Absolutely the worst movie.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

In Search of Beethoven is essentially a biography. Through studies of his music and fragments of letters written by Beethoven, the film traces the chapters of his life and his growing musical prowess.In the beginning of the film, there is an assertion that Beethoven might be the greatest composer of all time. The film sets about making its case and--no surprise--it is fairly successful. No one seriously doubts the prodigious talents of Ludwig van. Nevertheless, the film places his musical development within the historical happenings of Europe, helping the viewer to better understand the forces that were at play in his life. His life touched the lives of other great composers, Napoleon, and Goethe, for example. And these contacts helped shape his musical career.As someone who was fairly knowledgeable about Beethoven's circumstances, I still found the film entertaining. The timeline of his life helped to clarify. And the numerous performances of Beethoven's music illustrated his genius and his extraordinary creativity.The film makes the case that though Beethoven's life was tragic with regard to his health and his romantic choices, he was ever the optimist--a well-supported position that I consider a pleasing discovery.However, am I the only viewer who thought that the Ninth Symphony was represented by a somewhat weak performance (maybe because that orchestra was dedicated to performing in the style of the piece's time, without anachronisms)?Those who enjoy classical music or Beethoven's works should appreciate this film. Anyone who wants to learn about western classical music should find the film informative.

For anyone who has a passion for classical music,and especially for the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven,this film is for you. Director Phil Grabsky,who previously traveled down this avenue before a few years ago with the ever so fine,'In Search Of Mozart',takes us on a journey to tell the tale of a man possessed by genius (but not without a price). Over a period of (nearly)two & a half hours,we see & hear elements of Beethoven's life told by a series of historians & musicians,such as Emanuel Ax,Julliet Stevenson & Lars Vogt,who tell the tale of a gifted,but tortured soul who lost his hearing at an early age,but persevered on to compose a legacy of music that still stands today,years after his death. Grabsky,in addition to directing this film,also photographed it (images have a painterly texture to them,at times). But over all,the music speaks for itself (we get to hear excerpts from several pieces). This film is highly recommended for viewing in music classes in schools (at the film's conclusion,there is information about purchasing DVD copies,with additional footage trimmed from the final release print for the time factor,as Grabsky's original directors cut clocks in at something like fourteen hours).Spoken (mostly) in English,and German & Italian with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,but contains absolutely nothing offensive,what so ever. Perfect viewing for the whole family

In Search of Beethoven was metaphorically a personal search for the substance of a musical genius for which I knew only superficial facts. Diane and I both thought the film was superb in allowing the viewer into this man's life and did this search primarily through his music. When the credits rolled at the end it was possible to fleetingly see all the musicians involved in demonstrating the various musical pieces that provided the bulk of this remarkable film and there were many. There were many artists and many pieces of his musical opus and from this analysis even someone untrained in music, such as me, had demonstrated for them the complexity, playfulness and virtuosity that composed this man's decades of work. Although the film was essentially musically based, my eye was drawn to another film making element that was not auditory and that was the cinematography. I am sure that I am demonstrating my own lack of knowledge about how music playing is filmed but I was continually impressed with the Big Close Ups used throughout the film. For instance, if the particular piece being played used a violin then the camera would move in and focus on only the hand or if it were a piano piece then the camera would focus only on the hand at the keyboard. I found these big close ups very gripping in their intensity and illustrative of the composition being discussed. Any person with or without knowledge of music could hugely profit from two hours spent with this musical genius.

It must be an exceptionally rare person, who is not moved by Beethoven's music. Thus, a film, like this, that includes lots of his music, in some very good performances, is bound to please many. However, it did not live up to the advertisement, which drew me to the Siskel Film Center to see Grabsky's opus, and which promised new insights into the life of this musical god. I think that the film tries to cover too much, and ends up being fragmentary and rehashing old ground. Even a film that is 139 minutes long, cannot adequately encompass most of Beethoven's life and music, as this documentary attempts to do. There are a few revealing insights, like the story of the young Beethoven's attempt to con his teacher, Haydn, into interceding with the Elector of Bonn to increase Beethoven's stipend, when he was studying in Vienna. But even this (new to me) story is not used to try to explain more about Beethoven. For the most part, this is a static film, that relies on talking heads and interminable footage of Beethoven's familiar portraits. One of the few talking heads, who actually has interesting things to say about Beethoven's music, and who also reveals himself as a very human, self-deprecating artist, is Emanual Ax. Too many others offer no special insights, and only mouth the same tired platitudes. In summary, this film is enjoyable for the music, but don't expect to learn many new insights about this great composer.