Immortal Beloved (1994) on Netflix
When Ludwig van Beethoven dies, his will leaves everything to an unnamed woman he called his immortal beloved. His assistant Schindler sets out to learn who she was.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.4/1027,776 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes56%
Trailer
Plot summary
After Ludwig van Beethoven dies in 1827, a letter in three parts is found among his private papers, written to a woman he calls his immortal beloved, and his will leaves his estate and music to her. His assistant and friend Schindler sets out to name her, traveling the Austrian Empire to interview the women who figured in the composer's life. Giulietta Guicciardi was a piano student of his, unmarried and in love with him, and he proposed to her, though her father disapproved. Anna-Marie Erdödy took him in after audiences mocked his conducting. Beethoven's brother married Johanna Reiss, a match he opposed.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Immortal Beloved (1994)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After Beethoven's death in 1827 a three-part letter was found among his private papers, addressed to a woman he called "immortal beloved"; written from the spa town of Teplice in the summer of 1812, it has generated great speculation and debate over her identity.
- The film's writer and director Bernard Rose, though not a historian, claimed he had identified the addressed woman as Beethoven's sister-in-law Johanna van Beethoven, a claim no scholar on Beethoven has endorsed.
- Josh Winning of Total Film named Oldman's portrayal of Beethoven one of the five best performances of his career, noting that he stays silent for the first 20 minutes of the film while emoting for England.
- MSN Movies wrote in 2011 that Oldman's performance was unimpeachable and that, in the year of Forrest Gump, he was overlooked for a well-deserved Oscar nomination.
- Biographer Gail S. Altman disputed Rose's claim in a book devoted specifically to the question of the woman's identity and to Beethoven's relationships in general.
