Yes, Oscar fever is building, so here's one of this year's best actor nominees, Gary Oldman, in one of his scariest roles yet--at least as presented in this over-the-top trailer--as Beethoven in Immortal Beloved. As we note in our new book, the film offers a ludicrous guess at solving the mystery of the beloved's identity, but the trailer also suggests it is something of a bodice-ripper and as complex as John leCarre. Yes, Gary once played Sid Vicious, but the film's notion of Ludwig as a sex pistol is, well, a bit off. Good music, though.
Am I mistaken in remembering that Immortal Beloved did the best at the box office than any other Beethoven film? It's unintentionally funny, especially Oldman's ludicrous depiction of befuddled Beethoven on stage during the Ninth performance. He was deaf, but never zombie-like. By the end of the performance I expected him to fall off the stage and into the arms of his lost love, and then into a passionate kiss. Gone With The Winds.
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