This is an oldie but goodie in a sense, certainly as far as this column is concerned, but the greatness of Oskar Werner is obvious if you start at 2:05 and hang in until 7:55. Five minutes and 50 seconds of sheer brilliance and audacity. I watch this scene late at night when I want to feel comforted or soothed before going to bed. I’ll never stop watching it.
I love how he pronounces “sovereignty,” “bestiality” and “grotesque,” and the phrase “went into hiding.” Werner was 43 or so when this was shot. An alcoholic, he died in 1984 at age 62.
