'Copying Beethoven' trailer

[Pizarro]

Hello all,

I just wanted to let you know that I found a treasure trove of pics from the new movie along with the trailer and an interview with Ed Harris from NPR on a non-English Ed Harris blog.
http://blog.paran.com/harris

You can view the trailer on the third page. I can't believe it's not on IMDB yet!

[Hollywood]

I just checked IMDB and this film is now listed. I also checked out the photos of Ed Harris as Beethoven on the site you posted Pizzaro. I did not recognize Mr. Harris at all. I had to explain to my husband who the actor in the photo was by mentioning the films "Apollo 13" and "The Right Stuff".

I'm looking forward to seeing this film even though it'll be Hollywood's version of the facts (so they can sell more tickets). Will it be like "Amadeus", a film which I enjoyed watching but was lacking a bit in the truth department, or will it stick to the facts? Oh yes we are talking about Hollywood here so we shall see...

------------------
"God knows why it is that my pianoforte music always makes the worst impression on me, especially when it is played badly."
- Beethoven 1804.

[Preston]

Why does Ed Harris use a hearing aid? I thought that Beethoven had long been completely death by then. The movie is suppose to focus on 1824-1827.

Preston

[Fidelio]

Originally posted by Preston:
Why does Ed Harris use a hearing aid? I thought that Beethoven had long been completely death by then. The movie is suppose to focus on 1824-1827.

Preston

His hearing deteriorated so much that by 1818 he could no longer hear most speech and had to use the conversation books. In 1822 Beethoven finally accepted that mothing could be done about his deafness and never again asked for help for it. Malzel devised a hearing aid for Beethoven for his use while conducting, so he informed Beethoven in 1818, but nothing is known about it. He had earlier made Beethoven ear trumpets (1812) but had proved ineffective.

------------------
Fidelio

Must it be.....it must be

[Preston]

I thought it was earlier than that. I believe that you are right, though. So in 1816 he could still hear speech?

That's a shame that's in the movie.

[Fidelio]

Originally posted by Preston:
I thought it was earlier than that. I believe that you are right, though. So in 1816 he could still hear speech?

That's a shame that's in the movie.

There is a report that Beethoven found hearing the wind instruments during a rehearsal of the Eroica difficult (1804). In 1805, he did managed to conduct rehearsals of Fidelio and in 1808 he noticed some subtle differences in Wilhelm Rust's playing. However by the end of the decade Beethoven no longer performed in concerts as a solo pianist. By 1814 his hearing was only adequate to allow him to perform in performances of the 'Archduke'. In 1812 the deafness become much worse and it become necessary for one to raise their voice when talking to him. However, Czerny told Otto Jahn, that it wasn't until 1817 that Beethoven deafness become so bad that he could no longer hear music. In his last decade, Bethoven becaome more deaf and was apparently toally deaf in his right ear. As late as 1825/6 Sir George Smart, Stephen von Breuning and Samuel Spiker reported that LvB could occasionally still understand loud speech. Holz confirmed that 'he could hear high notes and if one shouted into his left ear you could be understood'.


------------------
Fidelio

Must it be.....it must be

[Nightklavier]

No one's commenting on the actual trailer, the title of this topic. The very short trailer on the third page of that blog is arousing mixed emotions in me. On the one hand, it looks rather promising with the music and the obviously involved and skilled Ed Harris. On the other hand, certain scenes with Beethoven shirtless, banging some guy's merchandise with a cane, and listening to others with his ear trumpet only makes me more curious if this portrayal of Beethoven will actually be accurate, at least more so than 'Immortal Beloved.'

What say the Beethoven aficionados?

[Joy]

The pics look marvelous! It's amazing what the make up and costume departments can do.
The interview with Ed Harris was also very interesting. Couldn't get the trailor to work thought, will have to keep trying.

------------------
'Truth and beauty joined'

[Preston]

Originally posted by Joy:
The pics look marvelous! It's amazing what the make up and costume departments can do.
The interview with Ed Harris was also very interesting. Couldn't get the trailor to work thought, will have to keep trying.

