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Beethoven's Hair (2005)

Beethoven's Hair (2005)

Documentary
Release Date: 2005, February 20
Directors: Larry Weinstein
Countries: Canada, Czech Republic, United Kingdom
Production: Rhombus Media, BBC, CBC Films, Canada Television and Cable Production Fund License Program (CTCPF)
Cast: Nicky Guadagni, Alfredo Guevara, Michael Fletcher, Renée Guevara, Ira F. Brilliant, Michelle Wassard Larsen, Esther Taylor

Overview:

Beethoven's Hair traces the unlikely journey of a lock of hair cut from Beethoven's corpse and unravels the mystery of his tortured life and death. The film begins in modern times, when a pair of Beethoven enthusiasts purchase the hair at a Sotheby's auction. The story then looks at the lock's previous owners and culminates in the science that reveals Beethoven's "medical secret". Set to a lush score of some of Beethoven's most glorious music, the film explores the world of forensic testing in sharp relief against the romance of 19th-century Vienna and the horrors of 20th-century Nazi Germany.

Keywords:

classical music composer ludwig van beethoven