Word: beethovens
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...aficionados of pop who think you couldn't be into classical music,TIME Music critic Chris Farleyurges you to see this movie -- about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven -- and buy the soundtrack. "The movie is like an MTV video for classical music," says Farley. "It may not be all that enjoyable for someone who, say, is a little bit stuffy and wrote a doctoral thesis on Beethoven, but if you have an open mind, you'll find the music in this movie enchanting...
...between two musical camps ensues. Nobody wins, and the tension produced is exhausting both for the musicians and listeners. Still, this has to be one of the most interesting recordings of American music ever made. It has the curiosity value that one might experience hearing Frank Zappa conduct Beethoven...
...contrived "Immortal Beloved" would have worked better as a farce. The film's misguided distortion of facts simply can't sustain high drama. In one scene, Beethoven's doomed nephew, driven to suicide by his uncle's frustarted attempts to mold him into a musical prodigy, shoots himself in the head. In a scene reminiscent of the Time-Life "Mysteries of the Unknown" commercial, the composer, miles away, simultaneously doubles over in pain...
Coordinating Beethoven's music with the story poses another problem. The relentless melodrama of the film contrasts with the composer's work to an unintentionally comic effect. And of course, we hear plenty of the Fifth Symphony at crucial intervals...
Rose's effort to get to the bottom of the man's cruelties and contradictions doesn't work. At the end of the movie, Beethoven's tortured "immortal beloved" declares, "I for gave him because of the 'Ode to Joy.'" "Immortal Beloved" begs forgiveness, but it doesn't really deserve...