# Biographical films about composers and musicians



## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

The only real film I have seen about classical music is Amadeus. Are there any films you would recommend? I am interested in films and not documentaries.


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## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

There was a film a couple of years ago called "Mahler on the couch", if I remember correctly. It was about a (ficticious?) meeting of Mahler and Freud, and Mahler's neuroticism in general. It was done if a slightly non-realistic way, not a serious take but more of a spoof (at least so I felt). Yet I felt it was very well done.

There are some Beethoven films, a more recent one with Ed Harris, who had also played painter Jackson Pollock. Haven't seen that one, though.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I thought there was an existing thread on TC? and that it had a lot of films listed, along with a fair amount of member's commentary, but...

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000458128/

A list of 64 composer biopics. Being Imdb, it does not always tell which composer the biopic is about, but if you can not deduce _The Song of Norway_ is about Edward Grieg, you can always look up the film's title for more specific details 

That movie mentioned about Beethoven is _Copying Beethoven_ -- the premise being Beethoven hired a copyist in his later years, and that allows for a glimpse into and around Luigi's later life: I found it tedious, wooden, and not worth the time to watch.

_Immortal Beloved_ has as its premise that Bach's *CORRECTION: BEETHOVEN'S* sister-in-law was his immortal beloved (why it was a secret -- taboo or at least off limits) and that his nephew Karl was, then, actually his son. Gary Oldman is almost always worth watching, but this is a fictional premise, a way to show something of and about Beethoven, and not a biopic.

Some of the earlier Hollywood biopics are highly romanticized and dramatized, taking a fair or huge amount of license.

I thought _Mozart's Sister_ was excellent.

I recall a rather fine and quietly done film about Mozart in his early teens, traveling Europe, falling in love for the irst time -- in English but a cooperative production from Europe -- the title of which I can not remember, and it too, is quietly very good (Title, anyone?)

_Farinelli_ is centrally about the famed castrato singer, but has much to do with Haydn *CORRECTION: MUCH TO DO WITH HANDEL*. The director, Gérard Corbiau, has made this and _Le Roi Danse,_ about composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. Both have very high production values, are really somewhat superficial (you feel the look is sometimes more important than the script) while they do get at enough to have satisfied me. Visually rich, and not at all bad.

Ken Russel's over the top films include one about Tchaikovsky, _The Music Lovers_ and another about Mahler, _Mahler._ I enjoyed _The Music Lovers,_ thought his _Mahler_ was far too self-indulgent (even for Russell) but he is such an extreme director you might enjoy it just because it is rather 'out there.'

_Testimony_ is about Dmitri Shostakovich, a fine script and production values, with, o.a. Ben Kingsley.

_Impromptu_ is about Chopin, Liszt, Georges Sand, etc. and is wickedly funny -- artists behaving silly and badly, as they actually did. Chopin is played by Hugh Grant, who seems perfect for any role where the character is wooden, awkward, and Chopin is portrayed as the supercilious snob and prude he by all accounts truly was. Judy Dench plays Georges Sand, and plays it _large,_ lol. The film is fun, and perhaps 'a guilty pleasure.'

The reason I can not remember so many others, including those older Hollywood films, for example, _A Song to Remember_ (about Chopin) is that while some find them enjoyable, I find them as bio-based films pretty cursory, and for the rest, a lot of Hollywood schmaltz.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

PetrB said:


> _Immortal Beloved_ has as its premise that Bach's sister-in-law was his immortal beloved (why it was a secret -- taboo or at least off limits) and that his nephew Karl was, then, actually his son. Gary Oldman is almost always worth watching, but this is a fictional premise, a way to show something of and about Beethoven, and not a biopic.


Yes, it is completely fictional, but Gary Oldman IS Beethoven. I've never seen one more convincing. The Ed Harris version, while still enjoyable, is just as fictitious and doesn't go over as well for me.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

PetrB said:


> Ken Russel's over the top films . . . his _Mahler_ was far too self-indulgent (even for Russell) but he is such an extreme director you might enjoy it just because it is rather 'out there.'


Definitely "out there," and a lot of fun to boot. Just don't expect anything staid or traditional.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

PetrB said:


> _Immortal Beloved_ has as its premise that Bach's sister-in-law was his immortal beloved
> (...)
> _Farinelli_ is centrally about the famed castrato singer, but has much to do with Haydn


Well, I must have watched both these movies inattentively and miss all that, especially the time machine motive in Farinelli.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Aramis said:


> Well, I must have watched both these movies inattentively and miss all that, especially the time machine motive in Farinelli.


Another correction in the making *"Much to do with Handel."*
beg pardon, all.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Andreas said:


> There was a film a couple of years ago called "Mahler on the couch", if I remember correctly. It was about a (ficticious?) meeting of Mahler and Freud, and Mahler's neuroticism in general. It was done if a slightly non-realistic way, not a serious take but more of a spoof (at least so I felt). Yet I felt it was very well done.
> 
> There are some Beethoven films, a more recent one with Ed Harris, who had also played painter Jackson Pollock. Haven't seen that one, though.


