Beethoven's Music Used in Movies

[Maurice Colgan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/beethove...eethoven.shtml

Beethoven's music has been used in many films/movies a number are listed on the link. Maybe we could compile a longer list here?

[susanwen]

Mr. Holland's Opus

[Chris]

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

The man himself even makes an appearence in that one!

[Bunny]

Just go to imdb.com and put Beethoven in the search window. When you do, you get a number of options; choosing Ludwig van Beethoven, you bring up a list of movies and television shows dating back to 1932 that have LvB in the credits.

You can also choose any of the movies that include his name in the title as well, such as Copying Beethoven, whose entry under "Goofs" includes these "Anachronisms":

* Anachronisms: In one scene, Beethoven refers to his "Moonlight Sonata" (Sonata 14, Opus 27, No. 2). However, the piece did not come to be known as "Moonlight" until 1832, several years after Beethoven's death, when it was given the nickname by poet Ludwig Rellstab. The true title of the piece, as Beethoven wrote it, is "Quasi una Fantasia".

* Anachronisms: During the performance of the 9th, the trumpet player is shown playing a European style rotary valve trumpet with clock-spring valves (Riedl?) that were first developed in 1835. The design of the trumpet is also of later vintage, as most trumpets of this era lacked valves, the keyed bugle, Haydn's keyed trumpet and instruments with Stolzel valves being the new technology. Finally, the mouthpiece has a very modern profile, perhaps of the 20th Century.

You can also find the BBC production "Eroica" listed there as well. If you hit the option for "Full Cast" and scroll down to the end of the page, you'll find John Eliot Gardiner listed as the conductor. The rest of the musicians don't get a credit at IMDB, but they are the Orchestre Romantique and Revolutionnaire.

[Maurice Colgan]

Thanksamillion Bunny, that is very helpful indeed.

My wife, daughter and I heard Beethoven's Ninth at Carnegie Hall on the 12th May 2001. After spending the morning on Brooklyn Bridge, and then on a roof of The World Trade Centre!

[Michael]

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

The man himself even makes an appearence in that one!

Unlikely. Probably an actor, Chris

[Maurice Colgan]

Unlikely. Probably an actor, Chris

:-) Irish humour is unbeatable :-) How can you buy Killarney?

[Michael]

:-) Irish humour is unbeatable :-) How can you buy Killarney?

Welcome to the forum, Maurice! There are only a few of us left.......
To get back to the original topic, here are a few films I have thought of. I made out a list a few years ago but I can't remember half of them now....

Dead Poets Society
One of the Pierce Brosnan James Bonds (I forget which)
Die Hard (1)
A Beautiful Mind
Crimson Tide
Misery
Rosemary’s Baby
Running on Empty


Then there is the Beatles' "Help!" and Cliff Richard's "Wonderful Life" which actually opens with the Minuet in G played by the Shadows (don't ask!).
Oh, and Dr Who mentioned him last Saturday night. (Beethoven, that is, not Cliff).

Michael

[DavidO]

Apart from the IMDb database, there are snippets of Beethoven that frequently crop up in scores from Hollywood movies in the 1930s, '40s & '50s by such film composers as Steiner, Stothart, Korngold, &c., many of whom sprinkled their made-to-order scores (often written hastily) with passages from Beethoven, Schumann, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, &c.

In fact, I was just studying Stothart's score for "The Wizard of Oz" & heard martial themes used during the scenes in Emerald City that I swear could have been lifted & only slightly modified from themes from "Turandot."

[Rutradelusasa]

Not the man's music, but he gets a cameo: The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
His bust is one of the shapes the principal's ship takes while off normality.

[Maurice Colgan]

Thank you Michael.
We have stayed in lovely Killarney quite a number of times....once in a freezing cold stone cottage in mid-summer not far from the caste on the lake. All other times in central heated B&Bs :-)

I should know a lot of the movies featuring Beethoven's music off by heart but memory cells are in short supply recently. How our ears prick up when we do hear the Beethoven Classics in the background!

[Megan]

Doddy

Ken Dodd's Ballad 'Promises' is taken from the slow movement of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata.
I think he is best sticking with his diddy men.

[Maurice Colgan]

That's an old song.......he had a hit with it :-) He's back at the jambutty factory these days!

http://press.xtvworld.com/article18551.html

[Michael]

Ken Dodd's Ballad 'Promises' is taken from the slow movement of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata.
I think he is best sticking with his diddy men.

I can remember the first line, unfortunately. Just sing this to the Pathetique melody: "More than love, if such a thing can be." Actually, I didn't know it was Beethoven when it came out in the mid sixties.
Neil Sedaka perpetrated a worse horror on this work. His lyrics are:
"Steel blue eyes, can break your heart in two ......"

I think that's enough for today!