Franz Schubert Movies
During Schubert's brief lifetime, it was all the rage in Austrian society to have an entire evening's salon, a so-called "Schubertaiad," at one's home devoted entirely to the composer's songs and instrumental works. Today, apart from concerts, both appear in approximately 130 films. The instrumental music occurs most often because the songs have such rich dramatic or lyrical characters that attention is naturally drawn to them. However, the one song that is often used precisely because of its strong "motivated" presence is the composer's instantly recognizable setting of the Ave Maria. The song itself was the subject of a short by the noted French director Max Ophüls in 1936. In the musical comedy It's a Date (1940), Deanna Durbin tries out for the part of St. Anne by singing the tune. There is a lovely interpretation in the Disney classic Fantasia (1940) that combines religious and nature imagery. In a wholly different adaptation, the supernatural film Needful Things (1993), based on Stephen King's novel, Ave Maria is contrasted with the presence of a demonic shopkeeper who is causing the populace of a small town to turn against each other. In a satirical usage, television's animated South Park quotes the beginning of the song after the townspeople have just eaten an actor (a cartoon version of Eric Roberts), thinking they have been trapped by a storm, and, after only a few hours, are starving. This song appears in its standard religious context in the Miguel Torres-directed Reina de Reinas (The Queen of Queens, 1948, aka La Vírgen María), and in Serenade (1956) starring the legendary tenor Mario Lanza.Other Schubert songs enhance Leise Flehen Meine Lieder (1933) (Ständchen and Sag' mir immer wieder), The Song of Songs (1933) (Heidenröslein), and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) (Der Erlkoenig).
Schubert's famous "unfinished" Symphony No. 8 often accompanies mysteries of various kinds, from the tension-filled classic Dracula (1931), to the brilliant Double Indemnity (1944) (which employs perfectly integrated classical selections), to Escalier C (Staircase C [1985] which also quotes the often cited Trout Quartet, also heard in Brainstorm [1983] and High and Low [1963]). There are some comic uses of the piece, such as in the short Men of Steel (1938) and television's The Roommate (1986). The dramatic biography Unfinished Symphony (1933) (aka Lover Divine) concentrates on portraying Schubert as a man elusive to even his best friends.
Various piano sonatas, impromptus, fantasias, and waltzes occur in Isadora (1968), El Desencanto (The Disenchantment, 1976), The Europeans (1979), A Room With a View (1986), Madame Sousatzka (1988), the sci-fi thriller Gattaca (1997), La Lettre (1999), and Le Goût des autres (The Taste of Others, 1999). The Finnish short M.A. Numminen Meets Schubert (1996) celebrates Schubert's bicentennial. His string quartet Death and the Maiden provided the title for the thought-provoking 1994 political thriller, and the composer's music maintains a constant television presence with the theme song to the series Wings (1990). ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide
- 2006
After achieving international recognition in the 1950's with such films as Det Sjunde Inseglet (aka The Seventh Seal), Smultronstället (aka Wild Strawberries) and Sommarnattens Leende (aka Smiles of a Summer Night), Ingmar Berman became one of the world's best known filmmakers for his emotionally intense portraits of souls in crisis, but the man himself developed a reputation for zealously guarding his privacy throughout his long and distinguished career. In 2004, Bergman sat for a series of interviews with filmmaker Marie Nyreroed, a longtime friend and confidant, for a documentary produced for Swedish television, and the results became Bergman Complete, a three-part series which explored the man and his work in depth. The first segment focuses on Bergman's life as a filmmaker, as he discusses his best-known pictures and his working methods. Part two concentrates on Bergman's lesser-known career in the theater, which he rates higher than his work in the cinema, and features reminiscences from actor Erland Josephson. In the final chapter, Bergman invites the filmmakers into his home on Faro Island and talks about his private life, including his hobbies, the emotions that drive his work, and his personal weaknesses. After receiving its premiere on Swedish television, Bergman Complete played at a number of international film festivals, including the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A friendly face masks the mind of a twisted serial killer in Spanish painter-turned-filmmaker Martin Garrido Barón's disturbing tale of a man who has finally succumbed to his most violent and murderous impulses. Antonio Frau (Fernando Acaso) has just been released from prison after serving 25 years for the murder of his former girlfriend. Upon inheriting a dilapidated motel from an unknown relative, Antonio determines that his sudden good fortune is a sign from God that he is to begin cleansing the world of those tortured souls who have lost the will to carry on. With a driving urge to achieve notoriety, Antonio sets about luring a series of naïve victims to room six for a series of grueling, blood-soaked purification rites which he meticulously documents in a diary of both images and the written word -- all the while hiding his heinous crimes from his unsuspecting new wife. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Acaso, Maria Jose Bausa, (more)
