copying beethoven premiere

[charly]

'Copying Beethoven' premiered at the toronto film festival tonight. Not nearly as good as Amadeus, possibly a bit better than the Immortal Beloved. Rambling incohesive screenplay, ed harris was quite good, as was the sound. Standing ovation from the audience (the first at the festival this year) but I believe that was stimulated by the music (the finale to the ninth), not the film.The kitschiest part was to have the beautiful leading lady hidden in the prompters box conducting Beethoven to help him keep time, she having a very revealing bodice.

[Nightklavier]

This doesn't sound promising at all. Some people hated Amadeus, so saying it's not as good doesn't bode well for the film. "Possibly a bit better" than Immortal Beloved is also not a good sign. I personally liked Immortal Beloved, but again, a lot of people didn't.

Nevertheless, I'll have to see it and judge it for myself. Thanks for the review, though.

[charly]

This is a postscript to last evening's mini- review. The second kitschiest scene was the heroine walking into the distance in a crimson-coloured meadow after Beethoven had praised one of her compositions, as the finale of the ninth drew to a close, as did the movie.
Ed Harris was quite witty in the question-and-answer period after the showing.

[PDG]

Thank you, Charly. You have an advantage over the rest of us, but if we can trust your judgement then this film would seem to be yet another embarrassingly poor testament to this monumental artist. Oh well.....

[robert newman]

Goodness ! It's virtually impossible to judge a film without actually seeing it. And, having seen it, digesting it over some days. As somebody working on a screenplay myself (involving a famous person of the late 18th century) it can be a near impossibility to get close to 'greatness' in any biographical sense, let alone convey it to an audience whose knowledge and expectations is so varied. Time after time humour comes to the rescue. I don't mean slapstick - I mean creating situations where people can empathise with the humanity of great men such as Beethoven. I am very grateful that this forum has received condensed posts on the progress of this film and am very hopeful of its success. To be given a seal of approval by this forum (consisting as it does of virtually every sort of music lover) would be an achievement in itself.

Congratulations to all those who persevered at every phase of its production. I look forward to seeing it and will definitely enjoy it, knowing the dedication of those involved in its creation.

[Joy]

Originally posted by robert newman:

As somebody working on a screenplay myself(involving a famous person of the late 18th century)

Hmmmm, I wonder who that could be?



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[Sorrano]

Originally posted by Joy:
Hmmmm, I wonder who that could be?

Certainly not Mr. Ravioli?

[Joy]

Originally posted by Sorrano:

Certainly not Mr. Ravioli?

Or Mr. Tortellini? Ha



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[Nightklavier]

Originally posted by Joy:
Or Mr. Tortellini? Ha

No, it must be Mr. Fusilli.

[Joy]

Originally posted by Nightklavier:
No, it must be Mr. Fusilli.

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[robert newman]

It would cause you no Paine if you knew !

[Joy]

Originally posted by robert newman:

It would cause you no Paine if you knew !

Oh, I get it now!


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[Peter]

A not too favourable review from Reutters:


While her resume has included such acclaimed films as "Angry Harvest," "Europa Europa" and "The Secret Garden," director Agnieszka Holland's more recent output has been considerably spotty.

Unfortunately, her newest film, "Copying Beethoven," won't constitute a return to form.

Centered around an imagined working relationship between the mercurial maestro and a young female aspiring composer who becomes his music copyist during the last years of his life, the picture never successfully comes off the written page.

It isn't for lack of trying. An initially unrecognizable Ed Harris, complete with dark contacts and that wild composer hair, puts some of that "Pollock" volatility to effective use here, while Holland tries various ways to give his symphonies some visual oomph.

But it ultimately feels forced -- a wannabe "Amadeus."

Although Harris' performance is certain to be given a big awards push once a distributor is secured, the film itself will probably only strike a minor chord with viewers.

Set in 1824, the U.K.-Hungary co-production catches up with the great Ludwig van B. on the eve of the Vienna premiere of his Ninth Symphony. With several key parts still to be transcribed, he avails himself of the copying skills of a 23-year-old conservatory student named Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger).

