Un grand amour de Beethoven (1936) - film review

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...

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

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