Most biopics take such liberties with composers' biographies that they end up a bit silly. I'll make an exception for Amadeus, because it wasn't really a biopic as such.

But this just gave a neat idea for the silly thread title thread...


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I enjoyed 'Eroica', a BBC drama about the private run-through of Beethoven's 3rd at the Lobkowitz palace. Ian Hart was excellent, completely nailing the composer in all his pre-deafness vigour and restless energy (check out his flick-of-a-switch mood swing at 2:00) and there was a nice cameo by Frank Finlay as the aged Haydn.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

brianvds said:


> Most biopics take such liberties with composers' biographies that they end up a bit silly. I'll make an exception for Amadeus, because it wasn't really a biopic as such.


Absolutely. We watched Tous les matins du monde about Marin Marais and St Colombe. Beautiful music by Jordi Savall - but not all of it original to the period - some is by Savall himself. We then checked the details with wiki and were surprised at how bad a representation it was: St Colombe was portrayed as a Jansenist rather than a Hugenot for starters.


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

Ken Russell's Lisztomania has next to nothing to do with Liszt, but deserves being watched for it over-the-topness.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Hilary and Jackie. This is about Jacqueline duPre and her sister. Jackie develops MS and she has to stop performing. 
View attachment 46892


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

One I just remembered: "Impromptu." As with Amadeus, not really a biopic. It chronicles the relationship between Chopin, Liszt and George Sand, with Eugene Delacroix thrown in for good measure. But it does so in a delightful, tongue-in-cheek comedic style, and is more of a send-up of the over-the-top romanticism of the times than a serious attempt at biopic. Ever seen Chopin involved in a pistol duel at dawn, with Liszt as his second? This movie is your chance to do just that.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Topsy Turvy is about Gilbert and Sullivan
View attachment 46898


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

There's a mini-serie about Richard Wagner with Richard Burton as Wagner. It has historical errors and focus a lot in the political side of Wagner.
The complete mini-serie is on You Tube.


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## Fugue Meister (Jul 5, 2014)

OldFashionedGirl said:


> There's a mini-serie about Richard Wagner with Richard Burton as Wagner. It has historical errors and focus a lot in the political side of Wagner.
> The complete mini-serie is on You Tube.


Love that one! Richard Burton is my favorite actor of all time. I'm afraid as fictitious as it is nothing will top "Amadeus" it is a terrific film... If you had to watch a Beethoven one "Immortal Beloved" is worlds better than "Coping Beethoven", which was pretty awful (as much as I love Ed Harris, the movie sucked). "Testimony" was decent if you can find a copy of it somewhere or maybe it's on youtube somewhere in pieces if you're really that keen. There's a forties film I enjoy (again not a true nonfiction account but something to give a go for entertainment) is "Song of Love" about the dynamic between Schumann, Brahms, and Clara Schumann. It's got Robert Walker (Love that guy) as Brahms that's sort of worthy. There's also the delightful 90's romp "Beethoven" with another favorite of mine Charles Grodin, It doesn't have anything to do with Beethoven the man or his music but it has his name in the title and it's delightful.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

Did anyone see the 2009 French film Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky? Very interesting but not really biographical. It's about a rumored affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky in Paris in 1920. It's worth watching just for the first scene that depicts the riot at the first performance of Rite of Spring.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Radames said:


> Did anyone see the 2009 French film Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky? Very interesting but not really biographical. It's about a rumored affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky in Paris in 1920. It's worth watching just for the first scene that depicts the riot at the first performance of Rite of Spring.


There is the more than a little camp _Riot at the Rite,_ a fairly recent BBC made for TV film. Whether it is deliberately or inadvertently camp, it is not 'great' but quite entertaining.





In Luchino Visconti's _Ludwig II_ about the young Bavarian king whom Wagner courted and won over as a patron, their is a very full series of episodes involving Wagner, Cosima von Bulow, Hans van Bulow, etc. The movie is lengthy (3hrs, 45 min -- though you might not feel it, it is that engrossing and beautifully filmed), and I think the representation of Wagner, and that historic episode, very likely one of the best if not incomplete representations of Wagner on film.

Link, the film with English undertitles, is 1 of 8




If you happen to understand German, here is a link to one link with the complete film:


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Radames said:


> Did anyone see the 2009 French film Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky? Very interesting but not really biographical. It's about a rumored affair between Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky in Paris in 1920. It's worth watching just for the first scene that depicts the riot at the first performance of Rite of Spring.


Yup, I wondered what exactly the whole point of the film was, but it was wonderfully atmospheric and filled with great music.

