Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2410 in DVD
• Brand: Columbia Pictures
• Released on: 1999-10-05
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 121 minutes

Amazon.com
This sumptuous and moving 1994 film written and directed by Bernard Rose (Candyman) investigates the artistic and romantic passions of one of the greatest composers of all time. Featuring a superb performance by Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy) as Ludwig van Beethoven, Immortal Beloved is full of uncommonly vivid, rich imagery as it charts the tumultuous life of the deaf child prodigy and his rise to the height of musical achievement. Along the way, he attempts to play mentor to his nephew, attend to his many passionate romances--the most stable one was with a countess (Isabella Rossellini)--and fight bouts of depression and madness that ruled his life and his art. The film is framed around a "Rosebud"-type letter found after the composer's death that makes up the crux of the story. Jeroen Krabbé (The Fugitive), playing Beethoven's lifelong friend, attempts to discover who Beethoven's muse really was, becoming as driven as his friend in discovering the unlikely identity of the composer's "immortal beloved." Through this we gain an insight into the nature of obsession, romance, and the heights and sacrifices of artistic achievement. The film exhibits some extraordinary sound design, and the finale features a magical encapsulation of Beethoven's life and loves set to his "Ode to Joy." As an exciting and passionate journey, Immortal Beloved is its own masterpiece. --Robert Lane

From The New Yorker
What inspired Ludwig van Beethoven to write the "Ode to Joy" in his Ninth Symphony? That's just one of many questions posed by Bernard Rose's new biography of the composer. (The answer appears to be the memory of running away from child abuse. Of course.) The movie presumes, as movies will, that all creative outbursts are sparked by a crazy personal life, a supposition that allows Beethoven (Gary Oldman) to behave like a rock star; the film is only minutes old when he trashes a hotel room. Rose, taking his lead from "Amadeus,'' filters our view of the composer through a secondary figure-in this case Anton Schindler, Beethoven's secretary (Jeroen Krabbé, who looks more like Beethoven than Oldman does). But Schindler is a lump next to "Amadeus" 's Salieri, and with no tang of jealousy to sharpen its sense of genius, the film is flat. Sadly, Rose's approach has grown more stolid since his last film, "Candyman." Only once does he aim high, in a great kitsch-cosmic shot of the infant genius lost in a sea of stars. Valeria Golino, Isabella Rossellini, and the admirable Johanna Ter Steege play the three main women in Beethoven's life-the nominations for Best Supporting Muse. There's no surprise in the winner, nor in the choice of music-a roster of greatest hits. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Beautiful and tragic
Wonderful recounting of Beethoven's life, though not exactly true to history; but after doing some research, I could see that in order to not distract the viewer with a lot of details, it was necessary to combine truisms and take a few liberties in order to make a point. For instance, the fact that it was never discovered who his Immortal Beloved ever was in reality; that it could have been a number of women, and the "letter" was actually a series of three letters written over several days would have been confusing and taken away from the drama and intensity at hand. Obviously, someone had to be chosen as his Immortal Beloved and someone was. It is still worth seeing and will bring the most avid classical musical lover to tears. If you want a good cry, hear beautiful music, and watch great acting, you must see this movie.

Not so great
While watching this, I couldn't help feeling that the director was TRYING to make a masterpiece, rather than actually produce one. The acting is good, but not extraordinary. As far as the actual shots and music editing, I felt as though I was watching a made-for-TV movie. Many times throughout the movie, Beethoven's glorious music was just playing in the background, with no connection to the story. Absolutely poor music editing! Come on now, Beethoven deserves nothing less than brilliance...

Great "demo disc" for showing friends 1080p at it's best.
This blu-ray disc is a must have for any fan of classical music. I was pleasantly surprised at how extremely good the hi-def picture looks and the music is amazing in surround sound. Highly recommend.