Liebestraum (film)
Encyclopedia
Liebestraum is a 1991 mystery film
directed by Mike Figgis
, with Kim Novak
, Kevin Anderson, Alicia Witt
and Taina Elg
.
) in the final days of her illness; he was adopted and has never known her. On the first day, he runs into Paul (Bill Pullman
), a college friend, whose construction company is demolishing an old, downtown department store where a murder-suicide happened 30 years' before. The building is of beautiful cast-iron construction, so Nick wants to study it before the demolition. Paul introduces Nick to his wife, Jane (Pamela Gidley
), and over the next four days, their attraction grows as Nick explores the old building, attends his mother's bedside, and unravels the past.
's composition Liebesträume
.
Much of the movie, especially its external shots, was filmed in Binghamton, New York
. The plot centers on a building with a cast iron
frame, and Binghamton's downtown area includes one of the few cast-iron buildings still standing.
When Liebestraum made its VHS debut, it was released in two editions — the R-rated theatrical version and an unrated director's cut. The DVD release, part of MGM's Avant-Garde Cinema series, features only the R-rated version. However, the deleted scene that marks the single difference between the two edits is included as a bonus feature on the disc.
The film is rated R13 in New Zealand and it contains sex scenes.
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
directed by Mike Figgis
Mike Figgis
Michael "Mike" Figgis is an English film director, writer, and composer.-Personal life:Figgis was born in Carlisle, England and grew up in Africa. Figgis for several years had a relationship with the actress Saffron Burrows and cast her in several films...
, with Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, Kevin Anderson, Alicia Witt
Alicia Witt
Alicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
and Taina Elg
Taina Elg
Taina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
.
Plot
Two affairs, a generation apart. Nick (Kevin Anderson), a professor of architecture in upstate New York, comes to an Illinois town to be with his birth mother (Kim NovakKim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
) in the final days of her illness; he was adopted and has never known her. On the first day, he runs into Paul (Bill Pullman
Bill Pullman
William James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
), a college friend, whose construction company is demolishing an old, downtown department store where a murder-suicide happened 30 years' before. The building is of beautiful cast-iron construction, so Nick wants to study it before the demolition. Paul introduces Nick to his wife, Jane (Pamela Gidley
Pamela Gidley
Pamela Catherine Gidley is an American actress and model.-Early life:Gidley was born in Methuen, Massachusetts but was raised in Nashua, New Hampshire and the youngest of the family with four older brothers...
), and over the next four days, their attraction grows as Nick explores the old building, attends his mother's bedside, and unravels the past.
Background
The title is taken from Franz LisztFranz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
's composition Liebesträume
Liebesträume
Liebesträume , is a set of three solo piano works by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Liszt called each of the three pieces Liebesträume, but often they are referred to incorrectly in the singular as Liebestraum...
.
Much of the movie, especially its external shots, was filmed in Binghamton, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The plot centers on a building with a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
frame, and Binghamton's downtown area includes one of the few cast-iron buildings still standing.
When Liebestraum made its VHS debut, it was released in two editions — the R-rated theatrical version and an unrated director's cut. The DVD release, part of MGM's Avant-Garde Cinema series, features only the R-rated version. However, the deleted scene that marks the single difference between the two edits is included as a bonus feature on the disc.
The film is rated R13 in New Zealand and it contains sex scenes.
Cast
- Kevin Anderson as Nick Kaminsky
- Pamela GidleyPamela GidleyPamela Catherine Gidley is an American actress and model.-Early life:Gidley was born in Methuen, Massachusetts but was raised in Nashua, New Hampshire and the youngest of the family with four older brothers...
as Jane Kessler - Bill PullmanBill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Paul Kessler - Kim NovakKim NovakKim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
as Lillian Anderssen Munnsen - Graham BeckelGraham BeckelGraham S. Beckel is an American character actor. He is known for his prolific guest appearances on television but has had prominent roles in several major films as well. Most recently he played Jack Fisk on Battlestar Galactica and Hal Sanders on Heroes...
as Sheriff Pete Ricker - Zach GrenierZach GrenierZach Grenier is an American actor who has worked in film, television and on stage.He appeared in the first season of the television show 24 as Carl Webb, was in Deadwood, and on several episodes of Law & Order...
as Barnard Ralston IV - Thomas KopacheThomas KopacheThomas Kopache is an American actor.Kopache was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, the son of Dorothy E. . He is known as Assistant Secretary of State Bob Slatterly in The West Wing and for various roles in the Star Trek franchise...
as Dr. Parker - Anne Lange as Nurse #1
- Jack Wallace as Mike
- Max PerlichMax Perlich-Biography:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was a teacher and his father, Martin Perlich, a writer and radio programming director and announcer, worked for a time with the Cleveland Orchestra. The Perlich family moved to Los Angeles, California when Max was four...
as Orderly #1 - Catherine HicksCatherine HicksCatherine Mary Hicks is an American stage, film, television actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Annie Camden on the long-running television series 7th Heaven and as Karen Barclay in Child's Play.-Personal life:...
as Mary Parker - Roger HowarthRoger HowarthRoger Howarth is an American actor. He portrays Todd Manning on the daytime drama One Life to Live, a character which became an iconic fixture in the genre's medium, and earned Howarth a Daytime Emmy Award...
as Boy in Rain