Immortal Beloved (1994)

The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Beside all the work he is known for, the composer once wrote a famous love letter to a nameless beloved and the movie tries to find... See full summary »

Director:

Bernard Rose

Writer:

Bernard Rose

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Beside all the work he is known for, the composer once wrote a famous love letter to a nameless beloved and the movie tries to find out who this beloved was. Not easy as Beethoven has had many women in his life.

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Plot Keywords:

ludwig van beethoven | love letter | composer | death | love | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for scenes of violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ludwig van B.

Filming Locations:

Kromeríz, Czech Republic

Box Office

Gross:

$14,351,546 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Entertainment International, Majestic Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some extras fainted in the extreme heat during the filming of the funeral scene.

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Goofs

The producers of the film made painstaking effort to ensure that authentic late classical-era pianos were used on set, yet the music that is allegedly coming out of them is unmistakably from a 20th-centruy instrument.

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Quotes

Ludwig van Beethoven: [Miss Guiccardi's first piano lesson. She is playing, poorly, a little minuet. She errs, and begins pounding on the keyboard, perhaps to gets some kind of reaction from Beethoven. He says nothing until he realizes she has stopped. He gives his critique] You think that because I do not stop you, that I am not listening.
[She sighs in agreeance]
Ludwig van Beethoven: The manner in which you thump out the notes without the slightest thought as to their meaning is unforgivable. And your lack of passion is unforgivable. I ...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in BURN-E (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted Georg Solti (as Sir Georg Solti)
Performed by Vinson Cole tenor, with London Voices
Chorus master: Terry Edwards

User Reviews

The wild genius

Not quite as dramatic as AMADEUS, to which there are obvious comparisons, it is a powerful film in its own right.

Taking the mysterious letter which Beethoven wrote to his "Immortal beloved" as the starting point, we follow his secretary's attempt to identify the person to whom the letter is addressed. No one knows, to this day, who that person really is, but the film offers an interesting theory.

The letter, however, is just a device to tell the story of the wild genius who personifies the Romantic movement in art. The letter serves much the same purpose as does Rosebud in CITIZEN KANE -- a method of stringing together a series of flashbacks that reveal the personality of the central figure.

The acting is wonderful and the music is powerful.