Immortal Beloved (1994)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Bernard Rose

Writer (WGA):

Bernard Rose (written by)

Release Date:

6 January 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music | Romance

Tagline:

The genius behind the music. The madness behind the man. The untold love story of Ludwig von Beethoven.

Plot:

The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Beside all the work he is known for, the composer...

Plot Keywords:

Beethoven | Last Will | Love Letter | Composer | Letter

Cast

Gary Oldman	...	Ludwig van Beethoven
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Anton Felix Schindler
Isabella Rossellini	...	Anna Marie Erdödy
Johanna ter Steege	...	Johanna Reiss
Marco Hofschneider	...	Karl van Beethoven
Miriam Margolyes	...	Nanette Streicherová
Barry Humphries	...	Clemens Metternich
Valeria Golino	...	Giulietta Guicciardi
Gerard Horan	...	Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven
Christopher Fulford	...	Kaspar Anton Carl van Beethoven
Alexandra Pigg	...	Therese Obermayer
Luigi Diberti	...	Franz Josef Guicciardi
Michael Culkin	...	Jakob Hotscevar
Donal Gibson	...	Karl Holz
Matthew North	...	Young Karl van Beethoven

Also Known As:

Ölümsüz sevgi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Amada inmortal (Argentina) [es]
Amata immortale (Italy) [it]
Amor inmortal (Spain) [es]
Athanati agapimeni (Greece) [el]
Halhatatlan kedves (Hungary) [hu]
Ikuinen rakkaus (Finland) [fi]
Ludwig van B. (France) [fr]
Ludwig van B. (Germany) [de]
Ludwig van B. - Meine unsterbliche Geliebte (Germany) [de]
Min odödliga kärlek (Sweden) [sv]
Nehynoucí láska (Czech Republic) [cs]
Nesmrtno ljubljena (Slovenia) [sl]
Paixão Imortal (Portugal) [pt]
Sonate au clair de lune (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:14A | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Kromeriz, Czech Republic

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

What Beethoven says to Schindler during their first meeting (a rehearsal of the Kreutzer sonata) is taken from Tolstoy's short story "The Kreutzer Sonata".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The grave shown at the end of the movie is neither Beethoven's grave as it was in 1827 at Währing cemetery nor it is after 1888 when his remains was moved to Zentralfriedhof. It is similar but it is missing the harp golden emblem on the middle of the obelisk, near the top, a serpent emblem of eternity, enclosing a butterfly.

Quotes:

Ludwig van Beethoven: [completely deaf, he is watching musicians perform his "Kreutzer" violin sonata] I can't hear them, but I know that they are making a hash of it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Beloved Beethoven (1999) (V)

Shades of Amadeus.

The two films have several things in common. One, they don't shy away from portraying the composers for the mentally disturbed individuals they are. Two, they are done mainly in flashback. And finally, they will likely be seen as the definitive biographical film of both Beethoven and Mozart.

Bernard Rose (Anna Karenina, Ivans xtc.) may seem ill-suited to this material, but he proves himself with seemingly effortless precision. It is a truly beautiful film to watch, and reaches it's peak visually in the scene of a young Beethoven floating in a sea of stars.

Before I saw the film, Gary Oldman seemed a bad choice to me. I simply didn't think he would be believable in this kind of role. Seeing his performance is an entirely different affair. He becomes the character in a more complete way than I would've imagined.

Of course, Immortal Beloved skimps a bit on historical accuracy, but it more than makes up for it in pure quality. A must for fans of Ludwig van Beethoven, and especially Gary Oldman.

8.1 out of 10