- 2004
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In this concert performance, the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra performs works by Mozart, Strauss, Schubert, Chopin, Lehar, and Ziehrer. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heinz Wallberg, Tamara Lund, (more)
- 2003
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Classic Archive: Teresa Berganza features the renowned soprano performing pieces by a variety of composers including Mozart, Rossini, Schubert, and Donizetti. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Several religious songs are performed by the renowned Choir of St. John's College in this concert release from Alpha Centauri Entertainment. Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge: Ave Verum - Popular Choral Classics includes renditions of Haydn's "Insanae et vanae curae," Rachmaninov's "Hymn of the Cherubim," and many others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Robinson, Peter Davis, (more)
- 1998
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This program features the beloved tenor offering a variety of sacred songs during an Easter concert in 1998. Recorded live at the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome, selections include compositions by Bach, Handel, Schubert, and Mozart. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Outwardly Janos and Erno Witman seem like typical middle class teens, but beneath their facades of normalcy, the two are deeply disturbed and obsessed with the nature of sex and death. Leaving much to the viewer's imagination, this horrific and highly atmospheric tale begins in a small Hungarian town in 1914. The brothers live a happy, well-adjusted life until their father, a tax inspector, suddenly dies in terribly painful manner. After the funeral, Janos and Erno pay a nighttime visit to his grave and begin reflecting on death. They spy a big owl which they capture. On the way home, they find a dog tied up outside a bar and steal it. Six months pass. When their biology teacher dissects a frog in class one day, the two renew their fascination with death and begin experimenting on their pets -- their experimentation occurs off-camera. Their lives become even stranger when Janos becomes obsessed with a young prostitute. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
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In this classical performance film, acclaimed concert pianist Evgeny Kissin interprets a series of works by Schubert, Gluck, Liszt, Bach and Brahms. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evgeny Kissin
- 1991
- R
This dramatic presentation is the story of the landscapes that inspired Caspar David Friedrich. Narrated by Friedrich's friend and pupil, Carl Gustav Carus (played by Helmut Griem) this takes place on location throughout Europe. Mr. Friedrich's will not appear, except with his back to the camera, as he paints. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Griem, Sabine Sinjen, (more)
- 1991
The classical music performance film New Year's Concert 1991 (Abbado, Wiener Philharmoniker) finds celebrated maestro Claudio Abbado - a longtime fixture of the Wiener Philharmoniker symphony in Vienna - returning to conduct that orchestra for a special New Year's Eve performance on New Year's Day, January 1, 1991. The set incorporates pieces by Johann Strauss I, Johan Strauss II, Mozart, Lanner, Schubert, Josef Strauss and Eduard Strauss. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudio Abbado
- 1989
This quirky Portuguese comedy won a silver lion at the 1989 Venice Film Festival. The story concerns the irrepressible Joao de Deus (played by the director, Joao Cesar Monteiro), an ill-kempt, lusty and none-too-honest resident of Violeta's boarding house, which happens to have yellow walls. Joao, who has no visible means of support, is in his fifties, and is not above cadging money from his 70 year old mother, who still works as a cleaning lady. He has a wistful sort of lust for the young ladies in the boarding house, and gets a kind of thrill when he is permitted to take a bath in their used water. He strikes up a friendship with a slightly stupid girl who is a mite promiscuous, and even has a brief sexual encounter with her himself. Many slightly "off" encounters occur during the remainder of the film, but despite Joao's potentially defeating setback near the end, it appears that it won't be long before he's back in action. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- João César Monteiro, Manuela de Freitas, (more)
