The Damned (1969)

In the early days of the Nazi regime, the Essenbecks are a German family of rich and powerful industrialists whose members have differing loyalties to the new government. It is not long after the Reichstag fire before the conflicts within the family leads to intrigue and murder that happens in parallel to the violence happening in their own country. There’s a bit of a Shakespearean tragedy to the whole work, but told through a twistedly perverse lens. It’s an extremely excessive production from its lavish sets to its grotesque violence and even to its extra run time.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced