Copying Beethoven: The DVD

[susanwen]

My DVD came today, and it is LUSH. It includes commentary by Ed Harris and Director Holland, DELETED SCENES(!), and a featurette about orchestrating the movie. Lovely!

- Susan

[susanwen]

There were five scenes deleted from the movie that were shown on the DVD. I understand that the movie had to be cut to "make" a certain time limitation, and to tighten it. Still, I was glad to see the extra scenes. Two of them clarified the tension between Martin and Anna. One was a scene of Anna's father, showing his affection for her as a parallel to Beethoven's affection for Karl. One was a rehearsal of the Grosse Fugue. (I forgot the fifth - I only watched the video once, yesterday).

One thing from the DVD I found striking - they were showing some "behind the scenes" and I saw that while Anna was conducting the Ninth with Beethoven following her, a real conductor was doing the same alongside the actress playing Anna - showing HER the movements as they went.

I recommend the DVD to people who enjoyed the movie, and especially to people who didn't get the movie in their area.

[Chris]

Thanks for the update. I have the DVD myself, but haven't gotten the chance to watch it yet. I am particularly interested in the commentary.

[susanwen]

The fifth deleted scene that I forgot is a visit by Karl at Beethoven's deathbed.

[Michael]

There is a Region 2 copy available on eBay. This would appear to be a genuine new DVD - a Spanish edition - which, of course, has the english soundtrack. I don't think it includes the Ed Harris commentary, though. Cost including postage is approx. £20 sterling.
(This is from an eBay online store, by the way, not a private seller. It has excellent feedback)

[terry]

There is a Region 2 copy available on eBay. This would appear to be a genuine new DVD - a Spanish edition - which, of course, has the english soundtrack. I don't think it includes the Ed Harris commentary, though. Cost including postage is approx. £20 sterling.
(This is from an eBay online store, by the way, not a private seller. It has excellent feedback)

Sorry... I ALREADY BOUGHT IT... ! I'll get it soon! I'm SOOO HAPPY!! But don't be desperate: the shop has another copy, probably it's on e-bay now again! A COPY OF COPYING FOR ME TOO!!

[Michael]

Sorry everybody, I bought the other copy. Couldn't resist - after all, I'm a Beethoven fan.
A quick look at the eBay site shows that there may still be a few available!

[DavidO]

I just finished watching the (Region 1) DVD, rented from NetFlix. I hate to be a poopy-head, but I really thought the movie stunk. It's filled with the sort of hogwash that you find more & more often in new costume dramas: the characters speak in aphorisms, the camera swoops & jerks & flings itself about heedlessly in an attempt to pump up the drama, the production design is so "authentic" that it winds up being sterile & monotonous (Vienna looks like two tones of backwash). I think the screenplay is weak -- it's an inchoate, unarticulated premise with fake emotionalism. I like the director's "Europa Europa," but "Beethoven" & some of her other stuff (like the remake of "The Heiress") don't exactly shout genuinely personal filmmaking. To me, this "Beethoven" looks & sounds like cinema by committee or film school hysterics.

I thought the fictional view of Beethoven himself was more interesting & emotionally honest in the children's story & movie "Beethoven Lives Upstairs."

However, I'm pleased to report that another Beethoven DVD I recently rented via NetFlix was outstanding & I urge any of you who haven't seen it to track it down. It's a fascinating documentary of the pianist Piotr Anderszewski practicing, commenting on & ultimately performing in its entirety the Diabelli Variations. The film was made in 2001, & contains many insightful & moving moments. At one point, Anderszewski is discussing how he came to the Variations by way of the Missa Solemnis, & as he speaks, he starts to play a section of the Missa at the piano, singing along, explaining his point, & the audio track bleeds hauntingly into the actual full-chorus Missa. It's the kind of moment that does Beethoven the most justice for most of us B. idolaters, & the film is so good all in all that it's worth buying & owning.

[Preston]

I have seen "Copying Beethoven" five times now and I do not know what to make of the movie. When I saw the scene on You Tube, I thought that scene was excellent. Although, a lot of the scenes, I am thinking now, were not that good. I do feel that there are good scenes in the movie.

Part of me wants to believe that it is one of the best movies ever made, but then I just can't find it in myself to say it.

Maybe Ed Harris as Beethoven didn't work for me in all the scenes, better yet, I know he didn't. I do believe that Anthony Hopkins would have been a better choice. Know I said, I do, that Harris made a far better Beethoven than Hopkins, well I think I take it back, the only problem is that I haven't seen Hopkins as Beethoven, he would surely have to beat Harris in a lot of scenes.

The movie was 104 minutes and the movie seemed like it didn't cover that much. I thought that the movie was to much based on Anna. I feel like the movie should be called "Beethoven: Teaching Anna". I am serious, there was way to much time spent on Anna. I knew that they shouldn't have created the character Anna, in my opinion, it is utterly ridiculous and extremely ignorant.

I like watching Harris better than Oldman, though, because in Immortal Beloved you get Beethoven's romantic side (where the girls love him, he is the cool guy who doesn't take junk from anyone), I think, and in Copying Beethoven you get a different side of Beethoven.

If Beethoven is the most spiritual person to ever walk the face of the Earth, which I believe he may have been (along with Vincent van Gogh), then they gave a very wrong impression of that. Most likely, a lot of people who watched "Copying Beethoven" and didn't know that much about Beethoven, and even those who did watch the movie finished thinking he was an idiot and a fool. They show hardly any of his pure thoughts. There are a few lines that make you think Beethoven "could be" spiritual, but not enough to make an impact. They hardly focus any on his thoughts towards monks, religion, spirituality, etc. Instead they have him bad mouth nuns. When he wrote the whole Missa Solemnis basing a lot of it on the plain chants of the monks.

I feel that they should talk to George Lucas, I am not saying by any means that it should be a blockbuster movie, I imagine Beethoven would not have wanted that, and see what he would do for the movie (film type he would use, scenes, backgrounds, environments, etc.). People say he is a genius and I believe it. He has the money to do it and would be more than willing to get the best shots, scenes, etc., if he chose to do it. If he did choose to do it then I feel, if they had reasonable sense, that they should rewrite some of the script, keeping only certain precious, caring, thoughtful... lines in the screenplay.

I will be updating this post from time to time, so bear with me please.

Kind Regards,
Preston

[susanwen]

We are all entitled to our opinions, of course. Many people, myself included, thought this was the great movie of the year. Possibly it is a sign of a great movie that it evokes different opinions. Some love it, some hate it. It's not pap for all comers, at least.

[Michael]

With some trepidation (considering the very mixed reviews) I sat down last night to watch the movie, on DVD, for the first time. I made up my mind to accept it for what it is: a fictional drama about Beethoven – not a documentary. With that in mind, it turned out (for me) to be one of the most enjoyable films I have seen in a long time.
First of all, Ed Harris makes an excellent Beethoven. In various reviews he has been criticised for playing the clichéd mad genius, but I think he underplays the part, if anything and, as a result, his outbursts are all the more startling.
In “Immortal Beloved”, Gary Oldman was very effective but one-dimensional. He portrayed the scowling, bad-tempered B who seemed to do very little composing, whereas Ed Harris is constantly banging pianos, scribbling notes and humming discordantly. Best of all, he is portrayed as a profoundly deaf man, desperately trying to hear the music he is composing. To this end, he uses an outlandish selection of ear trumpets, some attached to his head like nineteenth-century headphones.
The story is slight – really just a way of introducing us to Beethoven as he was in those last frantic days leading up to the first performance of the Ninth Symphony (and the period beyond) and the fictional female copyist is convincing enough and gives the story wider appeal.
The script is generally excellent and Mr Rivele knows his Beethoven and he knows where he can take some daring liberties. Again, reviewers have described the dialogue as sententious and overblown in places, but within the context of the film, it really works. Let’s face it, Beethoven did speak and write in a slightly pompous and portentous manner but, in fairness, most artists did in the early nineteenth century and I don’t think German translates too well.
I really found only two parts of the script that could be described as over the top. One was when Beethoven “conducts” the premiere of the Ninth Symphony. Raising his hands he mutters “now music changes forever” or words to that effect. The other was a regrettable joke involving the Moonlight Sonata and Beethoven’s derriere, which was anachronistic and startling. (The joke, that is).
The movie is beautifully filmed. Someone has described it as too colourful and chocolate-boxy but I didn’t find it so. In fact, some of the opening scenes are quite disturbing especially when set to the music of the Grosse Fuge.
And that brings me to the last and most important aspect of the film – the music. I thought it was brilliantly deployed.
Nearly all of it is late Beethoven – only two or three earlier works are hinted at. Incredibly, “Fur Elise” appears but is used in a very witty fashion. As I have said, the film opens with the Grosse Fuge which sets the tone for the rest of the musical extracts. The main set piece is the performance of the Ninth Symphony which is brilliantly reduced to ten minutes or so and there is another scene where B dictates the third movement of the A minor quartet to Anna. (Alright, it was swiped from “Amadeus” but what the hell!)
But most of late Beethoven is represented, and even the “jazz” variation of the Diabellis is played over the closing credits. Sound quality is excellent.
Those for whom Beethoven "is" the Fifth Symphony, the Pastoral and the Emperor Concerto will have their ears opened by this movie.

On a technical note, I mentioned earlier that this DVD is available on eBay in a Spanish edition which includes the English soundtrack. In case anybody would like to purchase it, a word of warning: it does not contain the Ed Harris commentary and I found I was unable to get rid of the Spanish subtitles. I eventually had to resort to shifting them below the actual picture (which you can do on Panasonic machines) and blocking them off. A bit extreme, but I was able to enjoy the movie in full with no distractions.
Those who have Region 1 compatible players would be better off with the American edition.

Michael

[Gurn Blanston]

Michael,
Interesting review, thanks for that. I agree with your attitude: take it for what it is and enjoy it as such. It is decidedly NOT a biography/documentary.

On a side note, I don't see the incongruity of including Für Elise. It was originally composed circa 1809, thus not an early work, and then revised in 1822 for inclusion in the set of Bagatelles - Op 119. For whatever reason, he changed his mind before publication (thus the set has only the odd number of 11 works). So he would have been working on that revision within the same time frame. BTW, you can hear the revision, played by Steven Beck, on his disk "Beethoven Cameos" which is available from Monument Records.

[Michael]

Re "Fur Elise", Gurn, I only meant that it sounded a bit out of place amidst all the great last works, but it was included in a very clever scene in which one of the copyists is bewailing the fact that poor Beethoven has lost the plot and can't compose properly anymore. He plays "Fur Elise" as an example of how great the composer once was, whereas nowadays he writes rubbish like this - and then he launches into the "jazz" variation of the Diabellis!
I didn't know that "Fur Elise" was supposed to be included in Opus 119. I have a recording of the revised version but I didn't like it much - I must have another listen to it. I still think the version we know is perfect.

Michael

[Sorrano]

Great review, Michael, thanks! I haven't purchased the DVD yet but will and I look forwards to watching a great movie!

[Michael]

Hope you like it! I wouldn't call it a GREAT movie and I can see how a lot of people would dislike it but, as I said above, if you approach it in the right frame of mind, it should be enjoyable. There are one or two moments that will make you cringe but it's a much more positive film than "Immortal Beloved".
Many of the reviews have not been very complimentary and "Amadeus" is always being held up as the yardstick by which composer biographies must be judged, and, purely as a movie, "Amadeus" is much better. My chief interest however, is in the portrayal of Beethoven and his music and Ed Harris is streets ahead of Tom Hulce (Mozart). I think the earlier film should have been called "Salieri".

Michael