army to fight. To go to war.

But wars are not what they were.

Your regiment is well-known in this town.

Because of me!

I've heard of the disgraceful behaviour.

Those poor women.

Everything was fine...

...until last night.

No, don't. It's Wilson!

Well, you know who I am.

I'm flattered.

After all, there were many of us the other night.

It was dark, and you were rather busy.

Good evening, Lieutenant Wilson.

- Is that Wilson? - Be careful.

Lieutenant Wilson is certainly not the lover you dream of.

Gentlemen have built his reputation...

...not us.

He likes parades, the theatre, stage props.

He needs to have an audience.

But in a tête-à-tête, he can't perform.

- You mean you've...? - No... and I don't want to.

I hate wasting my time.

- Are you referring to me? - You... you.

You think you're the only person on Earth, Wilson.

You'd better be careful.

Are you threatening me?

Challenging, merely.

Ace.

I decided to teach her a lesson.

She had a passion for gambling, while I...

...have always known how to play my cards.

200.

Double.

I'll see you, Wilson.

Ace, jack.

Wilson, you've lost.

Are you sure?

Ace, king.

So you weren't bluffing after all.

The only bluffer, the biggest of all...

...is you, Wilson.

Ace.

No luck in cards as in lovemaking.

Are you tired, Wilson?

Where's your strength, my dear?

Light.

Figure.

Ace.

Will you accept my watch? It's gold. It has three diamonds.

To see you, my dear.

Ace, queen.

It's a draw.

We will play it again.

Figure.

Figure.

Ace.

Here, pour me some wine while I pick this up.

The tide had turned. Giuseppina began to lose.

She lost until the break of day.

Ace.

All.

I want to see you.

On the table?

Yes, of course.

Count this up, please.

Thank you, sir.

Another 1,000.

That makes 5,000 thalers...

- I'm unable to pay you, Wilson. - In that case, it's simple.

I propose double or nothing.

It's your last chance. If you win, you owe me nothing.

And if I lose?

You still owe me nothing.

But I'll have you.

Own me? On what conditions?

On my conditions as I please.

Decide quickly. It's six o'clock.

I accept.

Ace.

King.

We'll draw from the top.

Jack.

Your luck is returning.

No. I was wrong!

You've lost, Giuseppina!

So? When?

Now and here.

Very well, I think it's time for us to leave you.

But you're not in my way. On the contrary. Stay, gentlemen.

Your turn.

Well?

You would like something else.

He wants something else, Giuseppina.

You don't mind, do you?

Madam, you owe nothing at all to this man.

He has cheated you.

Here is the proof.

The one problem for a cheat is to distract the other's attention.

Start by emptying a glass...

...or by lighting a cigar...

...or by taking out a watch.

I don't believe, I know you, sir. Who are you?

Wilson has known me for a long time.

Here's your tunic, your watch. Get out.

Wilson, on behalf of all others, I demand you resign your commission.

You will leave this town today.

For us, you no longer exist.

Wilson!

Wilson!

This is the end now! This is the end of your following me.

This is the end of your hounding me to death.

This is the end of your torturing me. It's over!

It's all over!

Wilson!

Wilson...

You shouldn't have killed me.

From now on you're dead.

Dead to the world.

Dead to hope and dead to Heaven.

In murdering me, you've murdered yourself.

My son, I believe you've found relief...

...in telling me these nightmares.

Promise the Lord never to drink again.

Alcohol turns a man into a cruel beast.

He knows not what he's said or done.

You don't believe me?

Of course, but try to be reasonable.

Sleep now. Tomorrow you'll feel better.

You'll be ashamed. You'll ask God to forgive you.

Renounce your doings.

Find the real love of a good woman...

...and you'll no longer suffer hallucinations,

...for they are hallucinations, born of pride...

...which turn your mind in upon itself.

You imbecile! You don't understand.

Go to the Devil!

The plane continued flying over the airport

without deciding to land.

