Ludwig van (1970)

Directed by

Mauricio Kagel

Genre

documentary film

Country

Germany

Runtime

1h 31m

Rating

5.7 of 10 from 3 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This German film examines how Ludwig van Beethoven has been turned into a consumer product by the culture industry. It uses fragmented arrangements of his music and contributions from contemporary artists to explore the reception of the composer.

thought-provokingsatiricalexperimentalslow-pacedcerebralironicdarkly comicreflective

What happens

Ludwig van (full title: Ludwig van: A report; German: Ludwig van: ein Bericht) is a black-and-white German film by Mauricio Kagel. Filmed in 1969, it was first screened the following year. The work was commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk for the bicentennial celebrations of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1970. The film examines the reception of the composer and his works and how he has become a consumer product of the culture industry. The soundtrack is an arrangement of fragments of Beethoven's works, modified as if heard by the deaf composer himself; it is distinct from Kagel's 1970 composition Ludwig van. Prominent contemporary artists including Dieter Roth, Stefan Wewerka (de), Robert Filliou, and Joseph Beuys were involved in the design. According to Gramophone, "at first it’s a laugh a minute ... then Kagel's film turns dark". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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