Sissi - fateful years of an empress
Sissi - Fateful Years of an Empress is a home movie from 1957 and also the last part of Sissi - trilogy . The real historical events of Sissi took a back seat in the implementation of the material in favor of a romantic love story.
action
Sissi lives withdrawn from the Viennese court ceremony in Gödöllő , Hungary . Soon after, she is said to have had a romance with Count Andrássy . In fact, she spends more time with the statesman than with her husband, Franz Joseph . He tries to suppress his jealousy, but after a confession of love from Néné (Sissi's older sister, whom he was originally supposed to marry) , decides to travel to Hungary to pick up Sissi. Sissi can win over an opponent of the Austrian emperor at a party of the count. When she is in severe pain shortly afterwards, Count Andrássy accompanies her outside and then, completely surprisingly, confesses his love for her. Sissi makes it clear to him that she appreciates him as her best friend, but loves Franz and will not betray him. In order to avoid the stress of this conflict, Sissi leaves the Count's house and wants to return to Vienna with her daughter. Halfway through, she meets Franz Joseph. The two take a vacation for a while.
But Sissi is plagued by pain again and is brought back to Vienna by Franz because he is worried about her health. Soon after, Dr. Seeburger, Sissi's personal doctor, had a serious lung disease. It does not give Franz Joseph much hope that the Empress will recover. This prompts the emperor's mother to suggest that he be on the lookout for a new wife. But Franz Joseph reacts negatively and angrily. Fear for Sissi makes him come close to depression, but Sissi consoles him with the promise to follow the doctor's instructions exactly. On Madeira and Corfu she is supposed to recover; however, she loses her courage to face life when there is initially no improvement. The renewed separation gives the Austro-Hungarian population the impression that Sissi and Franz Joseph want to divorce. These fears are dispelled when Sissi becomes completely healthy again thanks to the help of her mother.
The imperial couple travels to Lombardy-Veneto , where there is a provocation at La Scala in Milan , as the aristocrats of Milan dressed their servants in fine clothes and sent them to the theater instead of themselves. In addition, all visitors join in with the imperial couple Verdis Va, pensiero (prisoner 's choir ) to persuade them to leave the opera offended. Sissi saves the situation by applauding the choir against all reason and also being very dignified at the subsequent reception, although it is obvious that she has nothing to do with the nobility. In Venice , the imperial couple should finally express their condolences to the people, but here too the Venetians are not very happy about the visit of Sissi and Franz Joseph due to the previous political conflicts with the imperial administration. There is silence and abysmal aversion.
Finally there is the final scene, which is accompanied by the Austro-Hungarian imperial anthem as background music: Sissi's little daughter runs up to her on St. Mark's Square and gives her a stormy hug. The Italian people start shouting “Viva la Mamma”.
background
The finale of the trilogy, which was filmed in both Italy and Austria , was originally supposed to be followed by a fourth film, but it was never made. Ernst Marischka planned a jealousy scenario between Sissi and the French Empress Eugènie . The filming failed because of Romy Schneider's resistance, who refused to play Sissi any longer.
The previous film, Sissi - The Young Empress , ended with the imperial couple being crowned King and Queen of Hungary. This coronation took place in 1867. But since Lombardy and Veneto were lost to the Austrian Empire in 1859 and 1866 respectively , the political plot of this film takes place before the end of the last film. Very little consideration was given to historical chronology in the films.
Award
This film was the only one in the Sissi trilogy to receive the rating "valuable" from the film evaluation office . The film also took part in the competition for the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes International Film Festival .
Reviews
- "Again talmihafte folk entertainment from about 14 years." - 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958 . Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism, 3rd edition, Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 398
- “Princely soul rubbish at its peak. Millions of viewers all over Europe were enthusiastic about the films, but Romy Schneider refused to continue the "Kaiserschmarrn" with further episodes. "(Rating: 2 stars = average) - Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz in Lexicon" Films on TV " (extended New edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 751
- “Noble kitsch for simple minds.” - “ Lexicon of international film ” (CD-ROM edition), Systhema, Munich 1997
- “Films have made Empress Elisabeth a myth. They almost never have anything to do with reality. ”- Mittelbayerische Zeitung of December 14, 2012
Precursor films
- Sissi (1955) describes getting to know each other and the wedding
- Sissi - The Young Empress (1956) is set at the time of the founding of Austria-Hungary
literature
- Marie Blank-Eismann : Sissi. Novel . Deutscher Literatur-Verlag Melchert, Hamburg 1991, 318 pages, ISBN 3-87152-275-9
- Ernst Marischka : Sissi. A novel based on the films Sissi; Sissi, the young empress and fateful years of an empress . Blüchert, Hamburg 1960, 271 pp.
- Karin Petra Rudolph: Sissi. The life of an empress. The illustrated book for the original films . Burgschmiet-Verlag, Nuremberg 1998, 95 pages, ISBN 3-932234-26-X
Web links
- Sissi - Fateful Years of an Empress in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Sissi - fateful years of an empress at Filmportal.de
- Sissi - Fateful Years of an Empress in the Internet Archive (formats: .mp4 and .ogv )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eternal love only survives on the canvas. In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung . December 14, 2012, accessed March 16, 2018 .