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“The Devil's Violinist” is
a 2013 film based on the biography of Niccolò Paganini, an Italian violinist
and composer of the 19th century.
Niccolò Paganini by John Whittle
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist and
composer who was born on October 27, 1782 and died on May 27, 1840. He was the
most famous violin virtuoso of his time and had a great influence on the
establishment of modern violin technique. His "24 Caprices for Solo Violin
Op. 1" is the most famous of his works and have inspired many prominent
composers. The film had its USA premiere at the Miami International Film
Festival on March 10, 2014.
Movie
Review
“Wonderful story inspired
by Nicolo Paganini's real life”
"Worth to watch”
“Absolute Brilliance,
perfect snapshot, not to be missed”
Music:George
Fenton, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioacchino Rossini
Cinematography:
Peter Suschitzky
Editor: Dan Rae
Cast
Gary Oldman (Ludwig van Beethoven)
Jeroen Krabbé (Anton Felix
Schindler)
Isabella Rossellini (Anna-Marie
Erdödy)
Johanna ter Steege (Johanna Reiss)
Christopher Fulford (Kaspar van
Beethoven)
Marco Hofschneider (Karl van
Beethoven)
Barry Humphries (Clemens Metternich)
Valeria Golino (Giulietta
Guicciardi)
Geno Lechner (Josephine von
Brunsvik)
Claudia Solti (Theresa von Brunsvik)
Summary
“Immortal Beloved” is a
1994 film about the life of composer Ludwig van Beethoven. After Beethoven's
death in 1827, three letters were found in his private documents addressed to a
woman whom he called "immortal beloved". The film follows Beethoven's
secretary and first biographer Anton Schindler, who tries to find the true
identity of "Immortal Beloved". Schindler travels throughout the
Austria, interviewing women who might be potential candidates.
Written in the summer of 1812 in
the spa town of Teplice, the letter has generated a lot of speculation and
controversy for her identity among scholars and writers. Among the candidates are
Giulietta Guicciardi, Thérèse von Brunswick, Josephine Brunsvik, Antonie
Brentano, and Anna-Marie Erdödy, some of whom are appeared in the film.
The film's writer and director, Bernard
Rose, though not a historian, claimed that he had identified Beethoven's Immortal
Beloved as his sister-in-law Johanna van Beethoven. The film also suggests that
Beethoven's nephew Karl is actually the son of Beethoven and Johanna.
Movie Review
“Yet Another Mis-Interpreted
Wonderful Film...”
“Oldman Brings Beethoven to Life”
“Underrated masterpiece”
“Mysterious Beethoven biopic”
“Immortal Beethoven”
“Absolutely lovely”
“A Most Beautiful, and Under-rated
Film”
“Stunning, Brilliant”
“Great Soundtrack and Cinematography”
Interesting stories about the film
1. Gary Oldman actually played himself
all of Beethoven's works in the film. However, in the official soundtrack, a
different musician played. Oldman spent six weeks practicing the piano at the
hotel for six hours a day when he learned that he was going to play Beethoven,
and was completely immersed in his music as a study of Beethoven.
2. Schindler was Beethoven's
secretary for a while, but not his friend.
3. Gary Oldman appeared in the
movie "Léon (1994)", acting a character obsessed with Beethoven.
4. The words that Beethoven spoke
to Schindler during their first meeting in the rehearsal of Kreutzer Sonata
were taken from Tolstoy's novel "The Kreutzer Sonata."
5. Beethoven was described as a misogynist
because he had very few intimate relationships with women in real life.
6. While filming the funeral scene,
the weather was so hot that some extras fainted.
7. Anthony Hopkins was the original
choice to play Beethoven.
8. Gary Oldman didn’t say anything
for the first 20 minutes of the film.
