Elvira Madigan (film)
Encyclopedia
Elvira Madigan is a 1967
Swedish
film directed by Bo Widerberg, based on the tragedy of the Danish
tightrope
dancer Hedvig Jensen
(born 1867), working under the stage name of Elvira Madigan at her stepfather's travelling circus, who runs away with the deserter
Swedish lieutenant
Sixten Sparre (born 1854).
A friend from Sixten's regiment tries to persuade him to come back, but fails. They have no money or future and try to fish and earn money the best they can - Hedvig sells a picture of herself drawn by Toulouse-Lautrec
and is paid to entertain a party with her tightrope walking. But the situation becomes more desperate, and finally they see death as their only option.
playing the Andante from Piano Concerto No. 21 in C
by Mozart
, which is now popularly known as "Elvira Madigan" Concerto; and Vivaldi's
Four Seasons
.
writes: "Though the lovers are there as early instances of drop-outs, and several contemporary readings effortlessly emerge, Widerberg's real concern is with the sensuous presence of cream and berry juice on lips and fingertips". For Widerberg, "this affirmation in the face of death carries ... the weight of a modest but combative ideological point".
1963 in film
The year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
film directed by Bo Widerberg, based on the tragedy of the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
tightrope
Tightrope walking
Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...
dancer Hedvig Jensen
Elvira Madigan
Elvira Madigan was a Danish tightrope walker and trick rider, whose illicit affair and dramatic death at the hands of her lover were the subject of the Swedish film of 1967.- Early life :...
(born 1867), working under the stage name of Elvira Madigan at her stepfather's travelling circus, who runs away with the deserter
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
Swedish lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Sixten Sparre (born 1854).
Plot
Elvira Madigan and Sixten Sparre are together in the Danish countryside. Sixten has renounced the military and now claims to be "on the women's side." Elvira, who was the main attraction at her circus, has got her identity back and starts to refer to herself with her real name Hedvig.A friend from Sixten's regiment tries to persuade him to come back, but fails. They have no money or future and try to fish and earn money the best they can - Hedvig sells a picture of herself drawn by Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
and is paid to entertain a party with her tightrope walking. But the situation becomes more desperate, and finally they see death as their only option.
Cast
- Pia DegermarkPia DegermarkPia Charlotte Caminneci Degermark is a Swedish former actress.-Life and career:Degermark came to international notice as the lead in Elvira Madigan , directed by Bo Widerberg, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967...
- Hedvig Jensen, "Elvira Madigan" - Thommy BerggrenThommy BerggrenThommy Berggren is a Swedish actor. He is known for having starred in several films directed by Bo Widerberg and was often considered as one of the foremost Swedish film and theatre actors from the early 60s to the mid 2000s when he retired. He starred in the Oscar nominated Raven's End , directed...
- Lt. Sixten Sparre - Lennart Malmer - Kristoffer
- Cleo Jensen - Cleo
- Yvonne IngdalYvonne IngdalYvonne Ingdal is a Danish actress. She has appeared in 22 films and televisions shows between 1963 and 1974. She starred in the 1964 film To, which was entered into the 15th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
- Elvira Madigan's voice
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features Géza AndaGéza Anda
Géza Anda was a Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also a tremendous interpreter of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Bartók....
playing the Andante from Piano Concerto No. 21 in C
Piano Concerto No. 21 (Mozart)
The Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, was completed on March 9, 1785 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, four weeks after the completion of the previous D minor concerto.- Structure :There are three movements....
by Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, which is now popularly known as "Elvira Madigan" Concerto; and Vivaldi's
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season...
.
Awards and nominations
- BAFTA Awards22nd British Academy Film AwardsThe 22nd British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1969, honoured the best films of 1968.-Best Film: The Graduate *Oliver!*2001: A Space Odyssey*Closely Watched Trains-Best Actor:...
- Best Cinematography (Persson, nominated)
- Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Degermark, nominated)
- Cannes Film Festival1967 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*Alessandro Blasetti *Georges Lourau *Sergei Bondarchuk *René Bonnell *Jean-Louis Bory *Miklós Jancsó *Claude Lelouch *Shirley MacLaine...
- Best Actress (Degermark, won)
- Golden Palm (Widerberg, nominated)
- Golden Globe Awards25th Golden Globe AwardsThe 25th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best achievements in 1967, were held on 12 February 1968.-Best Actor - Drama: Rod Steiger - In the Heat of the Night*Alan Bates - Far from the Madding Crowd*Warren Beatty - Bonnie and Clyde...
- Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film (nominated)
- Most Promising Newcomer - Female (Degermark, nominated)
- National Board of ReviewNational Board of Review Awards 1967- Top Ten Films :#Far from the Madding Crowd#The Whisperers#Ulysses#In Cold Blood#The Family Way#The Taming of the Shrew#Doctor Dolittle#The Graduate#The Comedians#Accident- Top Foreign Films :#Elvira Madigan...
- Best Foreign Language Film (won)
Critical responses
An unnamed reviewer in the Time Out Film Guide writes: "Candidate for the prettiest pic ever award. ... you may be enchanted by it if you don't laugh yourself sick.". Describing it as breathing the "hippie mid-sixties", Edgardo CozarinskyEdgardo Cozarinsky
Edgardo Cozarinsky is a writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing Vudú urbano.- Life :His family name goes back to his great grandparents, Jewish immigrants from Kiev and Odessa at the end of the 19th century, his first name tells of his mother's infatuation with Edgar Allan Poe.After an...
writes: "Though the lovers are there as early instances of drop-outs, and several contemporary readings effortlessly emerge, Widerberg's real concern is with the sensuous presence of cream and berry juice on lips and fingertips". For Widerberg, "this affirmation in the face of death carries ... the weight of a modest but combative ideological point".