A story in last Friday's Wall Street Journal (10/15) in the Weekender
section ran a story on motion picture biographies appearing soon in a
theater near you, or those in the planning stages.  Within the article,
it was mentioned that a possible biopic about Beethoven's final years
could be given a green light.  Certainly LvB's life contains considerable
dramatic fodder for a motion picture, but the final years?  I'm not sure.
Perhaps the contrast between the sordid nephew Karl custody dispute, and
the soaring nature of Beethoven's creative output from 1817 thru 1826...the
Ninth Symphony, the last piano sonatas, the last string quartets, the
"Missa Solemnis...would portray the gulf between an artist's personal
life and his creative output.  It's the basis for many books for sure,
but a motion picture?  "Amadeus" to the contrary notwithstanding, I don't
think such a portrayal could be achieved in the motion-picture format.

Laurence Glavin
Methuen, MA