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Immortal Beloved [Blu-ray]

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Immortal Beloved Blu-ray
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Immortal Beloved [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray


This biography of Ludwig von Beethoven (played here by Gary Oldman) builds its narrative around an actual letter found after his death, addressed only to the composer's "immortal beloved." The responsibility of discovering this mysterious person's identity falls to Beethoven's friend and secretary (Jeroen Krabbe), who sets out on an investigation that soon becomes an exploration of the composer's life. Through recollections and scattered hints, we receive glimpses of Beethoven's relationships with women, particularly his close interaction with a pair of very different Countesses. The film also pays prominent attention to the composer's oddly obsessive relationship with the young nephew whom he attempted to mold in his own image, and Beethoven's eventual hearing loss and descent into emotional instability. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
  • Sound By: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Released By: Sony Pictures
Director's Commentary
Original Featurette
"Beloved Beethoven" Documentary.

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  • Immortal Beloved Blu-ray
Immortal Beloved Blu-ray

Editorial Reviews

An attempt to do for Beethoven what was done for Mozart in Amadeus (1984), this fanciful blend of fact and fiction is a marvelous drama, if lacking in the sumptuous, visual feast qualities of the film it's aping. Rose creates one gorgeous sequence in which a youthful Beethoven escapes an abusive father, flees through the woods, and floats in a pond that reflects the starry night sky above, as the Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony blasts over the soundtrack. The rest of the film never quite reaches such heights, but it's properly grounded in the grumbling, wounded performance of Gary Oldman, who not surprisingly captures precisely the right intonations of a self-absorbed, prideful genius (perhaps not much of a stretch for the notoriously difficult actor). Rose's script posits that the composer's behavior was the result of a broken heart, and while scholars may certainly dispute many of his story's claims, the end result is a moving and soulful work, fleetingly ecstatic, and interestingly structured on the template provided by Citizen Kane (1941). If Immortal Beloved runs second to Amadeus on the list of great composer biographies, the margin between the two films is not a wide one by any means. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi