Trailer
Year
2013
Length
52 min
Directors
Hedwig Schmutte and Ralf Pleger
The Beethoven Files
200 years after Beethoven’s death, “The Beethoven Files” casts light of one of the biggest mysteries of music history.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s work is legendary – and already was while he was still alive. He is famous around the world, and yet little is known about the conditions under which his music was composed. One thing is certain: he composed most of his masterpieces AFTER the onset of his deafness. When he composed his famous 9th symphony, he wasn’t able to hear a thing! A deaf composer? How is that possible?
Searching for clues, “The Beethoven Files” investigates Beethoven ́s heritage anew. The biographer Jan Caeyers gives an insight into Beethoven’s mania-like work rage – his reaction to the onset of his deafness. Concert pianist Lars Vogt and conductor Simone Young explore the genius in Beethoven‘s compositions. The Viennese forensic scientist and university professor Dr. Christian Reiter examines a curl of Beethoven ́s hair, searching for indications that point to the cause of his death and disease.
Written by
Hedwig Schmutte
Directed by
Hedwig Schmutte
Ralf Pleger
With
Lars Eidinger
Pheline Roggan
Director of Photography
Jürgen Rehberg
Sound Design
Johannes Hiroshi Nakajima
Jürgen Funk
Production Manager
Nick Pastucha
Producer
Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Eva Schellenbeck
Executive Producer
Christian Beetz
Commissioning Editor
Christiane Hinz
Sales & distribution
- Press kit
- Press photos
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„Just in diesem Moment überraschen uns die aus dem Theaterbereich stammenden jungen Regisseure Hans Block und Moritz Riesewieck mit einem erstaunlichen Dokumentarfilm, der seit Monaten Publikum und Kritik auf den wichtigsten Festivals der Welt elektrisiert. Völlig zu Recht: Es ist, als würden einem die Scheuklappen weggerissen, als sähe man das, was sich seit Jahren direkt vor unseren Augen abspielt, zum ersten Mal unverschleiert... eine fesselnde ,Doku noir' mit höchstem Anspruch...Dieser Film müsste an allen Schulen gezeigt werden.“
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
17.05.2018
