Once again, a film of such glory fell on deaf ears - no punintended - in this country.I have spent hours reading reviews on this film, statinghowawful it was, because it was not true to the real Beethoven'slife....Well, I believe that early on in my life, I learned aboutsome-thing called &quot;Poetic License&quot;....and, in fact, this filmIS,basically, a poem.The movie is BASED on a letter that Beethoven actually DID write, to hismystery lover. No one knows, for sure, who thewoman really was. And, this is simply a beautiful interpretation ofsomeone's dream of who she COULD'VE been.<br><br>This was regarded as an AWFUL thing to do, by many Beethovenauthorities - and by people who simply DOUBTED.<br><br>Yet, what went overlooked because of these critics' lackofopen-mindedness - was an exquisite blend of glorious music,and SUPREME acting.<br><br>Once again, Mr. Oldman gave a performance like no otheractorin the world can quite match. His style, sensitivity, and<br><br>genius as the Tragic Beethoven, was magnificent.<br><br>Jeroen Krabbe's portrayal of Anton Schindler, Beethoven'sfriendand champion - was marvelous.<br><br>Johanna ter Steege - who portrayed Johanna, Beethoven'ssister-in-law - was exquisite. Why did they ignore HER? It would'vebeen nice to have her stay here, rather than return to herDutch homeland - to become a major motion picture star, aswell.She had one special attribute - she could ACT.<br><br>The sets, costuming, sound, and editing were all BEAUTIFUL.But the film was ignored.<br><br>Above all, however, Gary Oldman's performance ranked amongthebest in the world - but it, too, was ignored.<br><br>Give the film another chance. It deserves FAR more than itGOT.It was, simply, beautiful...

This is one of my all-time favorite movies! I thought the music waswell done, and I don't understand the criticisms I've read in thisforum at all. The central idea of the movie is just one man's theory ofwho the &quot;immortal beloved&quot; was. No one knows who it actually was, andmost theories I've read disagree with the film. No matter! I thoughtthe premise was interesting, whether or not is was true. What wasfactual is that Beethoven WAS grouchy (wouldn't you be if you couldn'thear but music was your passion, your life??), and that he haddigestive problems. Also factual was that he won custody of his nephew,Karl, and that his relationship with his brother's wife wasantagonistic. The other people (countess Erdody, Schindler, etc) werefactual people...of course any script written would have to put wordsin their mouths...big deal. I guess some people just are passionateabout what their idea of the truth is (even though NO ONE KNOWS in thiscase) that they are blinded to the rest. The director is a Beethovenfanatic, and I found this movie to be a loving portrayal. Gary Oldmanwas absolutely fantastic! He learned to play the piano (spent monthsdoing it) in order to be authentic. Thumbs WAY up on this one.

Bernard Rose's superior film about the life of Ludwig van Beethoventakes as its central premise a mention in the composer's will of an'immortal beloved', identity unknown. So far, so intriguing.<br><br>With the casting of versatile British actor Gary Oldman as Beethoven,there was potential for a lot of depth of character (which we get, asthe passage of time convinces throughout as Beethoven moves fromskirt-chasing youth to crabby and deaf old age).<br><br>Also impressive within the cast are Jeroen Krabb&eacute; as Schindler, Johannater Steege as Johanna Reiss, and Isabella Rossellini as Anna MarieErdody. What could have been a stodgy film is buoyed up greatly bytheir presence, but it is the central performance of Oldman whichcounts (he really is a peerless performer of real-life characters - SidVicious, Joe Orton, Lee Harvey Oswald ...).<br><br>My only gripe would be that the music is sometimes given short shrift,but when it is there, it is wonderful. You get the emotional impact inthe snatches of sonatas, symphonies and concertos you hear - but itwould have been nice to acknowledge that the film was about a creativeartist and musician and let us hear a bit more of his work!