MovieChat Forums > Hanussen (1989) Discussion > Forbidden music?

Forbidden music?

posted 12 years ago by Shuggy
1 reply | jump to latest

Odd that I saw this film (in 1989) and could remember a great detail about it except the title.

One thing I now realise was a big goof (unless it was a plot point that I missed): the opening music to Hanussen's shows was the march from "The Prophet" by Meyerbeer. But Meyerbeer was Jewish: that would never have been allowed in Nazi Germany (or had they not yet come to power)?

No more sitting at the back of the marriage bus http://www.cafepress.com/wero/6180221]

[–] christomacin (4541) 4 years ago

If I remember it was only used in the opening credits, not the body of the film itself. I'd point out that the historical Erik Jan Hanussen (born Hermann Steinschneider) was actually Jewish, and also, the name of the opera the march came from was called "The Prophet". It fits pretty well with the film actually, since Hanussen was Jewish and (in the film at least) is shown to prophesy the rise of Adolf Hitler. Thus, it could have been a deliberate choice.