Summary
The composer Ludwig van Beethoven is passionately in love with Juliette Guicciardi, but
his love in not requited. She chooses to marry Count Gallenberg, news which, along
with his encroaching deafness, propels Beethoven into state of depression. The composer
retreats to an old windmill in Heiligenstadt where he remains alone for a while.
Returning to Vienna, Beethoven discovers new love in his beloved Juliette’s cousin, Thérèse
de Brunswick...
Review
Un grand amour de Beethoven is one of the few sound films made by Abel Gance which
has that quality of greatness that marks his earlier silent masterpieces (most notably
his epic Napoléon
). This film is a beautiful and appropriately melancholic account of the life
of one of the world’s greatest composers, Ludwig van Beethoven.
The part of Beethoven is played with great force and sensitivity by Harry Baur, a great actor renowned for his towering theatrical performances. The film combines images and sound with a rare artistic brilliance, making this one of the most memorable film biographies of the Twentieth Century.
© James Travers 2001
I was about 13 years old when I saw this movie in Nantes, France, around 1939. I was very moved and cried a lot. To this day, I remembered the name of the film and the actor, Harry Baur. Since then, Beethoven has been my favorite composer. In this movie, I like especially the way they show how hard it was for him not to hear, and how the sounds of nature inspired him in his compositions, such as La Symphonie Pastorale. I believe this is an outstanding movie. 5 stars.
© Charlotte Dommergue (Paris, France) 2008
Write a review for this film...
The part of Beethoven is played with great force and sensitivity by Harry Baur, a great actor renowned for his towering theatrical performances. The film combines images and sound with a rare artistic brilliance, making this one of the most memorable film biographies of the Twentieth Century.
© James Travers 2001
I was about 13 years old when I saw this movie in Nantes, France, around 1939. I was very moved and cried a lot. To this day, I remembered the name of the film and the actor, Harry Baur. Since then, Beethoven has been my favorite composer. In this movie, I like especially the way they show how hard it was for him not to hear, and how the sounds of nature inspired him in his compositions, such as La Symphonie Pastorale. I believe this is an outstanding movie. 5 stars.
© Charlotte Dommergue (Paris, France) 2008
Write a review for this film...
User Comments
Useful links
- Best French films of 2011
- Best French films of the 2000s
- Best of the French New Wave
- Best of French film comedy
- The best 100 French films
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- Other French films of the 1930s
- The best French films of the 1930s
- Other French romantic films
- The best French romantic films
- Biography and films of Abel Gance
To buy this film
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Credits
- Director: Abel Gance
- Script: Abel Gance, Steve Passeur
- Photo: Marc Fossard, Robert Lefebvre
- Music: Louis Masson, Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven
- Cast: Harry Baur (Ludwig Van Beethoven), Annie Ducaux (Therese of Brunswick), Jany Holt (Juliette Guicciardi), André Nox (Humpholz), Jane Marken (Esther Frechet, cook), Lucas Gridoux (Smeskall), Paul Pauley (Schuppanzigh), Lucien Rozenberg (Comte Guicciardi), Yolande Laffon (Countess Guicciardi), Jean Debucourt (Count Robert Gallenberg), Jean-Louis Barrault (Karl Van Beethoven), Marcel Dalio (Steiner, a publisher), André Bertic (Johann Van Beethoven), Roger Blin (De Ries)
- Country: France
- Language: French
- Runtime: 116 min; B&W
- Aka: Beethoven’s Great Love; The Life and Loves of Beethoven
Similar films
If you like this film you may also like the following:- L’Atalante (1934)
- Le Carrosse d’or (1953)
- Des gens sans importance (1955)
- Douce (1943)
- L’Étrange Madame X (1951)
- Fanny (1932)
- Lola Montès (1955)
- La Minute de vérité (1952)
- Monsieur Ripois (1954)
- Les Orgueilleux (1953)
- Pépé le Moko (1937)
- Sous les toits de Paris (1930)
- La Symphonie pastorale (1946)
- Un revenant (1946)
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Biography / Drama / Romance






