Rating: 
Summary: The Masterpiece Of Romantic Foreign Film Tragedy
Review: 1967: This Danish film became an instant classic when it was released. The stunning film is best known for its beautiful cinematography, its classical music score and its simple but elegant tragic plot. It starred Pia Degermark, a blonde, blue-eyed willowy beauty who portrayed a late 19th century tight-rope walker, who abandoned her career in the circus to elope with her lover, an army officer. The love story is very simple, quite tragic, and full of sentimentality and melodrama that seems out of place in the 60's, but nostalgically recollects the milieu of the late 19th century.The classical music score for the film included Mozart's piano concerto number 21, whose second movement is played almost ad nauseum in the film. It is a romantic, tender piece, expressive of a romance like that of the two lovers in this film. They share picnics in the outdoors, they make love al fresco, they seem to be inseperable. Mozart' piano concerto number 21 "andante" has in fact earned the concerto title of the "Elvira Madigan" concerto because of the success of this film. Other classical pieces include Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Chopin piano music and a JohannStrauss waltz. Supposedly based on a true story, the lovers find that their union is illicit, and for political reasons, enemies of theirs want for them to part. The ending, in true tragic tradition, results in the suicide of the two lovers. Nonetheless, the haunting visuals, the beautiful music and everything abou this art-house legend makes Elvira Madigan truly worth getting on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Better than you've heard
Review: All right, I admit it -- I've got a soft spot in my heart for "Elvira Madigan." I first saw it when I was thirteen and thought it was absolutely gorgeous. Over the years, I've read many reviews and talked to many film "experts" who take delight in tearing this film apart, dismissing it as nothing more than an hour-and-a-half shampoo commercial. Granted, it may not be Bergman or Fellini (two of my personal favorites) but it is an affecting and effective piece of cinema. You'd have to look a long time to find as many consecutive images as ravishing as the ones in the film, and the performers themselves act with restraint and honesty. There are quibbles, of course: the Mozart is overused, and the editing is sloppy. However, if you give yourself over to it and are not an avowed cynic, this film can work some real magic.
Rating:
Summary: Newsweek said it was the most beautiful movie ever made.
Review: Bo Wiederberg's classic 1800's love story of a young trapese artist's ill-fated romance with an army deserter was credited by Samuel Goldwyn and Newsweek magazine as being the most beautiful movie ever made. It was the first film to use slow motion photography as a special effect and it's english language version has the best synchronization of dubbed english to lip movements of the actors that you are likely to see. Because of the quality of the film, Mozart's Piano Concerto is now commonly known as the Elvira Madigan Theme. If this movie doesn't make you girls cry, something's wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Not by far Widerberg's best!
Review: First of all I must say that I am very glad that this movie has made it to DVD. Unfortunately this is the only film by Widerberg (who I consider being superior to Bergman among Swedish directors) that has made it into DVD. This was Widerberg's first film shot in colour and you can almost tell that it is. The cinematography is completely stunning. The film is not close to Widerberg's best films such as "Man on the roof" and "Adalen 31" but this is a good start if you want to get to know one of Swedens most underrated directors.
I was also surprised how good the print looked. I was worried that the print was going to be real bad but it was quite good and in this case the price is low so you can live with it.
Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: I saw this movie for the first time when it first came out in the theaters (gosh, I am old) and have loved it ever since. This movie has a sensual quality that is hard to explain, but well worth seeing. The ending jolts the viewer back to harsh reality. Really, this is well worth seeing - maybe many times.
Rating:
Summary: In Praise Of Love: Perfect For Valentines
Review: In 1967, the world was ready to accept the touching tragedy of Elvira Madigan, a Danish film presented to Americans via the art-house medium which was becoming popular. It was the 60's and the world was changing. In America, hippies advocated free love and rebelled against establishment and authorities they found stifling and oppressive, particularily because of disappointment and disillusion with the unfit government, they promoted the ideals of peace and love in a time of great violence- the Vietnam War. The romance of Elvira Madigan touched Americans at this time in much the same way that Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet film did. In fact, at this time, such romantic films were popular. 1965 to 1969 saw The Sound Of Music and Doctor Zhivago make it big in the movies. This film is perfect for Valentine's Day. It's a period piece- set in 1859 and drawn from a true story but modernized to look 60's. The film stars Pia Degermark as the title heroine and Thommy Berggren as her lover, Sixten. The film has been criticized with the complaint that there is very little plot and that story is sacrificed by beautiful cinematography and visual scenery of the location- the countryside of Denmark. But there is a story. It's very easy to follow. Elvira Madigan, a tightrope walker from the circus, who is desired by many men (she might have been a courtesan) falls deeply in love with Sixten, an army officer or naval captain of some sort. Together, though their love is forbidden by society, they renounce the world and responsibility and run away together. They escape the authorities by hiding out in hotels and other spots. But in the end, they are nearly caught and there is no way out but suicide. They shoot themselves in the seclusion of the forest. The most remembered scene is the lovemaking- Sixten and Elvira eat a picnic al fresco in the country and make love in the grass. It's nothing pornographic or hardcore, in fact they're fully dressed and it's softcore but very romantic to watch. Enhancing the romance is Mozart's Piano Concerto 21 second movement andante, which was the love theme for the film. The acting is satisfying for a story like this. Pia Degermark looks a bit like Julie Christie, a British actress who was popular at this time (she potrayed Lara in Doctor Zhivago, she appeared in Darling, a film about the swinging 60's London scene, and in historic epics as Far From The Maddening Crowd and The Go-Between). Thommy Bergren plays a fine handsome, heroic lead. It is the on-screen chemistry between the lovers that make the movie so successful. They are inseperable lovers who seem to come straight out of a 19th century novel. A great film, perfect to watch to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day.
