Eroica (1949)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Eroica |
| Country of production | Austria |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1949 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Walter Kolm-Veltée |
| script | Walter Kolm-Veltée Franz Tassié |
| production |
Guido Bagier Walter Kolm-Veltée |
| music |
Alois Melichar Ludwig van Beethoven conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch |
| camera |
Günther Anders Hannes Staudinger |
| occupation | |
| |
Eroica is an Austrian fiction film by Walter Kolm-Veltée from 1949. It deals with the life of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven .
action
At a ball hosted by Prince Lichnowsky, a mounted courier brought the news that Napoléon Bonaparte and his army were on their way to Vienna. The news spreads like wildfire in the city and also reaches Beethoven, who is sitting in the pub with his friends. Enthusiastic about Napoleon's ideals after the French Revolution , Beethoven rushed home to write a symphony of "Power, Greatness and Glory" (later the " Eroica ") for Napoleon . After the success of the symphony, Beethoven received a visit from two envoy from Napoleon, who invited Beethoven to attend a reception given by the emperor. Since the emperor loves glamor, Beethoven has precise dress instructions. Disappointed by the superficiality of his idol, Beethoven removes the dedication from the title page of the symphony.
Beethoven traveled to Hungary and stayed there with his pupil Therese von Brunswik and her cousin Giulietta Guicciardi for his safety . Beethoven falls in love with Giulietta, who is even prepared to give up her fiancé Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg for Beethoven . Therese is of the opinion that Beethoven's talent did not give him a fulfilling relationship with a woman.
Beethoven is not only worried about his nephew Karl , who in his opinion leads a lotter life and is under the bad influence of his mother, but also notices with concern that his hearing is failing him more and more. When Beethoven despairs of God why God wants to take his hearing away , his friend Carl Amenda replies that Beethoven should hear music in this way that no human has ever heard before. It was a depressing experience for Beethoven when, during rehearsals for his opera " Fidelio ", he noticed that the orchestra did not follow his direction, but that of the first conductor. He goes home depressed and once again quarrels with God. But then Amenda's words come back to him, and when Therese looks after him, he can reassure her that he has come to terms with his fate and is now turning back to composing.
background
The work for the film under the production of "Wiener Kunstfilm", which had been founded in 1909 by the grandfather of the director Walter Kolm-Veltée , began in 1947. For Kolm-Veltée, the author of the screenplay, the film was the first independent Work as a director. Main actor Ewald Balser was about to sign a Beethoven film initiated by a Swiss film company. But then he switched to “Wiener Kunstfilm” when he heard about their Beethoven project.
The shooting of the “Eroica” film was delayed due to financial difficulties, in the course of which director Karl Hartl was transferred to the artistic direction. This shot half of the film again; the only remaining member of the original production staff of the film was Kolm-Veltée itself. The production costs totaled six million schillings .
The film was shot in the Atelier Wien-Sievering. The outdoor shots were taken in Vienna and the surrounding area as well as in Burgenland. The world premiere took place on July 31, 1949 as part of the Salzburg Festival in the Salzburg Mirabell cinema.
After the premiere, the author Hermann Heinz Ortner filed a lawsuit because he saw his play about Ludwig van Beethoven , performed in the mid-1930s and performed with Ewald Balser in the title role, plagiarized . He used Balser's Beethoven likeness in the opening credits (the same likeness was on the cover of the 1935 edition of the play published by Paul Zolnay) and the artistic freedom of the film, which Ortner saw from his play (for example, Napoleon's approach was taken as reference points) on Vienna from 1809 to 1803 - the time when Beethoven's “Eroica” symphony was composed ). Ortner had already led similar lawsuits against William Dieterle as well as against Carl Zuckmayer and the Korda-Filmgesellschaft before the Second World War . Ortner's lawyers referred to a total of 26 copyright infringements in Kolm-Veltée's screenplay, but Ortner finally waived an injunction that would have prevented the film from premiering because the film was about to take part in the Cannes International Film Festival in 1949 .
Awards
- At the Cannes International Film Festival in 1949 Kolm-Veltée was nominated for the “Grand Prize of the Festival”.
- The state of North Rhine-Westphalia awarded the film the title “artistically high quality”.
Reviews
“Excerpts from Beethoven's life that are connected to the genesis of his symphony" Eroica ". A reserved musician biography in traditional style, which offers well-kept entertainment. "
Web links
- Eroica in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Advance on Beethoven . In: Der Spiegel . No. 8 , 1949 ( online ).
- Thunderstorm around Beethoven . In: Der Spiegel . No. 33 , 1949 ( online ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Alfred Bauer : German feature film Almanach. Volume 2: 1946-1955 , pp. 105 f.
- ↑ Eroica. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .