Discover
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Janek Sirrs
Compositing Artist -
Bernard Rose
Writer -
Kyle Cooper
Title Designer -
Stephen McEveety
Executive Producer -
Mo Henry
Negative Cutter -
John Myhre
Art Direction -
Bruce Davey
Producer -
Peter Suschitzky
Director of Photography
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CinemaSerf 4/4/2022 9:09:08AM
Ten years after the success of "Amadeus"; Hollywood decided to offer us a biopic of this giant of 19th century music who helped set up Vienna as the Mecca of classical music at the time. A truly multi-talented Gary Oldman is on good form as Bernard Rose guides us through the life, and fairly frequent loves, of this genius. His flaws are writ large from the beginning; his, at times, quite brutal upbringing and his womanising certainly didn't make him the nicest of men; and as his deafness takes over his character becomes more irascible and unpredictable. The story is presented as a retrospective, starting at his funeral, and is largely described through the perspective of his friend Anton Schindler (a considered effort from Jeroen Krabbé) and we see how his nature could vacillate from kindly, cruel, passionate and loving to selfish and vile. There are strong supporting contributions from Isabella Rossellini and Johanna Reiss that help keep this film focused and engaging. There are also ample opportunities to hear some of his music played, quite possibly, in a venue he would have himself attended. The attention to detail is superb: costumes, sets and locations all looking excellent. The dialogue is sparing, but it's what they all do with it - especially Gary Oldman - that helps make this film stand out. Two hours just flew by, and if you are fan of the music and interested in the man - then this is a good watch.
Gary Oldman
Ludwig van BeethovenValeria Golino
Giulietta GuicciardiMarek Vašut
Custody policemanDonal Gibson
Karl HolzIsabella Rossellini
Anna Marie ErdödyAlexandra Pigg
Therese ObermeyerJeroen Krabbé
Anton Felix SchindlerMarco Hofschneider
Karl van Beethoven