Mahler (1974)

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Robert Powell	...	Gustav Mahler
	Georgina Hale	...	Alma Mahler
	Lee Montague	...	Bernhard Mahler
	Miriam Karlin	...	Aunt Rosa
	Rosalie Crutchley	...	Marie Mahler
	Gary Rich	...	Young Gustav
	Richard Morant	...	Max
	Angela Down	...	Justine Mahler
	Antonia Ellis	...	Cosima Wagner
	Ronald Pickup	...	Nick
	Peter Eyre	...	Otto Mahler
	Dana Gillespie	...	Anna von Mildenburg
	George Coulouris	...	Doctor Roth
	David Collings	...	Hugo Wolf
	Arnold Yarrow	...	Grandfather

Storyline

Both trifles and structure are tossed out the door by director Ken Russell in this film. Here, historical content matters not so much as metaphors, feelings, emotions, and interpretations, and pay close attention, as every word and frame is intended to be important. The film takes place on a single train ride, in which the sickly composer Gustav Mahler and his wife, Alma, confront the reasons behind their faltered marriage and dying love. Each word seems to evoke memories of past, and so the audience witnesses events of Mahler's life that explain somewhat his present state. Included are his turbulent and dysfunctional family life as a child, his discovery of solace in the "natural" world, his brother's suicide, his [unwanted] conversion from Judiasm to Catholicism, his rocky marriage and the death of their young child. The movie weaves in and out of dreams, flashbacks, thoughts and reality as Russell poetically describes the man behind the music. Written by Jonathan Dakss <dakss@columbia.edu>  

Details

Company Credits

Technical Specs

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