Rating:
Summary: A lush and luminous romantic tragedy
Review: Not much of a story, but a terrific movie. I first saw this in the mid-sixties with my new husband - and he left the theater in tears. Yeah, he's still a softie, so it didn't surprise me that he cried again when we recently watched it again. Set in the mid-1800s, it's the story of a married (with children) Swedish army officer who falls madly in love with a beautiful Danish tightrope walker. In spite of pressures from all sides, they abandon life, responsibility, society, and conventions to be together.
The music is rhapsodic, the photography is gorgeous, the setting n an idyllic forest is lush - and the tragic outcome is inevitable. And it's based on a true story. Who could ask for more?
Rating: 
Summary: Hanky time
Review: One of the amazing things about Elvira Madigan is the timelessness of the piece, coupled with the films unique ability to emotionally drain the viewer. It is a simple romantic story that both young and old readily identify with. When I saw Elvira Madigan in 1966 at the Cameo Poly cinema in London, the capacity house was completely reduced to tears. Subsequently, as a teacher in the 70 & 80`s, I used the film as part of an 'A' level film studies course for worldly eighteen year old students - with the same moist eyed result. Now a senior university lecturer, I am about to submit my BSc degree students to the same emotional turmoil. I suspect that it will again be hankies all round. Sadly, as I understand it, the original prints were on a batch of Eastmancolor that faded back to just blues and reds. The BBC appears to have a copy, possibly on video, which was re-broadcast a couple of years ago. Let us hope that the publishers also re-issue soon for the next generation of wet eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful images do not a motion picure make.
Review: Over the years, numerous critics and movie buffs have quoted "Elvira Madigan" as one of the most beautiful films ever made (one example of praise was from Pauline Kael, a truly classic critic of blunt honesty). This writer has heard about it numerous times during the past 20 years and has tried to hunty down a copy, but to little avail. And that's where the DVD craze comes in. The good news with this disc. It has been restored to full glory. Freeze frame any one of these beautifully photographed images and you have a wonderful example of scene composition. The blending of nature, air, sun and romance come alive vibrantly all throughout. The sound is truly terrific with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 coming in at the right moments. This could even replace video fires during those winter nights. But a good movie this isn't. In fact, it's a pretty bad movie. And while it's worth watching for the above imagery, the central leads (Thommy Beggren & Pia Degermark) are attractive through leave little dramatic impact to truly make this an emotional experience (I call it the curse of the two-expression acting method). So it's based on a true story? I wonder. It was probably some clipping gathered from a modern-day newspaper and the director thinks, "Gee, this would make a great costume drama!". Boom. There you go. You're waiting for a sense of suspense to come and grab the two main characters together, but it never comes. And the ending seems like a cop-out (oh, but we do get a Swedish kiddie choir to take us out!). You're either left in tears for the two or left in tears for investing money on this stilted cinematic experience. I love foreign films. I loved to be moved by romance. But I also like to be challenged. I love memorable characters. I love great story & cinematography. To me, a movie experience makes you look forward to revisiting scenes and reacquainting yourselves with the characters. All of the above traits are what make a movie touch the soul. I wish "Elvira Madigan" did that. It didn't. It is an attractive yet soulless piece of moviemaking. But this is where you use your own discretion. Go forth.
Rating:
Summary: DREAMS VS REALITY
Review: Presented as a movie filled with romanticism, Bo Widerberg's ELVIRA MADIGAN left me puzzled. This swedish director, in his following movies, was more concerned with social questions than with romantic love stories. So ELVIRA MADIGAN, in my opinion, is the description of an ideal passion struggling with the low reality of the XIXth Sweden. A Swedish officer leaves army, his family and his friends to follow a circus trapeze artist named Elvira Madigan. They live a passionate love during a few days then suffer from lack of money, hunger and doubts about their future in the material world they live in. The swedish way to describe a romantic love story is very peculiar. Widerberg films beautiful landscapes, a pretty girl in a white dress and invites Mozart and Vivaldi for the musical score. And that's it. The least one can say is that the passion feeled by the two heroes is cerebral. They wear the same face expression for joy, sadness and hunger. Very strange. Nevertheless, if you're interested in non-hollywoodian production, ELVIRA MADIGAN is worth a look. A DVD from the north.
| 