I am not to fond of the makeup and hair. I think they should have made him look more like Beethoven. He looks to much like Ed Harris. They should have made his nose look like Beethoven, and his face.

Makeup that I consider good, is the makeup on the older Salieri, in Amadeus. In my opinion, that is good makeup.

Kind Regards,
Preston

[This message has been edited by Preston (edited 09-28-2006).]

[DavidO]

Originally posted by Nightklavier:
No one's commenting on the actual trailer, the title of this topic. The very short trailer on the third page of that blog is arousing mixed emotions in me. On the one hand, it looks rather promising with the music and the obviously involved and skilled Ed Harris. On the other hand, certain scenes with Beethoven shirtless, banging some guy's merchandise with a cane, and listening to others with his ear trumpet only makes me more curious if this portrayal of Beethoven will actually be accurate, at least more so than 'Immortal Beloved.'

What say the Beethoven aficionados?

Here's my view: To me, a film is under no obligation to reproduce details & facts with historical accuracy. I consider a film like this a work of fiction (based obviously on historical personages). Even great documentaries--like Ophuls's "Sorrow & the Pity"--present subjective or even fictive perspectives, despite purporting to represent "the facts." I want a film to live & breathe as a film. I want to see great direction with a personal style; a decent screenplay that makes sense when it's supposed to make sense & delineates character so as to draw me in to the world of the film rather than push me out; strong camerawork that indicates something more than mere command of technology & FX tools; & preferably a novel or at least a vivid point of view, a stamp of individuality, which I already mentioned above. Films that look as if they were made by committee instead of by solitary minds with thoughts of their own are of little interest to me.

I looked over the stuff on this site & thought it all looked fairly foursquare. It looks like a typical biopic with the usual trappings: "naturalistic" lowkey lighting indoors to communicate verisimilitude, plenty of closeups to show the makeup department's labors, mise en scene that looks as if Beethoven lived each frame of his life in a Rembrandt or a Velasquez painting (which, paradoxically, to me subtracts from the realism), &c. It goes without saying that I hope the film entertains me, whenever I happen to see it. But these biopics with their sometimes phonily grandiloquent themes & gravity generally don't greatly entertain me, whether we're talking about "Immortal Beloved" or "Camille Claudel" or "Gandhi" or "The Life of Emile Zola." I usually find them laborious & without much spark or idiosyncrasy.

[Joy]

Originally posted by Preston:
I am not to fond of the makeup and hair. I think they should have made him look more like Beethoven. He looks to much like Ed Harris. They should have made his nose look like Beethoven, and his face.

Makeup that I consider good, is the makeup on the older Salieri, in Amadeus. In my opinion, that is good makeup.

Kind Regards,
Preston

[This message has been edited by Preston (edited 09-28-2006).]

Even Ed Harris said he didn't recoginize himself! He had a metal piece placed in his nose to make it spead out larger.



------------------
'Truth and beauty joined'

[terry]

am not to fond of the makeup and hair. I think they should have made him look more like Beethoven. He looks to much like Ed Harris.
I agree. While looking at the very first photo , I jumped on the chair: now he looks a little "changed". But no bad indeed. As for the missing love story...if there isn't a relationship,the choosing of a young attractive woman in the plot seems less functional. It's not a criticism, only personal thought Anyway, I'd like to watch it and I still hope for success.

[heidi]

Originally posted by Pizarro:
Hello all,

I just wanted to let you know that I found a treasure trove of pics from the new movie along with the trailer and an interview with Ed Harris from NPR on a non-English Ed Harris blog.
http://blog.paran.com/harris

You can view the trailer on the third page. I can't believe it's not on IMDB yet!

I'm not sure if it will work this way but I found another trailer for the movie.
www.copyingbeethoven-themovie.com/trailer.html

[Nightklavier]

Now that's a trailer. Thanks heidi!