| | |  | LIVE CONCERTS | Home » » Eroica | | | | | | | Description: | | Nick Dear's award-winning period drama stars Ian Hart as Beethoven, Frank Finlay, Jack Davenport, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Claire Skinner. This film brings to life the momentous day that prompted Haydn to remark "everything is different from today." | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Ian Hart, Jack Davenport, Tim Pigott-Smith, Claire Skinner, Anton Lesser | | Director:
| Simon Cellan Jones | | Format:
| Classical, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC | | Language:
| English, Italian | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish, French, German | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Opus Arte | | Run Time:
| 129 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| June 21, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 34 reviews |
| | | | Used and New: | | | |
| All | |
| $19.12 | New | | | $19.13 | New | | | $20.79 | New | | | $21.13 | New | | | $21.58 | New | | | $24.71 | New | | | $24.74 | New | | | $24.80 | New | | | $24.92 | Used
- Mint | | | $24.92 | New | | | $24.93 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $25.13 | New | | | $25.76 | New | | | $26.04 | New | | | $26.31 | New | | | $26.82 | New | | | $26.93 This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. | New | | | $28.57 | New | | | $29.42 | New | | | $29.42 | Used
- Mint | | | $29.67 | New | | | $30.08 | New | | | $30.51 | New | | | $43.67 | New | | | $48.94 | New | | | $119.99 | New | |
| New | |
| $19.12 | New | | | $19.13 | New | | | $20.79 | New | | | $21.13 | New | | | $21.58 | New | | | $24.71 | New | | | $24.74 | New | | | $24.80 | New | | | $24.92 | New | | | $24.93 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $25.13 | New | | | $25.76 | New | | | $26.04 | New | | | $26.31 | New | | | $26.82 | New | | | $26.93 This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. | New | | | $28.57 | New | | | $29.42 | New | | | $29.67 | New | | | $30.08 | New | | | $30.51 | New | | | $43.67 | New | | | $48.94 | New | | | $119.99 | New | |
| Used | |
| $24.92 | Used
- Mint | | | $29.42 | Used
- Mint | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 34 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
66 of 68 found the following review helpful:
 A Beethoven Must SeeJun 27, 2005
By John H. Kilbourne
"audio and music-phile"
We may all know this piece, but to see the effect of this music on everyone from royalty to below-stairs staff lends insight into the music we could obtain no other way. The acting is awesome - there is a bit done by Timothy Piggott-Smith (Passage to India), perhaps a 60 second continuous take, that is Oscar-worthy all by itself and bears watching over and over, as the old warrior is overcome by the music's funereal second movement, perhaps recalling fallen comrades. Watch for it - it is overwhelming. And compare Jack Davenport in the role of Prince Lobkovitz here with his 180 degree role in (the real BBC) show Coupling, or Pirates of the Caribbean. Fennella Woolgar is suberb as his wife. Key, while there is indeed dialogue, much of the acting here is of necessity done with facial and bodily expressions only, since the entire symphony is performed. Watch what fine actors can do without a word spoken. The performance is visually as well as musically satisfying, because the actual musicians, not actors, are the players, and are duly credited. It is interesting to compare this John Elliott Gardiner reading with his on CD with the same orchestra - I swear, this is better! The only flaw - some may find the Beethovenian romance angle a bit hokey, but apparently even it is based on fact. A superb add-on is that after the dramatization, the entire symphony is presented again but this time without a break and with no dialogue; any spoken dramatic parts are replaced by watching what appears to be the original score, in time with the music. Only the BBC could have or would have lavished such production values and acting talent on one complete Beethoven Symphony. We are just glad they did. For people who love music, this is an astonishing masterpiece.
28 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Neither flesh nor fowl; neither history nor MTV.Feb 02, 2006
By T. Holland
I am coming off a long evening of watching and rewatching this film, both beginning to end and piecemeal (sorting out thematic scenes). I had seen it a few times before, but hadn't systematically studied it. The film is neither a performance of the "Eroica" nor a historical pageant about Beethoven's biography, yet it manages to incorporate both of the above into something rather more ambitious. Incorporating a blazing performance of the symphony on period instruments into a reconstruction of its first performance at the Lobkowitz Palace, it manages to make a lot of statements about art, music, biography and history without ever being didactic. The acting is magnificent; understated and mostly mute, it characterizes Prince Lobkowitz and his wife, his arrogant aristocratic cousin, Haydn, various servants and musicians, and Beethoven's poor despised pupil in a few strokes of body language and fewer words. It combines historical fact with biographical speculation, without aggrandizing or overstating either. It's really a film about a moment in musical history, which is best encapsulated in Haydn's few comments towards the end of the film. The performances, both musical and theatrical, are terrific. On my first few viewings, I was bothered by the characterization of Beethoven (a bit too tentative, and too unpredictable in his moods). On further viewing, and further reflection, I think it fits perfectly. As a film biography of a musician and his work, it certainly beats anything else I've seen hands down (the creepy and silly "Amadeus," as exhibit A).
The last two movements of the symphony are played partially in background, behind wrapups of thematic sequences. At first this bothered me (why not play the whole symphony, and put the other material between or after movements?). In retrospect, after a few viewings, I think it puts the music, life, and history into the proper perspective: and after all, it's a film, not a music video.
Final thought: the performance of the symphony is wonderful!
30 of 32 found the following review helpful:
Extrodinary insightsSep 19, 2005
By J. Drake
This has always been one of my favorite classical selections, and my favorite Beethoven symphony. I first stumbled into this movie near the middle one night just before turning in. Needless to say I ended up turning in much later.
My wife and I continue to watch this film from start to finish always coming away with a refreshed inner joy. The quality of the acting is superb, and the cutting from the orchestra to the characters throughout the house, and their reactions, adds so much to an old familiar piece. I highly recommend this to anyone who: loves music; loves film; loves Beethoven, and who loves a good story told well.
My only regret is that this format has not been applied to other such classics.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Surprisingly GoodDec 10, 2006
By R. Albin
This is the type of thing that seems destined for failure, a movie about the first performance of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony. It is, however, surprisingly effective. A great deal of the credit goes to an excellent performance by John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, which is really the centerpiece of the movie. Its impossible to be unaffected by this ravishingly beautiful music and this colors the reception of the movie. The creators of the DVD clearly wanted to emphasize a number of historical features; the novelty of Beethoven's Romantic style of composition, the dependent character of artists in late 18th/early 19th century Europe, the nature of a society based on deference to inherited rank, the relationship between revolutionary art (even as such art is patronized by aristocrats) and revolutionary politics, and Beethoven's tempestous personality. These are covered in a series of very well acted plot actions around the performance. These plot actions are largely well integrated with the performance and the nature of the different movements of the symphony. An admirable effort.
12 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Entirely uniqueJul 11, 2006
By Irene Adler
"The Woman"
Just to let you know where I am coming from. I am not particularly a Beethoven fan.
This movie which includes a complete playing of the 3rd Symphony is intended to put that piece in general and musical historical context. It accomplishes that goal in a startlingly unique and entertaining way. There is no other movie quite like this one.
The reactions of every one from scullery maids to princes are expressed non-verbally. Not all are entirely approving. By necessity the acting is subtly nuanced. The social system of the time is displayed in microcosm. The politics of non-French Napoleonic Europe are hinted at, and Beethoven is placed in the center of it. The whole is really ... quite moving. The essence is finally captured by Hayden when he comments after the performance, "From this day forward, everything is changed." And indeed so it was.
(PS: if you like rock music or the movie "Amadeus", don't bother. You won't like this.)
See all 34 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
