The martyr of his heart
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The martyr of his heart |
| Country of production | Austria-Hungary |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1918 |
| length | 82 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Emil Justitz |
| script | Emil Justitz Emil Kolberg Fritz Kortner |
| production |
Sascha Kolowrat-Krakowsky Oskar Messter for Sascha-Messter-Film |
| music | AM Wichtl (music compilation) |
| occupation | |
| |
The Martyr of His Heart is an Austro-Hungarian silent film biography by Emil Justitz with Fritz Kortner in the role of Ludwig van Beethoven .
action
The film traces the individual stations in the life of Ludwig van Beethoven . In the first act, Beethoven's call to Vienna is the focus of the action. Here Joseph Haydn leads him to Prince Esterházy , who at times becomes an important supporter of the exceptional young composer. The musician had further decisive encounters with another sponsor, Prince Lichnowsky , the poet Franz Grillparzer and the very young colleague Franz Schubert . The first great artistic successes followed, but also problematic love stories. In the amoral Baron Trautenfels, the artist meets a man who, like an evil spirit, presses between him and his great love, Annerl. When he dishonored her, Beethoven forced Trautenfels in front of the altar to marry Annerl. The second act ends. The focus of the third act is his no less problematic and ultimately unfulfilled relationship with his pupil and “immortal lover”, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi .
The fourth act shows the dramatic twists and turns in Beethoven's life. He finds it difficult to get over the failed relationship with the young countess, and he becomes more and more the "martyr of his heart". Beethoven also has to deal more and more with the deafness that spreads in him. This act ends with the temporary arrest of the Viennese by choice. In the fifth act there is finally a tragic re-encounter and showdown with his old enemy Trautenfels. In the meantime, the latter is badly run down and tries to harm Beethoven wherever he can. So he drives his nephew into gambling debts and thus into great despair. His old childhood sweetheart has meanwhile put on the vestments. The film ends with "Be embraced you millions" from Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which can also be seen as a message of peace in the penultimate year of the war in 1917.
Production notes
The martyr of his heart was filmed in Vienna until shortly before Christmas 1917 . When it premiered on February 8, 1918, the film was around 1,700 meters long and had five acts. It was sometimes shown under the titles of Beethoven's life novel , Beethoven and the women and Beethoven and his women . In Germany the film ran a. a. on April 26, 1918 in Munich.
Costumes and decorations come from the Vienna Hofburgtheater. Arnold Pressburger was in charge of production. Felix Günther conducted the music.
In 1926, Kortner played Beethoven again in a film ( Beethoven ).
Reviews
“These days a film drama was completed in Vienna, which must be described as a work of art and culture of the very first order and which is destined to become a landmark for Austria's art film industry. Both in terms of the subject and the high-quality artistic execution, the great film "The Martyr of His Heart" meets all, even the highest expectations and demands. The subject is none other than Ludwig van Beethoven's life novel. (...) The portrayal of Beethoven by Fritz Kortner from the Volksbühne is outstanding, both in terms of extreme portrait resemblance and profound characteristics. "
Vienna's Neue Freie Presse reported on the day of the premiere: "Beethoven's love life, which exerted such a great influence on his artistic development, is portrayed in this film in a touching way, as is the grave adversity that darkened the evening of this master's life in a shocking way Expressed. This film ... means one of the most valuable creations in film literature. The performance of this film will also have a musically profound effect through the accompanying music, which is compiled from Beethoven's works. "
A day later, the Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung read: "Not a stenciled biography obtained by randomly strung together, but a piece of film that is harmoniously rounded in each of the five acts, firmly closed and ... carefully edited. Because a Viennese journalist, Emil Kolberg The film bears no trademark, but in addition to its masterful dramaturgical system, in addition to a safe and skillful direction, for which Emil Justitz draws, its technology and photography also give testimony to a company that one for the future can still expect good things. What marks the present piece as a "Viennese film" is the true and genuinely conjured color of the pre-March life of the imperial city with the motif of the plot. "
“On the basic narrative level, the film illustrates the myth of the gifted but privately unhappy artist who only finds fulfillment in his art. Ludwig van Beethoven came to Vienna in 1792 at the age of 25 (the main actor was exactly at this age). Kortner initially portrays the musician as an insecure youth with stiff steps, who bows to the celebrities of the city and the nobility. The director Emil Justiz likes to show Kortner's massive back to highlight Beethoven's outsider, his isolation and introspection. Despite his musical genius, he is rarely the focus of the scene. The main character is repeatedly placed at the edge of the picture, where he is still clearly visible, but the action passes him by. Justice shows in a spatial tableau how Beethoven experiences the exclusion. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Cinematographische Rundschau v. 22 Dec 1917, p. 86
- ↑ "The martyr of his heart". In: Neue Freie Presse , February 8, 1918, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ "The martyr of his heart". In: Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung , February 9, 1918, p. 4 (online at ANNO ).