But this is a problem with most biopics: they assume that the subject of the film is somehow fundamentally different from other people, and lived this colourful, dramatic life, which was then passionately poured into his music.

If you saw the real life of most composers, it would be every bit as mundane and boring as your own, for the most part. I think it is high time they made a light-hearted farce based on the life of some or other supposedly very serious composer.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

senza sordino said:


> Topsy Turvy is about Gilbert and Sullivan
> View attachment 46898


Excellent film. Period.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

The _In Seach of..._ series:


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Taggart said:


> Absolutely. We watched Tous les matins du monde about Marin Marais and St Colombe. Beautiful music by Jordi Savall - but not all of it original to the period - some is by Savall himself. We then checked the details with wiki and were surprised at how bad a representation it was: St Colombe was portrayed as a Jansenist rather than a Hugenot for starters.


With all its poetic licenses, it is a beautiful film, with a great story and a dark and poignant point. It just goes to show that one should almost never rely upon a biopic to be anywhere near an accurate biography. For the most part, an accurate biography would make one very dull film except to a few of the more dedicated fans of the composer, or to be more accurate it needs must become a documentary / commentary, not a drama


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The Genius of Beethoven and The Genius of Mozart are both on YouTube. My memory says they are quite good, and pretty accurate to boot.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Stravinsky:






Bartok: (The rest of the 6 part series is on YouTube)


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

Welp, just saw you're not interested in documentaries. Haha, oh well, in case you change your mind....


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

*Another list of composer biopics*

A substantial number of films listed here, including a sub-set of films on great American songwriters 
http://rick-heli.info/composers.html


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Well, not exactly biographical, a musical with commercial disaster but still worth watching  Song of Norway. (The plot is about young Edvard Grieg and his struggle to become a famous composer)


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Carl Orff Documentary: 

Tony Palmer's O, Fortuna (2008 TV Movie)

Carl Orff - Portrait des Komponisten (1982) directed by Charlotte Kerr (German with subtitle)


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Many thanks to all you people who have responded! I'll check out some of these titles for sure, and tell you how I liked them.


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## Downbeat (Jul 10, 2013)

For entertainment value I'm sure these movies can be fun, but God awful if you want an insght into the music.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Il_Penseroso said:


> Well, not exactly biographical, a musical with commercial disaster but still worth watching Song of Norway. (The plot is about young Edvard Grieg and his struggle to become a famous composer)


:tiphat: "The fjords are alive
with the sound of music!" :guitar:


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

brianvds said:


> :tiphat: "The fjords are alive
> with the sound of music!" :guitar:


Yes, and now the overwhelming fame of 'The Sound of Music' unfortunately has overshadowed 'The fjords' !


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## Muse Wanderer (Feb 16, 2014)

Schubert's life is remarkably rendered in the movie 'Notturno' produced in 1988.

It is divided in two parts: 
Part 1 "Die Liebe hat gelogen" - Love has Lied, 
Part 2 "Die Winterreise"

Notturno is a director's cut from a 3-part series (trilogy) originally showed on TV as 'Mit meinen heißen Träne'
Unfortunately the movie is in German with no English subtitles. Here's an excerpt:


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## Muse Wanderer (Feb 16, 2014)

Another movie I am fond of is 'The Silence Before Bach' also known as "El silencio antes de Bach" (Die stille vor Bach)  by the Catalan writer and director Pere Portabella produced in 2007.

The film correlates extracts from persons' lives with the music of Bach. It also has parts showing Bach's life during his time in Leipzig. One could almost view it as a 'contapunctal film' where a scene is set against another scene, the modern day life with Bach's own time, with the music frequently taking centre stage.

The language is in Spanish and German but at least subtitles in English are supplied.

The New York Times review encapsulates this film nicely:

'The film demands engagement and a kind of surrender, a willingness to enter into a work shaped by correlation, metaphor and metonymy, by beautiful images and fragments of ideas, a work that locates the music in the twitching of a dog's ears, in the curve of a woman's belly, a child's song and an adult's reverie. Like the music it celebrates, this is a film made in glory of the world.'

Here's a taste of the movie:


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

The companion piece to _A Song to Remember_ is _Song Without End _with Dirk Bogarde playing Liszt. Highly romanticised Hollywood take but if you like one, you'll probably like the other. 
_Rhapsody in Blue_ for a take on Gershwin.
_Night and Day_ with Cary Grant playing a straight Cole Porter or a more accurate take is _De-Lovely_ with Kevin Kline.
_Bird_ directed by Clint Eastwood I haven't seen, but is meant to be very good. Story of Charlie Parker.

I think it's tough to develop a fully accurate movie out of a composers life; there'd be a lot of sitting at a desk, scribbling on paper hence why Amadeus is so good.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

I've really been in a Schumann mood lately, and came across this movie. Depicts the life of Rob, Clara, and Brahms.

_Schumann's Song of Love_


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