A chronicle of the life of infamous classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven and his painful struggle with hearing loss. Following Beethoven's death in 1827, his assistant, Schindler, searches for an elusive woman referred to in the composer's love letters as "immortal beloved." As Schindler solves the mystery, a series of flashbacks reveal Beethoven's transformation from passionate young man to troubled musical genius.
Acting
Oldman's physical transformation into deaf, raging Beethoven.
Direction
Rose stages the Ninth Symphony premiere as pure cinematic ecstasy.
Score
Actual Beethoven, performed by Sir Georg Solti and the LSO.
Director
Bernard Rose
Gary Oldman
Ludwig van Beethoven
Jeroen Krabbé
Anton Felix Schindler
Isabella Rossellini
Anna Marie Erdödy
Johanna ter Steege
Johanna Reiss
Marco Hofschneider
Karl van Beethoven
Miriam Margolyes
Nanette Streicherová
Barry Humphries
Clemens Metternich
Valeria Golino
Giulietta Guicciardi
Gerard Horan
Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven
Christopher Fulford
Kaspar Anton Carl van Beethoven
Luigi Diberti
Franz Josef Guicciardi
Michael Culkin
Jakob Hotscevar
Sandra Voe
Marie Fröhlich
Bernard Rose
Elector Max Friedrich
Alexandra Pigg
Therese Obermeyer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gary Oldman spent six months learning piano and conducted the Ninth Symphony sequence himself—no hand doubles, no CGI.
The 'Immortal Beloved' letter was real and never delivered; historians still debate between three women, and the film's choice remains controversial among Beethoven scholars.
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