Amata immortale

I loved this in the theatre and recently purchased it on video.

Gary Oldman portrays Beethoven with all the warts, near-madness, rage and passion intact. Unlovable almost, except for the sympathy and compassion engendered by his deafness which humanizes him.

The music is wonderful here and tries to explain the emotions behind the man.

The McGuffin of the plot hinges on a letter that was never received by his "immortal beloved". I may have missed something along the way, but how did the narrator of the story get the letter ? That point aside, this is a well done story and captures the era perfectly. I

believe Prague was used for the setting and it is beautiful. This movie could be a matched set to "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" another film which captures his turbulence and frustration and the triumph of his composition of his 9th.

An 8 out of 10 for a very enjoyable movie.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies! I thought the music was well done, and I don't understand the criticisms I've read in this forum at all. The central idea of the movie is just one man's theory of who the "immortal beloved" was. No one knows who it actually was, and most theories I've read disagree with the film. No matter! I thought the premise was interesting, whether or not is was true. What was factual is that Beethoven WAS grouchy (wouldn't you be if you couldn't hear but music was your passion, your life??), and that he had digestive problems. Also factual was that he won custody of his nephew, Karl, and that his relationship with his brother's wife was antagonistic. The other people (countess Erdody, Schindler, etc) were factual people...of course any script written would have to put words in their mouths...big deal. I guess some people just are passionate about what their idea of the truth is (even though NO ONE KNOWS in this case) that they are blinded to the rest. The director is a Beethoven fanatic, and I found this movie to be a loving portrayal. Gary Oldman was absolutely fantastic! He learned to play the piano (spent months doing it) in order to be authentic. Thumbs WAY up on this one.

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.

Once again, a film of such glory fell on deaf ears - no pun intended - in this country. I have spent hours reading reviews on this film, stating how awful it was, because it was not true to the real Beethoven's life.... Well, I believe that early on in my life, I learned about some- thing called "Poetic License"....and, in fact, this film IS, basically, a poem. The movie is BASED on a letter that Beethoven actually DID write, to his mystery lover. No one knows, for sure, who the woman really was. And, this is simply a beautiful interpretation of someone's dream of who she COULD'VE been.

This was regarded as an AWFUL thing to do, by many Beethoven authorities - and by people who simply DOUBTED.

Yet, what went overlooked because of these critics' lack of open-mindedness - was an exquisite blend of glorious music, and SUPREME acting.

Once again, Mr. Oldman gave a performance like no other actor in the world can quite match. His style, sensitivity, and

genius as the Tragic Beethoven, was magnificent.

Jeroen Krabbe's portrayal of Anton Schindler, Beethoven's friend and champion - was marvelous.

Johanna ter Steege - who portrayed Johanna, Beethoven's sister- in-law - was exquisite. Why did they ignore HER? It would've been nice to have her stay here, rather than return to her Dutch homeland - to become a major motion picture star, as well. She had one special attribute - she could ACT.

The sets, costuming, sound, and editing were all BEAUTIFUL. But the film was ignored.

Above all, however, Gary Oldman's performance ranked among the best in the world - but it, too, was ignored.

Give the film another chance. It deserves FAR more than it GOT. It was, simply, beautiful...

Bernard Rose's superior film about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven takes as its central premise a mention in the composer's will of an 'immortal beloved', identity unknown. So far, so intriguing.

With the casting of versatile British actor Gary Oldman as Beethoven, there was potential for a lot of depth of character (which we get, as the passage of time convinces throughout as Beethoven moves from skirt-chasing youth to crabby and deaf old age).

Also impressive within the cast are Jeroen Krabbé as Schindler, Johanna ter Steege as Johanna Reiss, and Isabella Rossellini as Anna Marie Erdody. What could have been a stodgy film is buoyed up greatly by their presence, but it is the central performance of Oldman which counts (he really is a peerless performer of real-life characters - Sid Vicious, Joe Orton, Lee Harvey Oswald ...).

My only gripe would be that the music is sometimes given short shrift, but when it is there, it is wonderful. You get the emotional impact in the snatches of sonatas, symphonies and concertos you hear - but it would have been nice to acknowledge that the film was about a creative artist and musician and let us hear a bit more of his work!