Undaunted by the deaf composer's fearful reputation, the ambitious Holtz accepts the challenge head-on, eventually winning her master's begrudging respect, and even his admiration.

The only trouble is, the Holtz character, as penned by Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele ("Nixon," "Ali") is a composite of several real-life figures (none of whom was a female copyist), and she never feels like anything other than a writer's device.

It doesn't help that Kruger goes through all the machinations but fails to convey her character's driving passion, and without it there's just no necessary spark being ignited between them.

Although she fares better with Beethoven than she did chasing Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine in 1995's ill-fated "Total Eclipse," Holland's attempts to sell the subject matter to the MTV generation with quick cutting and incorporating a twirling hand-held camera (perhaps emulating the movement of a conductor's baton?) finally comes across as all a bit too, ahem, orchestrated.


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'Man know thyself'

[Nightklavier]

Thanks for that Peter. Here's another review by Leslie Felperin from Variety. There may be some spoilers here, so for those sensitive to such things, be warned:

"Has there ever been a good movie about Beethoven (as in the classical composer, Ludwig von Beethoven, not the mischief-making outsized canine)? Not so far, it seems: helmer Agnieszka Holland's "Copying Beethoven" joins 1994's "Immortal Beloved" in the ranks of mediocre dramatic interpretations of Beethoven's biography. Although the pretty-looking pic pays respectful homage to his music, giving over nearly 10 minutes of screen time to the first performance of his Ninth Symphony, its fictional frame about a woman copyist helping the maestro complete the masterwork hits too many duff notes. Best bet for distribs is pitch to middle-aged to older auds.
Pic gets off to a maudlin start with young Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger, pretty good throughout) bidding a tearful farewell to Beethoven (Ed Harris) on his deathbed.

Action then flashes back to 1824, when well-born Anna arrives in Vienna, and soon finds herself employed by Beethoven himself, whom she venerates deeply, to be his copyist, which means transcribing his messy scribbles onto clean, readable pages.

Anna has ambitions of her own to be a composer, at which Beethoven, by this point quite profoundly deaf and exceedingly cantankerous and rude, scoffs. Dialogue has him recycling Dr. Johnson's well-known quote about women preachers, comparing a woman composing to a dog walking on its hind legs: "It's not done well, but you're surprised to see it done at all."

However, her intelligence, passion for music and beauty (she's played, after all, by the actress who incarnated Helen in "Troy") gradually win him over. Anna becomes more of a collaborator than a mere copyist as they race to finish the Ninth Symphony and restore his failing reputation.

Although there's a certain sexual chemistry between them, Anna and Beethoven's relationship is chaste. She's engaged to budding engineer Martin Bauer (Matthew Goode, "Match Point"), who's surprisingly modern in his support of Anna's career, while the big love of Beethoven's life is his shiftless nephew Karl (British newcommer Joe Anderson, making a strong impression here). However, the script never quite fleshes out Anna enough to convince why she should have enough moxie to defy the gender restrictions of her era.

Otherwise, the screenplay by Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson (who partnered to write both "Nixon" and "Ali") is fine, has its fair share of snappy lines (most of them given to Harris), and certainly shows off a lot of research about Beethoven and his music. It gets across, for instance, what was so radical at the time about his work, especially the Ninth and the late string quartets, in their departure from traditional form.

On the debit side, although she demonstrates a good ear for musical performance, Holland's helming is lackluster, and too-indulgent of Harris, who storms about quite a lot like a bear with sore paw, shaking his long-locked wig. Last act feels dragged out after the high of the symphonic perf, and the cutting of a reel would feel like no great loss.

Blending of studio sets and Hungarian locations is seamless, creating a credibly wintry vision of early 19th century Vienna, lensed nicely with a muted palette from d.p. Ashley Rowe. Rest of the tech credits are pro."

[robert newman]

Interesting criticisms. There are of course so many factors involved in critiques of new films that I think 'Copying Beethoven' has come out of that 'fiery furnace' (early professional criticism) very well. It was not slated by either critic and both realised the film aims to do justice to a great man and artist. Wonder what lovers of Beethoven such as us will think of it ? That matters too, of course.

I still have a hunch this film is going to do very well.