THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 5, 1995 TAG: 9501050042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Interview
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
AS IT TURNS OUT, Ludwig van Beethoven was quite a swinger after all.
Just ask Isabella Rossellini, the drop-dead-gorgeous daughter of legendary actress Ingrid Bergman. She'll tell you.
Rossellini plays one of the three women who may have been Beethoven's ``Immortal Beloved'' in the new movie that revives one of the most intriguing romantic mysteries in history.
A cryptic letter sparking the mystery was found shortly after the composer's death. It was addressed to ``my angel, my all, my other self. . . my thoughts turn to you, my Immortal Beloved. . . waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us.'' It was signed, simply, ``L.'' Historians have pondered the identity of the intended recipient ever since.
Rossellini plays Countess Anna Marie Erdody, one of the three women who may have been Beethoven's love.
``Beethoven was, perhaps, the first rock star,'' she said in a thick Swedish-Italian-European accent. ``Until I made this film, I tended to think of Beethoven in the same breath as Bach and Mozart. Now, I know what an innovator, what a unique genius he was. He was the Elvis Presley of his era in terms of fan worship, too. But, Elvis Presley was more a performer. With Beethoven, it was the music that spoke. He was universally admired as a pianist, but the listeners of the time often labeled his music exhibitionist, vulgar and flashy.''
Gary Oldman (``Sid and Nancy,'' ``Dracula,'' ``JFK'') plays Beethoven. Both Anthony Hopkins and Gabriel Byrne turned down the role.
Rossellini admits that the thin, wiry Oldman doesn't look at all like Beethoven, but she believes he captures the essence of the role.
``Beethoven was a short, stocky bull of a man. Anthony Hopkins would have been perfect for him, at one age, but how could they make Hopkins look like Beethoven at an early age?''
The other two prime possibilities for Beethoven's love are played by Valeria Golina (``Rain Man,'' ``Hot Shots'') and Johanna Ter Steege (the original ``The vanishing''). Rossellini isn't giving clues as to which is the mystery woman, but she admits that the movie's finale doesn't agree with most historians.
``They can't prove that I'm wrong,'' said Bernard Rose, who wrote and directed. ``The movie has a surprise ending, but I maintain that it is entirely plausible, and supported by my research.''
For Rossellini, not all the romance was in front of the camera. During filming at majestic palaces and period buildings in the Czech city of Prague, she and Oldman fell in love. They are now engaged to be married.
``We are in love,'' she said, simply. ``We are together, but no date is set for the marriage.''
Rossellini is one of the few actresses who appears more radiant and luminous off-screen than she does on. She exudes much of the same radiance, strength and vitality that was her mother's screen presence in such classics as ``Casablanca,'' ``For Whom the Bell Tolls,'' ``Anastasia'' and ``Gaslight.'' She made headlines last year when Lancome beauty products, the company for which she modeled for many years, terminated her contract because of her age. Unlike many of her defenders, she is not bitter about it. ``There was great debate within the company and I had many defenders,'' she said. ``I feel they were very fair about it. After all, they kept me until I was 42. That's more than most companies would have done. They usually use women of around 25 or 26.''
Her movie career has been a spotty one - ranging from ``Blue Velvet'' (directed by her then-lover David Lynch) to ``Fearless'' and ``Wyatt Earp.''
``I have several handicaps,'' she admits. ``First, I have the accent. No one would think of casting me as an American, yet many Americans have an accent like mine. Then, there is the fact that I was a model first. Casting directors thought, at first, that I was too beautiful - that I wasn't serious about being an actress.''
Fame has not been particularly kind to Rossellini's family. Her mother's screen image, bolstered mainly by studio publicity as a wholesome, almost saintly, woman backfired when, in 1949, she deserted her husband, Dr. Peter Lindstrom, a dentist she married in 1937, and subsequently had a son by Italian director Roberto Rossellini. They married in 1950 amid public indignation. On the floor of the U.S. Senate she was called ``Hollywood's apostle of degradation'' and ``a free-love cultist.'' The furor effectively barred her from appearing in American films for seven years.
Twin girls, of which Isabella is one, were born, but the Rossellini marriage was annulled in 1958.
Isabella was not in any way discouraged about seeking her own fame, in spite of the traumas experienced by her mother. ``The times are very different now. My mother was a victim of her time,'' she said.
Rossellini is candid about the fact that her fiance did not accompany her to the California premiere of ``Immortal Beloved'' ``because he is in an alcoholic rehabilitation center.''
She denies that the alcoholic breakdown was caused by Hollywood, stress or too much work. ``No. No,'' she emphasized. ``Gary is a chameleon. He is a great actor. He's booked for the next five years in films, but there comes a time when he must think of his health first. He must simply take a month off for himself and certainly there is nothing to hide about where he is. You can't go on forever feeling sick and not seeking help.''
Oldman is known for playing intense, melodramatic characters. This, though, is not the way his bride-to-be sees him. ``I think he's terribly shy,'' she said. ``He's cheerful, warm, intelligent and not concerned with being overly macho. He has a vulnerability.''
Reminded that director Rose said she was cast because of her ``regal'' look, Rossellini retorted, ``I want to get away from being cast for a certain `look' at all. I insisted that I not be called `Countess' in the script. I wanted the woman to be a human being. It was nice, too, that women didn't wear corsets in this particular era. Corsets are horribly confining when you're trying to act - or do anything else, I would imagine.''
As to any hints on whether the countess she plays is the ``real'' love of Beethoven's life, she's mum. ``Oh, no, you'll have to see the picture to find that out, but, mind you, the film is not necessarily accurate. The script is just one version. I'm afraid only Beethoven and the lady herself really knew. It's a mystery that will never be solved.'' ILLUSTRATION: Countess Anna Marie Erdody (Isabella Rossellini) falls for
Beethoven (Gary Oldman) in "Immortal Beloved."
COLUMBIA
Gary Oldman and Isabella Rossellini share a romantic interlude in
``Immortal Beloved.'' In real life, the two actors are engaged.
by CNB