Beethoven

I didn't understand that why the movie shows Beethoven as having leprosy. I think that even IMDB didn't understand the same thing and put only Karl's photos as photos of the movie. Beside that there was a lot of good comments about Beethoven's music at the movie.

I personally was very moved by these Beethoven series and would love to get it on DVD with Dutch subtitles so that my parents and grandparents can watch it.

I saw the first two parts on television and missed the final 3rd part, which really bothered me. I'm glad I finally did find a way to see it, but would love to purchase it. I find it really amazing that such a good documentary with such good actors is not released on DVD while a lot of much lesser series and movies ARE released on DVD. If it ever does gets to be released, somebody please send me an email! Yes it's a very dramatic documentary indeed. But is this really surprising when you listen to Beethoven's work? I really think the makers and the actors did a wonderful job. Of course I don't know if Beethoven really was behaving like he does in the series, but I can very well imagine that he did behave like that when listening to his music and imagine what it must be like to go deaf being a musician. I think the emphasis on his frustrations in the series were totally justified in order to understand Beethoven as a person. When you understand him as a person, you might also understand his music better and why he composed the way he did. All these things are explained by Charles Hazelwood, so frankly, I don't understand how anybody could be disappointed by a great inside look into the live of the great Beethoven.

As someone who is passionate about Beethoven's music, I really enjoyed this drama documentary about his turbulent life. I hope that the BBC will realise what a gem it is and repeat it. I thought that Paul Rhys portrayed the Maestro very well and it was very poignant to see Beethoven's frustration and near-despair at his increasing deafness. He could be a difficult man but also very warm and giving. There is so much feeling in Beethoven's music, his very self in fact. When you see the life he had, you understand why. I liked the way that the titles of the main pieces of music were displayed. I have a large Beethoven collection but it is by no means complete and some of the pieces were new to me. PLEASE BBC put this on again.

I just watched the first 2 episodes of this wonderful series on Beethoven and am looking forward to watching the last episode. I have always loved Beethoven's music, especially his orchestral works. But this series makes me appreciate his music even more. The inner struggle he went through in life is portrayed in his music. The narrator, composer Charles Hazlewood, explains specific works in detail and how its essence was a reflection on his struggles during life. Paul Rhys, as Beethoven, portrays brilliantly the many moods of this musical genius. A fantastic acting performance. I do like that it's part documentary and part drama. I even like the mock interviews he does with the people involved in his life. The quality of this series make a compelling and must see for those who love classical music and especially Beethoven. After watching this series, I still haven't seen the 3rd installment yet, I will never hear a Beethoven composition without thinking what was going on in his life at that time. This documentary is a masterpiece.

I expected this to be really good due to the high rating given it by others. However, both my wife and I found this very disappointing. We felt the mix of drama and documentary didn't work very well. The drama was rarely believable and was so long-winded that it left very little time to discuss the music. How many times, and for how long do we need to see Beethoven looking grumpy or shouting? I also never found Paul Rhys believable. I've seen other Charles Hazelwood documentaries and they seemed to be much more informative. At the end, I felt that I had learnt very little.

Immortal Beloved may have been inaccurate, but it seemed to communicate the character and passion of Beethoven much better.