MovieChat Forums > Immortal Beloved (1995) Discussion > One of the most underrated movies ever?

One of the most underrated movies ever?


This movie must go down in the cinema chronicles as one of the most underrated movies of all time. Who gives a *beep* *beep* if it's not 'accurate' or whatever, like anyone knows what really happened? It is a brilliant movie, with brilliant writing, cinematography, editing, acting, art direction, the whole 9 yards of filmmaking 101. Whoever I've shown this film to, was left with tears or dumbfoundedness. And the fact that it only has a 7.2 on IMDB is insulting.

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I agree completely. I am guessing you have seen Bicentennial Man ? If not you might like it. It seems like it takes a certain type of mentality to appreciate really well done movies. It makes me wonder why Bernard Rose spent so much time and effort to make such a great film. Who is going to see it or care ? If Beethoven was portrayed by a tanned man with 6 pack abs and steroid induced muscles, like the Rock or Vin Juicehead Diesel, the movie would probably have had an 8.2 rating.

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[deleted]

agreed. great movie, and a great gary oldman performance. IMO it was as good as Amadeus, and gary oldman was much better in the title role than the guy who played mozart.

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a classic.


today's special: shrimp ceviche!

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It's funny that people chastise it so much for being "inaccurate" because Amadeus (much more heavily praised) is a completely inaccurate portrayal of Mozart and Salieri. And no it's not excusable just because it was based on a play....I can't believe there are people who are really stupid enough to believe that.

Actually, much of what the film covers concerning Beethoven's life is for the most part truthful. In fact a lot of little idioms are quite well done.

The film takes a few creative licenses, most of which I find forgivable and only noticeable to experts. The glaring inaccuracy only lies in the film's conclusion on who Immortal Beloved was, something absolutely no one knows anyway. The film isn't really meant to be a straight biography anyway, it's about the mythos of Immortal Beloved which has become almost engraved in the folklore of Beethoven. I've read some pretty fantastic theories about this too and ultimately I remain unconvinced. I thought it was a creative take on it, kudos to the director for being so bold.

I should point out that the idea of Beethoven having an illegitimate child is not completely absurd. Josephine Brunsvik and Antonie Brentano have been suspected as Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved." I believe Brunsvik's daughter was highly musically talented and became a piano teacher. Brentano's son on the other hand had a more tragic life, afflicted with epilepsy at a young age. Of course there are other candidates as well that could be just as likely.

No one can say with 100% certainty who Immortal Beloved was

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Agreed. Every time I see this movie I'm stunned again that it didn't win many awards.

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Agree 100%. Well, 90%. Basing the whole plot on that simple misunderstanding, was a bit silly. But otherwise, completely brilliant.

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"The best fairytale is one where you believe the people" -Irvin Kershner

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I finally got around to watching this movie and thought it was outstanding, it's an absolute tragedy that it wasn't more appreciated on its release. Ok there may have been a little conjecture as regards to who the Immortal Beloved of the title really was but what a superb example of cinematic story telling this film was. Gary Oldman's performance was startling and of course the music was magnificent.

What struck me most of all was how so much heartbreak could be caused purely by an invasion of someone's privacy. If the hotel owner hadn't read the note sent by Beethoven, she wouldn't have tucked it under the tray mat to try and cover her guilt over the indiscretion. As a consequence the note wasn't read by Johanna and two people spent their whole lives assuming they had been rejected by the other. A terribly sad story but very well presented.


This means something, this is important.

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as much as I love this film, it's definitely not in the same league as Amadeus.

Just the performances alone are way superior in Amadeus than in IB.

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