Mahler [1974] (VHS rip) dir Ken Russell

Mahler (1974)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071797/

THIS IS A FULL SCREEN VHS TRANSFER. THE ORIGINAL TAPE WAS OLD AND NOT THE BEST QUALITY. SOMEBODY UPLOAD A DECENT DVD COPY PLEASE

Mahler is a 1974 biographical film based on the life of composer Gustav Mahler. It was written and directed by Ken Russell for Goodtimes Enterprises, and starred Robert Powell as Gustav Mahler and Georgina Hale as Alma Mahler.

The film begins on a train journey with Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) and his wife Alma (Georgina Hale) confronting their failing marriage. The story is then recounted in a series of flashbacks (some of which are surrealistic and nightmarish), taking one through Mahler's turbulent childhood, his brother's suicide, his experience with anti-semitism, his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism, his marital problems, and the death of his young daughter. The film also takes us through his relationship with Cosima Wagner (Antonia Ellis), widow of Richard Wagner. In the process, the film explores Mahler's music and its relationship to his life.

Some outdoor sections of the film were made in Borrowdale, in the English Lake District.

Robert Powell ... Gustav Mahler
Georgina Hale ... Alma Mahler
Lee Montague ... Bernhard Mahler
Miriam Karlin ... Aunt Rosa
Rosalie Crutchley ... Marie Mahler
Gary Rich ... Young Gustav
Richard Morant ... Max
Angela Down ... Justine Mahler
Antonia Ellis ... Cosima Wagner
Ronald Pickup ... Nick
Peter Eyre ... Otto Mahler
Dana Gillespie ... Anna von Mildenburg
George Coulouris ... Doctor Roth
David Collings ... Hugo Wolf
Arnold Yarrow ... Grandfather

The music score of the movie consists of recordings by the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink.

BAFTA Awards
1975 Won BAFTA Film Award Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Georgina Hale

Cannes Film Festival
1974 Won Technical Grand Prize Ken Russell
1974 Nominated Golden Palm Ken Russell


Writers' Guild of Great Britain
1975 Won Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award Best British Original Screenplay Ken Russell Tied with Ray Connolly for Stardust (1974).