Eroica (2003)

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Well, that would have made for a tough film to sit through, don't you think, guys?Although it's true that that first read-through was probably pretty rough.Here is a short quotation from Ries via Thayer, which shows how well the filmmakers did their homework:"...Here it happened that Beethoven, who was directing (the Eroica) himself, in the second part of the first Allegro where the music is pursued for so many measures in half-notes against the beat, threw the orchestra off in such a way that a new beginning had to be made." In the first Allegro occurs a mischievous whim (bose Laune) of Beethoven's for the first horn; in the second part, several measures before the theme recurs in its entirety, Beethoven has the horn suggest it (the theme: LS) at a place where the two violins are still holding a second chord (the violins are suggesting a Bb7 chord -- the *dominant* of Eb Major, whereas the horn is playing the theme (a simple arpeggio) in Eb Major, a harmony which sounded quite "wrong" to 1803 ears!: LS). To one unfamiliar with the score this must always sound as if the horn player made a miscount and entered at the wrong place. At the first rehearsal of the symphony, __which was horrible__, but at which the horn player made his entry correctly, I stood beside Beethoven, and, thinking that a blunder had been made I said: 'Can't the damned hornist count" -- it sounds infamously false!' I think I came pretty close to receiving a box on the ear. (Much more dramatic to come *more* than "pretty close"!: LS) Beethoven did not forgive the slip for a long time."Thayer goes on to describe yet another rehearsal which Lobkowitz arranged for another prince, Louis Ferdinand of Prussia:"To give him (Louis Ferdinand: LS) a surprise, the new, and of course, to him utterly unknown symphony, was played to the Prince, who 'listened to it with tense attention which grew with every movement.' At the close he proved his admiration by requesting the favor of an immediate repetition; and, after an hour's pause, as his stay was too limited to admit of another concert, a second. (In other words, it was performed *three* times!: LS). The impression made by the music was general and its lofty contents were now recognized."In any event, I adore this made-for-television gem! Two things that make this film great are:1. We get to hear a period-instrument performance by one of the best such orchestras around!2. We get to immerse ourselves in Beethoven's world for a few hours, all done very beautifully. (The scenes *following* the performance are delicious!) HIGHLY recommended.LS

One of the characters in this TV movie about the first repetition of Beethoven's Third says something like 'it's a work of quality but it's way too long'. If we are looking at the movie as to what it really is - a video clip around Beethoven's symphony we are inclined to say the same. Very good as a video clip, but too long for the genre.Sure, it's good quality music, and a great interpretation. Whoever loves classical music and Beethoven especially will love it. I did enjoy myself as a music lover, and the composition will not sound the same for me for a long time.But what about film lovers? They do not get too much from this movie. The script is based upon quite a unbelievable premise - never a symphonic work can be played almost without interruption and at such a level of quality with the musicians seeing the music for the first time. Certainly not a symphony of Beethoven! The characters around are, say and behave more or less the way you would expect them to do, maybe too much so. I was expecting to see the moment when Beethoven realizes Napoleon is not the liberator and ideal leader he though he is, and here it came the same day the piece was played for the first time. Come on. As a film 'Eroica' is no more than a well acted but boring British TV docu-drama. If you like Beethoven you must see it. If you do not like Beethoven you should avoid it.

The complete performance of the symphony was well worth the rental for me. It helped having all the visuals, at least most of the time, making this into effectively a music video of the Eroica. The visuals helped when they portrayed the reactions of the players and listeners to the music, but they were distracting when portraying the lame side stories, such as the young male servant making eyes at the girl, etc. I guess the point of that was to show that mundane life goes on even at momentous events such as this one which changed the music world forever. It's fun to imagine that everyone actually present was floored by what was being played, but only a few really got it, such as Haydn, Ries, a couple of the women, and of course Beethoven himself.But it's ludicrous that any orchestra, no matter how competent, could run through the piece that well on first sight. Even if they could play all the notes and markings they couldn't stay together without a conductor, at least not for that long. Beethoven is portrayed as out of the room or seated much of the time, so wasn't much help except when he wanted to be. And the transition from falling apart after about 20 bars to flawlessly executing the whole work on the next try was especially ridiculous.Ian Hart was embarrassing, clumsily trying to patch together pieces of Beethoven's character into an incoherent whole. He entirely misses the soul of the man, which Gary Oldman captured breathtakingly well in Immortal Beloved. You'd think Hart would only need to study Oldman's performance a bit and he would have done much better, but maybe Oldman just made it look easy.The movie would have been better if it had been a straight-to-DVD project, with the movie portion showing a more realistic first performance with more mistakes and musical misunderstandings, and saving the flawless performance for the bonus feature, letting the viewers know it's highly idealized in order to allow undisturbed enjoyment of the music and how it might have affected those who first heard it.This is a must-see for Beethoven lovers and will be very rewarding for anyone interested in music appreciation.

Not so much film noir as film dusk, I spent the first ten minutes waiting for the set lights to be switched on. Having said that, Eroica is a beautiful to look at period piece about the first playing of Beethoven's Eroica or 'Napoleon' symphony (played by the wonderful Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique) for Prince Lobokowitz in Vienna. The film spans a day in the life of Beethoven in June 1804, examining not only his life and loves, but the lives of the musicians and the staff of the Palace in Vienna.Much of the 'action' revolves around the audience of this magical performance. If only the Director had resisted the temptation to spin round the viewers as they watched! The film certainly flew by, but I was left wishing that this was only the start of the film and not the totality.