If you agonized through “Amadeus”, cringing at the depiction of a giggling buffoon and his featherbrained Constanze, shuddering at the underlying premise that God gave the gift to the wrong man for reasons we just can’t understand, then this film may provide you with a pleasant antidote. Filmed in 1955, probably in anticipation of the bicentenary of his birth, it gives a totally different view of the composer, and recreates the last year of his life on a more intimate anti-blockbuster scale. But though it is an engaging effort with many fine points, it doesn’t succeed in redeeming Mozart from the fictions of Milos Forman’s travesty, because it is itself a fictionalization that distorts in its own way the character of the composer.

The last year of Mozart’s life was a living hell since he was physically very ill and financially in difficulty. The necessity to keep composing was all the more tortuous because of his suffering. The symptoms he had – pain, vomiting, fever, chills, swollen hands and feet, seem to point to kidney disease. He was taking large quantities of various drugs and medicines, no doubt compounding the ailment. He knew death was inevitable and his wife was terrified.

This script by Karl Hartl depicts a fun-loving girl-chaser who dashes through the fields in pursuit of his mistress, climbs trees with her, cheating on Constanze with the certainty that she will forgive him. The girl in question is Nannina (Annie) Gottlieb who created the role of Pamina. In this version it is she, not Constanze, who becomes distraught over Mozart’s illness. In the two biographies I consulted no mention is made of this exuberant love affair. It may be true, it may have happened earlier in his life or it may be Hartl’s attempt to provide Mozart with a soul-sister, since the name Gottlieb is the German equivalent of Amadeus meaning “loved by God”. The effect is to diminish the tragic end of his life and to shunt Constanze to the sidelines.

Salieri is a minor figure; there are just hints of animosity between the two men when Mozart’s face darkens at the mention of his name. No mention either of “La Clemenza di Tito” the opera that had just failed in Prague, thus placing even more pressure on Mozart to succeed the next (and last) time, with “The Magic Flute”. Freemasonry is not alluded to except through excerpts from the opera, nor is there any analysis of the symbolic shift from heresy to the deepest ritual of the Catholic Church – the Requiem Mass. But the mysterious stranger who commissions the Requiem cannot be avoided since he is the messenger of doom.

If what emerges is a buoyant, appealing tale of young man whose precociousness was rooted in a deep creative matrix, it is thanks to the radiant performance of Oskar Werner. His elegant, sensitive portrayal disarms and charms us to the point where we forget the distortions. We see in his portrayal the hunger for life, the need for love and approval, the disgust at compromise, the rebelliousness, the playfulness, the terror and acceptance of death. And all within the severe limitations of this so-called “historical” scenario.

The other players are excellent, in particular Erich Kunz as Emmanuel Shikaneder/Papageno. His clever, humorous, impatient pragmatism is a perfect complement to the unpredictable ways of creativity. The women are intelligently portrayed. The music is heavenly. (AndreaValery@imdb)

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https://nitro.download/view/B2A9E5FCB1BFD03/MOZART1955.mkv

Language(s):German
Subtitles:English (optional)

The post Karl Hartl – Mozart AKA The Life and Loves of Mozart (1955) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

“Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach” (English translation: “The Virgin on the Roof”) is a comedy film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Carl Zuckmayer is a German language translation of the script for “The Moon is Blue” by F. Hugh Herbert, based on his 1951 play.
A comedy of manners, the film centers on virtuous actress Patty O’Neill, who meets playboy architect Donald Gresham on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and accepts his invitation to join him for drinks and dinner in his apartment. There she meets Donald’s upstairs neighbors, his ex-fiancée Cynthia and her father, roguish David Slader. Both men are determined to bed the young woman, but they quickly discover Patty is more interested in engaging in spirited discussions about the pressing moral and sexual issues of the day than surrendering her virginity to either one of them. After resisting their amorous advances throughout the night, Patty leaves and returns to the Empire State Building, where Donald finds her and proposes marriage.
Otto Preminger had directed the 1951 Broadway production of F. Hugh Herbert’s play “The Moon is Blue”, and its successful run of 924 performances prompted him to contract with United Artists to finance and distribute a screen adaptation over which he would have complete control. He deferred his producer’s and director’s salaries in exchange for 75% of the film’s profits.
Since Herbert’s play had been a huge success in Germany, Preminger decided to film English and German language versions simultaneously, using the same sets but different casts. The director estimated this method would increase the filming schedule by only eight to ten days and production costs by only 10 to 15 percent.
After ten days of rehearsals for each of his casts, Preminger began principal photography of both films on January 21, 1953, filming an English language scene and then its German equivalent in quick succession. Johanna Matz and Hardy Krüger, the stars of the German adaptation, briefly appear in the English language version as the young couple waiting to use the coin-operated telescope at the top of the Empire State Building, cameo roles William Holden and Maggie McNamara of the American cast play in the German version.
In later years, Preminger stated he much preferred “he Moon is Blue” to “Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach” because he felt the psychology of the plot did not translate well. (Wikipedia)

699MB | 1h 36m | 528×384 | avi

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https://nitro.download/view/52563ACA668F820/Die_Jungfrau_auf_dem_Dach_(1953).de.srt
https://nitro.download/view/8FC2C9A2F1FE73F/Die_Jungfrau_auf_dem_Dach_(1953).en.srt

Language:German
Subtitles:English,German

The post Otto Preminger – Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach AKA The Virgin on the Roof (1953) first appeared on Cinema of the World.