Bertrand Blier's films have explored the sometimes misogynistic sexuality of younger men, but here he offers an absorbing, funny, and moving take on a middle-aged man's adulterous affair. Gerard Depardieu stars as Bernard, an affluent car dealer who finds himself in the grip of a violent passion for his new secretary, a rather plain-looking, middle-aged woman played by Josiane Balasko. Seemingly a happily married man with a beautiful wife (Carole Bouquet) and children, he can't understand what is happening as his life is turned upside down. While it may seem that Blier simply enjoys tweaking convention, he's clearly after far more than laughs given the tenderness he finds in the scenes between the adulterous lovers. Bernard's age has suddenly made him more vulnerable, a state of emotion that he realizes Colette grasps intuitively. Depardieu and French comedienne Balasko make a completely believable couple, and the photography of the great Philippe Rousselot is stunning. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, (more)
- 1989
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Helmut Newton is a still photographer known for his innovative fashion photography of glamorous women, and who has also made a name for himself for his black-and-white nude photographs of female celebrities. His groundbreaking fashion photos appeared on the cover of Vogue in the 1950's and '60s. He is also somewhat infamous because of his reputedly quite huge ego. This documentary features interviews with some of his most famous models, including Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling and Sigourney Weaver, and with less well-known women. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Three generations of women discuss their inner emotions and their interaction with society in this drama from longtime Jean-Luc Godard protégé Anne-Marie Mieville. She uses the sudden editing stops seen in Godard's early work to tell the story of these noble women who live in a world dominated by incurably egomaniacal men who are incapable of satisfying the basic needs of women. Odile (Helene Rousel) is the grandmother, whose job with a car salesman has turned into a necessity she can't afford to give up. Agnes (Anny Romand), Odile's 40-year-old daughter is an intellectual who never married. Although she has had relationships with men, she is seriously questioning their usefulness at this stage in her life. Granddaughter Angele (Gaele le Roi) is a 20-year-old vocal student who contemplates having a child to keep her relationship alive with a boyfriend who is not ready for the responsibilities of fatherhood. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaële Le Roi, Anny Romand, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
The year is 1908; after centuries of unchecked power, the Ottoman empire is rapidly crumbling. As a result, Turkey's secret agents--those that haven't already been eliminated by downsizing or death--operate in a vacuum, their superiors knowing little and caring less about their activities. One such spy is Ben Kingsley, a minor bureaucrat of no ambition. When ordered to help disreputable English citizens Charles Dance and Helen Mirren in the theft of a precious Greek artifact, Kingsley goes along without question. He is even prepared to follow orders and double-cross Dance the moment the robbery is pulled off. But as the film progresses, Kingsley becomes less and less of a by-the-book government functionary and more and more of an enigma--to Dance, to Mirren, to his country, to himself. More than your usual "caper" film, Pascali's Island has more layers than an artichoke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Charles Dance, (more)
- 1988
In this light romantic comedy, a rarity of Greek cinema, Nikoletta has been away from her husband Markos for a brief vacation and is greeted on her return by an affectionate and enthusiastic husband. He has even prepared a "welcome back" meal for her which is both thoughtful and perfectly awful, since he can't cook. She wonders, though, why he excuses himself so often to go to the bathroom. When she goes there herself she discovers that her well-endowed neighbor can be seen from that room, as she massages her breasts with a lotion or a cream of some sort. This leads Nikoletta to wonder if her husband has been (or is being) unfaithful to her, and she sets out to find out if her suspicions are true. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Akis Sakellariou, Smaragda Diamantidou, (more)
