Immortal Beloved

19941994
RR
2h 1min

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Home Video Trailer from Columbia Pictures

Biography Drama Music

The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides 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--no... Read allThe life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides 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.The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides 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.The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides 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.The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides 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.

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

Awards
- 1 nomination

Videos1

Immortal Beloved

Immortal Beloved

Gary Oldman in Immortal Beloved (1994)

Gary Oldman, Christopher Fulford, Gerard Horan, and Bernard Rose in Immortal Beloved (1994)

Gary Oldman in Immortal Beloved (1994)

Johanna ter Steege in Immortal Beloved

Immortal Beloved (1994)

1 Sheet 26 X 38

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Immortal Beloved (1994)

Ludwig van Beethovenas Ludwig van Beethoven

Anton Felix Schindleras Anton Felix Schindler

Isabella Rossellini

Anna Marie Erdödyas Anna Marie Erdödy

Johanna ter Steege

Johanna Reissas Johanna Reiss

Marco Hofschneider

Karl van Beethovenas Karl van Beethoven

Miriam Margolyes

Nanette Streicherováas Nanette Streicherová

Barry Humphries

Clemens Metternichas Clemens Metternich

Giulietta Guicciardias Giulietta Guicciardi

Nikolaus Johann van Beethovenas Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven

Christopher Fulford

Kaspar Anton Carl van Beethovenas Kaspar Anton Carl van Beethoven

Therese Obermayeras Therese Obermayer

Franz Josef Guicciardias Franz Josef Guicciardi

Jakob Hotscevaras Jakob Hotscevar

Karl Holzas Karl Holz

Young Karl van Beethovenas Young Karl van Beethoven

Josephine von Brunsvikas Josephine von Brunsvik

Theresa von Brunsvikas Theresa von Brunsvik

Wenzel Robert von Gallenbergas Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg

See production, box office, & company info

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6.8

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The life and death of the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides 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. —Smoothhoney1265

based on real person biograph choral choral music choral recitative 87 more

Taglines
- The genius behind the music. The madness behind the man. The untold love story of Ludwig von Beethoven.
Genres
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for scenes of violence and sexuality
Parents guide

Trivia
Gary Oldman actually played all of the Beethoven pieces he performed in the film. A different musician performed in the official soundtrack. When Oldman learned he would be playing the lead role, he spent six weeks practicing on a Steinway piano for six hours a day in his hotel, and completely immersed himself in the music as his research for the character. In an interview with the South Bank show in 1997, Oldman quoted an article that said "he mimes very well" in the film. He then laughed and said "I'm playing it! I can play that!"

Goofs
At his first public recital, Ludwig was eight years-old (some sources report seven) and his father announced him as six, yet the movie conveys, via voiceover, that Ludwig was "12 and his father told the court he was nine".

Quotes
Ludwig van Beethoven: [in reference to "Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 47" - "Kreutzer"...] Do you like it?
Anton Felix Schindler: Shh!
Ludwig van Beethoven: I cannot hear them, but I know they are making a hash of it. What do you think? Music is... a dreadful thing. What is it? I don't understand it. What does it mean?
Anton Felix Schindler: It - it exalts the soul.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Utter nonsense. If you hear a marching band, is your soul exalted? No, you march. If you hear a waltz, you dance. If you hear a mass, you take communion. It is the power of music to carry one directly into the mental state of the composer. The listener has no choice. It is like hypnotism. So, now... What was in my mind when I wrote this? Hmm? A man is trying to reach his lover. His carriage has broken down in the rain. The wheels stuck in the mud. She will only wait so long. This... is the sound of his agitation. "This is how it is... ," the music is saying. "Not how you are used to being. Not how you are used to thinking. But like this."

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Disclosure/Drop Zone/Nell/The Last Buffalo/Into the Deep/Immortal Beloved (1994)

Soundtracks
Missa Solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Georg Solti (as Sir Georg Solti)
Performed by Renée Fleming soprano - Ann Murray alto - Vinson Cole tenor - Bryn Terfel bass with London Voices
Chorus master: Terry Edwards

Top review

7/10

Immortal Beethoven

On his deathbed, Beethoven, the greatest of all composers, leaves a note to his "Immortal Beloved." Like Citizen Kane's "Rosebud," this becomes a device to see the life of Beethoven through flashbacks. This interesting mixture of fact and fiction provides a portrait of the composer's social life but sheds little light on his genius for writing music. The soundtrack is all Beethoven (except for a little Rossini), as we get to hear bits and pieces of many of his works. The "Ode to Joy" sequence is well done, juxtaposing the premier of the 9th Symphony with flashbacks to Ludwig's childhood. However, the disjointed structure makes for a somewhat unsatisfying experience. Oldman certainly looks like Beethoven and manages to convey the anguish of a man who never heard most of his greatest works due to deafness, the most cruel fate for a composer.

helpful•28

6

kenjha
May 14, 2006

Release date
- January 27, 1995 (United States)
Countries of origin
- United Kingdom
- United States
Languages
- English
- Hungarian
Also known as
- Безсмертна кохана
Filming locations
- Zentralfriedhof, Vienna, Austria
Production companies
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Gross US & Canada
- $9,914,409
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $120,108
- Dec 18, 1994
Gross worldwide
- $9,914,409

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 2h 1min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
- 2.35 : 1

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