It was the first time I was coming to Rome...

...and I had the sensation that this trip,

...which had taken me so long to decide upon...

...was very important for me.

So much so that at one point I had the absurd hope...

...that the plane would turn back and take me far away... home.

This was impossible.

Already, the invisible webs of the airport had captured the plane.

They were pulling it, unresisting to the Earth.

Attention, please.

TWA announces the departure of flight 203...

...for Paris, London, Shannon and New York.

Mr Edwards.

Hey, Toby Dammit! Welcome!

Hey, Mr Dammit, smile please.

Look over here!

No, no. Stop that!

- Make an '0' with your hand. - Please!

Stop it!

All right. I'm sorry.

Those blinding white lights...

...I can't stand them. I'm not used to all that light.

You see, I only live during the night.

Those damn lights!

Why did you come here?

Attention, please.

TWA announces the departure of flight 203...

...for Paris, London, Shannon, New York.

- Welcome to Rome. - Then you would be...

Yes, I represent in a certain sense the production of the film.

These are the two directors, the Manetti brothers.

Maurizio and Ernestino.

This is my secretary...

Excuse me, I don't speak English.

This lady will interpret.

I'm glad you had a good flight.

Welcome to Rome.

This airport is... very long.

The Father says it will be the first Catholic Western...

...showing the return of Christ to Earth in a desolate frontier land.

Everyone desires that Christ shall manifest Himself again.

Shall we say a concrete and presence.

Of course, Christ is already alive in us.

To show Him as a part of everyday reality...

...may seem like a desperate undertaking.

Almost blasphemous, perhaps.

But the Father says with your artist's sensitivity you'll understand,

...whether you're a believer or not.

I'm afraid I missed some of that.

He wants the film to be a cross between Dreyer and Pasolini...

...with a touch of John Ford.

Mr Manetti says that the film will show the spiritual aspect...

...of Western civilization and the decadence of capitalism.

He feels it's important that the characters and background...

...should be completely authentic.

For instance, the two outlaws represent...

...the contemporary mood of anarchy.

Oh, dear. There was something about bison, but I didn't quite get it.

The film will be in colour.

Both the colour and costumes will be stark and crude,

...so as to reconcile the biblical countryside and the prairie.

Both Piero della Francesca and Fred Zinnemann.

The production company promised me a Ferrari - latest model.

Where is it?

After the ceremony, you'll have it tonight.

Here, read mine.

I'm a coward. I'd rather not know.

Once again, I had seen her.

She was waiting for me at the airport.

With her white, silent ball.

I kept telling her to go away, but she always came back.

She seemed to know that sooner or later, I would join in her game.

But when?

You promised to leave me alone.

I'm all right.

What's going on? Are you serious?

- Have you been in Italy before? - No.

What made you visit us now?

The Ferrari they're giving me.

Do you use LSD or other drugs?

Always.

- For what reason? - When I want to return to normal.

What do you like most in life?

I don't know.

- What do you dislike most? - My public.

They say you no longer have a public.

How do you explain the success your Hamlet had with the critics?

Evidently the critics didn't understand it.

Was your childhood very sad?

No. My mother was very gay when she'd beat me.

Maybe she was drunk.

They say your temperament is violent and angry. Is it true?

Say that again and I'll punch you on the nose.

Will you marry me?

Do you consider yourself neurotic?

It's my only quality.

Can you tell us what is wrong with your life, Signor Dammit?

Nothing. I'm desperately happy.

Is it true you've had many jobs even of an undignified kind?

Yes... yes...

...but never a TV interviewer.

What a shame.

- Do you know Italian cinema? - I pretend not to.

How is it that you have equal success with women and men?

I'm masculine enough to please men...

...and feminine enough to please women.

- Why haven't you been to Italy before? - I've been to Africa once.

- Do you think you're funny? - No. Do you?

Do you believe in God?

No.

And in the Devil?

