Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)

Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach: Directed by Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub. With Gustav Leonhardt, Christiane Lang, Paolo Carlini, Ernst Castelli. The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.

“Most films about composers are awful. Really awful. Liszt, Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart–all dumbed down or hyped up by Hollywood. And then thereu0026#39;s Ken Russellu0026#39;s desecrations of Tchaikovksy and Mahler. By comparison this film might have come from another planet, not just a different country. I first saw it 35 years ago, and was delighted to find it as engrossing and moving as it was then. Itu0026#39;s about the music, stupid. But itu0026#39;s also about how grinding, tedious, and incredibly demanding Bachu0026#39;s everyday life was, while he wrote and performed some of the greatest creations of the human mind. And also how he was a family man, living an intense domestic life. Yes itu0026#39;s austere and demanding. But stay with it, itu0026#39;s worth it.”