Movie #299 - Immortal Beloved

Immortal Beloved
1994 - Rated R - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Bernard Rose
Starring: Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbe, Isabella Rossellini, Miriam Margolyes, Johanna ter Steege, Valeria Golino

I first saw this movie in high school on a friend's recommendation.  And since then, it's always stuck in my mind for some reason. This was my itnroduction to the fabulous character actor that is Gary Oldman-- nearly unrecognizable in his role as Ludwig van Beethoven.  Brilliant, too.

Immortal Beloved takes place after the composer's death, as his secretary (Jeroen Krabbe) searches high and low for the woman Beethoven referred to as his "immortal beloved, his other self."  He interviews three women important to Beethoven during his life to determine which of them has inherited his estate.  Putting the pieces together not only solves the question but also opens one of the women's eyes to a mystery from her own past.  It's bittersweet and heart-breaking, so romantically tragic.

I don't know how much of this is based on fact, but they take a historic figure and give him more humanness than the history books do.  Really well done, from beginning to end.  I love this one.

Movie #154 - Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her
Universal Pictures
1992 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 44 min
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini

Oh boy, this one was fun to revisit.  I feel like I only caught this one on TV in bits and pieces until I recently got my hands on this copy.  I suspect this might have been the first time I've seen all the scenes in a row. 

Bruce Willis in his least flattering role is adorably hopeless, until these dead chicks push him too far.  Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, locked in a life-long feud, are so selfish and disillusioned that you almost feel bad for them. Almost.  An eternity stuck together, trapped in your own rotting body? Well, as long as your brows are done right, I guess.