Reviews (16)

The Masterpiece Of Romantic Foreign Film Tragedy
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.

DREAMS VS REALITY
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.

In Praise Of Love: Perfect For Valentines
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.

A lush and luminous romantic tragedy
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?

Romance In The Countryside of Sweden....
This review refers to the Fox Lorber DVD edition of "Elvira Madigan"(World Class Cinema Collection)....

In this 19th century romantic/drama we find two lovers, seemingly without a care in the world,romping and playing in the beautiful forest and they are the focus of this Swedish gem. We soon learn they are escaping from their lives, and all they want is to be left alone, in their own world..one of love. He is deserting his post as an Army Lieutenant, she a young and beautiful famed tightrope walker.

Abandoning their families and careers,these romantics see nothing but the love and affection they share for each other. As the story progresses, and we are treated to some of the most gorgeuos photography throughout, their idyllic dreams begin to fall apart. Life on the run is not all they dreamed it would be for them. They are tired, hungry, and trying to avoid the world that is trying to find them.Eventually they must make a decision that has tragic consequences.

It's a beautiful, but tragic romance, not too far removed from "Romeo and Juliet" although may at times,seem a bit over the top and may remind you of those commercials, in slow motion with the lovers running into each others arms.It is however,a good story, well acted and directed,wonderful costumes, beautifully photographed, and with a great sound track including works from Mozart and Vilvaldi. From 1967,the director is expertly subtle and although these two lovers are often spontantious in their passion, you will know how they feel without the ususal R rated love scenes.

Just a beauty of a film, directed by Bo Widerberg and photographed by Jorgen Persson. The film and crew were nominated for several international awards and Pia Degermark(Elvira)won the hearts of the judges of the Cannes Film Festival(and may steal yours as well) and was awarded Best Actress.

It's a nice DVD as well. Letterboxed in what appears to be the academy ratio(1.33:1) it presents a very good picture. The exquiste cinematogrpahy of the fields, the forests and the countryside have beautiful colors. The film in Swedish will default to English subtitles, but you may delete them if you wish.(You don't see that choice too often). There are filmographies and awards and some production credits. The sound is in Stereo and is very good.

A nice addition to your romance or foreign film collection...enjoy.....Laurie ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Fast-Paced Swedish Thriller
In Stockholm, on St. Lucy's feast day, a bandit daringly robs a crowded post office. Within a fortnight, two witnesses are dead. Two cops from vice squad, Johansson and Jarnebring, who were the first to the crime scene, pursue all leads and identify a suspect, an arrogant member of the elite secret police, a man assigned to guard the Minister of Justice. Just when the beat cops think they've tightened the noose around the suspect, loose ends begin to appear, witnesses lose their certainty, alibis crop up, and even the cops doubt what they've seen. Who is hiding the suspect and why? This is a fast-paced modern thriller, in stark contrast to the darker, more deliberate Widerberg work The Man on The Roof (1976). Viewers are treated to high-speed chases and panoramas of Stockholm, great cinematography and plot twists. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Brilliant movie from my neighbourhood
If you like Swedish Thrillers you must see this one. Bo Widerberg was a brilliant director..And so is this film....See it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The global art-house frenzy was in full swing when Elvira Madigan first made audiences swoon back in 1967. Set in an idyllic Danish forest in 1859 and loosely based on an actual double-suicide, this lushly photographed, quietly seductive film presents a richly romantic tragedy while suggesting that the most intense form of love resembles a kind of blissful insanity. The inseparable lovers in this case are a married Swedish army lieutenant named Sixten (Thommy Berggren) who's gone absent without leave, and the radiantly beautiful Elvira Madigan (Pia Degermark), a Danish tightrope walker who's abandoned her popular position in a traveling circus. Together they have no use for the distractions of the real world; they live only for each other, sharing simple pleasures, spontaneous intimacy, and a seemingly unlimited supply of wild berries, wine, and leisure time. As Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 dominates the soundtrack, Sixten and Elvira chase butterflies (and each other) through a peaceful meadow, at which point the movie practically oozes with romantic perfection. (When most people think of "art-house" movies of the 1960s, they're most likely thinking of movies such as this--although the lovemaking here is nothing if not tamely discreet.)

Swedish director Bo Widerberg wrote, directed, and edited this film and makes full use of Jorgen Persson's soft, sensual cinematography. Though its plot is almost nonexistent, the film is arrestingly beautiful and the almost-too-attractive actors bring naturalness and depth to their performances, elevating this tale of doomed love above the level of gushy sentiment. For all of its surface appeal, Elvira Madigan is an intelligent film, and Widerberg builds toward genuine tragedy without compromising the dream-like idealism of Sixten and Elvira's unconditional love. Widerberg also inserts a few hints of casual irony, as when Elvira sells a portrait of herself that was drawn by a "cripple" at a cafe in Paris; neither she nor the pawnshop owner recognizes the artist's signature as that of Toulouse-Lautrec! These little grace notes enhance this otherwise lightweight film, and while the tragedy never achieves Shakespearean proportions, this is nevertheless an alluring, introspective portrait of romance at its most sublimely emotional extreme. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The Masterpiece Of Romantic Foreign Film Tragedy
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.

DREAMS VS REALITY
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.

In Praise Of Love: Perfect For Valentines
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.

A lush and luminous romantic tragedy
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?

Romance In The Countryside of Sweden....
This review refers to the Fox Lorber DVD edition of "Elvira Madigan"(World Class Cinema Collection)....

In this 19th century romantic/drama we find two lovers, seemingly without a care in the world,romping and playing in the beautiful forest and they are the focus of this Swedish gem. We soon learn they are escaping from their lives, and all they want is to be left alone, in their own world..one of love. He is deserting his post as an Army Lieutenant, she a young and beautiful famed tightrope walker.

Abandoning their families and careers,these romantics see nothing but the love and affection they share for each other. As the story progresses, and we are treated to some of the most gorgeuos photography throughout, their idyllic dreams begin to fall apart. Life on the run is not all they dreamed it would be for them. They are tired, hungry, and trying to avoid the world that is trying to find them.Eventually they must make a decision that has tragic consequences.

It's a beautiful, but tragic romance, not too far removed from "Romeo and Juliet" although may at times,seem a bit over the top and may remind you of those commercials, in slow motion with the lovers running into each others arms.It is however,a good story, well acted and directed,wonderful costumes, beautifully photographed, and with a great sound track including works from Mozart and Vilvaldi. From 1967,the director is expertly subtle and although these two lovers are often spontantious in their passion, you will know how they feel without the ususal R rated love scenes.

Just a beauty of a film, directed by Bo Widerberg and photographed by Jorgen Persson. The film and crew were nominated for several international awards and Pia Degermark(Elvira)won the hearts of the judges of the Cannes Film Festival(and may steal yours as well) and was awarded Best Actress.

It's a nice DVD as well. Letterboxed in what appears to be the academy ratio(1.33:1) it presents a very good picture. The exquiste cinematogrpahy of the fields, the forests and the countryside have beautiful colors. The film in Swedish will default to English subtitles, but you may delete them if you wish.(You don't see that choice too often). There are filmographies and awards and some production credits. The sound is in Stereo and is very good.

A nice addition to your romance or foreign film collection...enjoy.....Laurie ... Read more