Edvard Munch (1974)

A dramatic, rich and insightful look at the life of artist, Edvard Munch

Director:

Peter Watkins

Writer:

Peter Watkins

Stars:

Geir Westby, Gro Fraas, Kerstii Allum

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Geir Westby	...	Edvard Munch
Gro Fraas	...	Fru Heiberg
Kerstii Allum	...	Sophie Munch - 1868
Eric Allum	...	Edvard Munch - 1868
Susan Troldmyr	...	Laura Munch - 1868
Ragnvald Caspari	...	Peter Andreas Munch - 1868
Katja Pedersen	...	Inger Munch - 1868
Hjordis Ulriksen	...	Housemaid - 1868
Inger-Berit Oland	...	Sophie Munch - 1875
Amund Berge	...	Edvard Munch - 1875
Camilla Falk	...	Laura Munch - 1875
Erik Kristiansen	...	Peter Andreas Munch - 1875
Anne-Marie Daehli	...	Inger Munch - 1875 (as Anne Marie Dæhli)
Johan Halsborg	...	Dr. Christian Munch - 1884
Gro Jarto	...	Laura Catherine Munch - 1884

Storyline

Following a rough chronology from 1884 to 1894, when Norwegian artist Edvard Munch began expressionism and established himself as northern Europe's most maligned and controversial artist, the film also flashes back to the death from consumption of his mother, when he was five, his sister's death, and his near death at 13 from pulmonary disease. The film finds enduring significance in Munch's brief affair with "Mrs. Heiberg" and his participation in the café society of anarchist Hans Jaeger in Christiania and later in Berlin with Strindberg. Through it all comes Munch's melancholy and his desire to render on canvas, cardboard, paper, stone, and wood his innermost feelings.

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Plot Keywords:

august strindberg character | character name as title | edvard munch character | period drama | death | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

Narrator: I felt as if there were invisible threads between us. I felt as if invisible threads from her hair still twisted themselves around me. And, when she completely disappeared there, over the ocean, then I felt still how it hurt, where my heart bled, because the threads could not be broken.

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Connections

Referenced in Scream (1996)

User Reviews

The best artist-biography I have ever seen

Peter Watkins' Edvard Munch is the best film "biography" of an artist I have ever seen. Like Peter Greenaway's THE FALLS (another favorite of mine) it uses non-professionals to great advantage... I'm not quite sure I can say how (other than that I tend to find professional actors distancing, with a few notable exceptions). It also strangely but tantalizingly mixes re-creation with pseudo-interview, creating an emotional tapestry of this lonely man's life which I have never quite been able to

UPDATE: ... Not sure why my comment cut off like that!

I am re-viewing this great film and find it just as astonishing as I did the first time through. The great _layering_ of image and sound (so that we see an oddly-cut sequence of a couple making love mixed with images of bloody sickbeds, all the while hearing Munch's palette knife scraping away or his distraught sobs) is employed to devastating effect, while the performances seem so naturalistic that it all feels less _acted_ than simply _filmed_ ... as if Watkins somehow managed to transport himself and camera back to 19th century Christiania. Absolutely spellbinding.

Details

Country:

Sweden Norway

Language:

French English Norwegian German Swedish Danish

Release Date:

12 November 1974 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Edvard Munch

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,961, 19 June 2005

Gross USA:

$43,539

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$76,949

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norsk Film, Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK), Sveriges Radio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

210 min 174 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1