Yes. In the Devil, yes!

How exciting! Have you seen him?

Yes, I've seen him.

Does he look like a black cat or a goat or a bat?

Oh, no.

I'm English... not Catholic.

To me the Devil is cheerful, agile.

He looks like a little girl.

Very strong!

Forgive me if I'm disturbing you, Mr Dammit.

This is my daughter Elisabeth. She's an actress, ballerina and singer.

Say hello, Elisabeth.

But of course, she's still a child, I guarantee.

I am Lombardi of the Production.

In a few minutes we'll start the ceremony on the stage.

You know the Golden Wolf awards, the Italian Oscars?

Understand? You follow me?

You can go to the microphone and give a little performance.

The actresses, of course not. They just smile.

I believe you are to recite a piece of Shakespeare.

But keep it short.

Make it quick.

Brother is right. Even Shakespeare can be boring at times.

But you're a genius. You'll have the audience in your lap.

This is it. We must go, Mr Dammit.

Follow me. All the prize winners have to wait over in that corner.

If you will just sit there, I'll be right near you.

How do you do? I'm your double. Can I have a photo with you?

I'm very happy to be your double. I was also Tomas Milian's double.

I'm a stuntman as well, you know?

Photo!

You're more comfortable over here...

- What is it? - No, you had enough.

Not now. If you're good, I'll bring for you later, OK?

Mr Toby, look here.

I am the painter Stagni.

I won an award for a screenplay I wrote.

Did you ever see the film "What Did you Do with Your Corpse?"

Welcome to Rome. I'm so pleased to see you.

He can't see any more. He's almost blind.

Hello, do you remember me?

My magazine is preparing a series on the Ancient Greek gods.

They will be accompanied by colour photographs.

My editor has asked if you would represent the young Apollo.

I'll need four photographs completely naked.

Do I dare hope?

I would like to say just one thing...

- And you? - Thank you.

I would like to say just one thing...

I would like to say just one thing...

Hello.

Ladies and gentlemen, forgive me if you hear my voice tremble.

A great artist who has given us many hours of laughter and happiness.

Will you do something for us?

I'm very happy but you haven't got the right equipment. I need a trapeze.

Yes, I have a secret...

Don't worry. I will look after you.

I understand you. I already know you.

I've always known you.

From this moment you will never be alone any more.

I'll always be next to you. You'll never have to feel abandoned again.

Every time you put out your hand, you will find mine to hold.

You won't have to try and escape any more.

At last you can stop running. Your loneliness is over.

We will have a perfect life,

...the one we've always been looking for.

I know that you have been searching.

Now you've found me, you won't have to search any longer.

I am the one you have always been waiting for,

...and now I am here with you.

Forever.

A great star, but not only a great star, but also a great actor.

Ladies and gentlemen, Toby Dammit!

Toby!

Please.

"All our yesterdays have lighted fools."

"The way to dusty death."

"Out, out, brief candle!"

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,"

"That struts and frets his hour upon the stage"

"And then is heard no more."

"It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury..."

But it's not true that I'm a great actor.

No, it's not true.

I could have been...

But I haven't worked for over a year.

My last director...

My last director complained because he said I was drunk!

I don't know why am I telling you this.

Why did you make me come here?

What do you want from me?

What do you want from me?

And that woman...

She asked me to marry her.

Isn't that funny?

I was sitting there crying. I often go on a...

...on a crying binge when I'm drunk. I don't know...

It's the wine. It makes me sad.

It's too luminous, you know?

Now, whisky...

Whisky, it's too... It's so...

It's so cloudy.

It's great.

A beautiful woman...

...she took my hand. She caressed me.

She said, "I'm here for you."

"I'm the woman you've been always waiting for."

Lady, I haven't been waiting for you!

I haven't been waiting for anybody. Are you listening to me?

What rubbish!

Hey! How do I get out of here?

How do I get to... Roma?

I'm dying to get across!