Famous Habsburgs in movies/plays/cartoons

[Silja]

About the Sissi tryology. In the movies was realy Romy Schneider Hair or a wig?

It was a wig, or at least hair pieces, I'm not quite sure. You may have noticed that in part three she wears her hair a lot shorter than in the two previous parts. Romy Schneider simply refused to wear that heavy wig again.

[dmitri]

Romy Schneider is simply beautiful as the Empress Elisabeth in the movie Ludwig with Helmut Berger. I also like Ava Gardner as the older Elisabeth in Mayerling.

[aor]

I was finally able to lay my hands on the epic Ludwig II with Romy Schneider that I can watch on my DVD player. I am looking forward watching it and hope the Empress Elisabeth will be better 'expressed' in this movie than in the trilogy Sissi. I would love to see a new movie being made about her life that, somewhat more closely, adheres to the historical facts now known about her life and struggles. I too liked Ava Gardner, but am partial to the actress that portrayed her in 'Rudolf's Letzte Liebe' (1954-1955). For the life of me can't remember her name....................

[Gabriella]

Hello, aor,

do you mean the austrian movie "kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe" made in 1954 starring  Rudolf Prack and Christiane Hörbigger as Rudolf and Mary Vetsera?

If so, it was the german actress Lil Dagover who portrayed Sisi.

Gabriella

[dmitri]

Elisabeth was also portrayed in Ludwig II starring O.W.Fischer in the lead. I forget the name of the actress who played Elisabeth.

[aor]

Hello, aor,

do you mean the austrian movie "kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe" made in 1954 starring  Rudolf Prack and Christiane Hörbigger as Rudolf and Mary Vetsera?

If so, it was the german actress Lil Dagover who portrayed Sisi.

Gabriella

Yes! Thank you, that's her. I knew her first name was Lil, but for the life of me could not remember her last name. I did not see the other movie about Ludwig II yet. In the US I have to rely on availability of books in German through Amazon, it is impossible to order a book through the German Amazon site. In the past 2 years I have picked up a number of biographies about Empress Elisabeth and so far I have enjoyed the one by Joan Hayslip the best. Maybe because she wrote it later when more information did become available, it gives a better insight about both sides.

[Princess Susan]

Yes, Lonely Empress by Joan Haslip is nice book.
In common books are much better then movies, because are more real.
I' ve never heard about 'Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe' but I think that is pity, that nobody is able to
(or only don't want?) do realy good film according reality about Rudolf, Sisi or another habsburgs and their relativs.

[dmitri]

Yes Haslip's book is really a gem.

[Silja]

Elisabeth was also portrayed in Ludwig II starring O.W.Fischer in the lead. I forget the name of the actress who played Elisabeth.

Her name is Ruth Leuwerik. She also starred as Queen Louise of Prussia in another German film from the 1950s.

[dmitri]

Yes of course. Thanks for that. She was quite good.

[ferrymansdaughter]

On Saturday night the BBC showed a one-off episode from the tv series  "Fall of Eagles".  This episode featured Diane Keene (a British actress who may not be known to those of you elsewhere)  as a young Sissy and covered several years of her marriage to Franz Joseph.  The tv series was made in the early 70s. I'm not sure if it is available on DVD but I shall have a look as it made me want to watch it all.  I dimly remember my parents watching it but I don't think it has been shown since.

[dmitri]

It was a real mixed bag. I guess some people liked it.

[aor]

I watched the DVD Ludwig II, it was rather annoying as it had Italian subtitles, but it was the only one available that could be played in Region 1.
It is a dark sort of tale, and the Cuckoo flew over Ludwig's nest twice...............But, I was so impressed with Romy Schneider's portrayal of Elisabeth. What a relief it must have been for her to be able to portray the Empress Elisabeth so much closer to what she would have been, than was portrayed in the sugar sweet trilogy.
Can you imagine a movie made to depict the life of the Empress, true to history, with Romy's daughter playing the young Sissi and, if Romy would still be alive today, her as the older Empress.

[Princess Susan]

On Saturday night the BBC showed a one-off episode from the tv series  "Fall of Eagles".  This episode featured Diane Keene (a British actress who may not be known to those of you elsewhere)  as a young Sissy and covered several years of her marriage to Franz Joseph.  The tv series was made in the early 70s. I'm not sure if it is available on DVD but I shall have a look as it made me want to watch it all.  I dimly remember my parents watching it but I don't think it has been shown since.

I wonder how was made this film...Did you enjoy it? Did you have good sense from it? Was it real story or not realy?

[ferrymansdaughter]

On Saturday night the BBC showed a one-off episode from the tv series  "Fall of Eagles".  This episode featured Diane Keene (a British actress who may not be known to those of you elsewhere)  as a young Sissy and covered several years of her marriage to Franz Joseph.  The tv series was made in the early 70s. I'm not sure if it is available on DVD but I shall have a look as it made me want to watch it all.  I dimly remember my parents watching it but I don't think it has been shown since.

I wonder how was made this film...Did you enjoy it? Did you have good sense from it? Was it real story or not realy?

Well I don't know that much about Sissi so can't be sure how accurate it was, but ithis was a highly regarded tv series from the 70s  with some of the UK's best actors in it.    This episode  was mostly about her marriage to Frank Joseph  and her love of Hungary and her relationship with her mother in law sophie.  Worth a look if you could get the DVDs though.