Mahler (1974)

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Average Rating: 3.8/5

User Ratings: 679

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Movie Info

Robert Powell as famed composer Gustav Mahler dons blackface and sings "Mammy" at one point in Ken Russell's maddening burlesque of his life. Framed by flashbacks during Mahler's train journey towards his deathbed in 1911 Vienna, Russell permits glimpses of the composer's life through a series of moving and/or ridiculous snippets: Mahler is seen to have had an oppressive childhood --which is reflected in his early compositions; his grudgingly taking up the conductor's baton so that he can find time to compose his symphonies; his confused relationship with his wife; his conversion to Judaism; his obsession with death. And yet through it all, Russell manages to convey the loneliness of the artistic soul.

Rating:

PG
Genre:

Drama, Musical & Performing Arts
Directed By:

Ken Russell
Written By:

Ken Russell
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 1974 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 4, 2006
Runtime:

115 minutes
Studio:

Criterion Collection

Cast

Robert Powell
as Gustav Mahler

Georgina Hale
as Alma Mahler

Richard Morant
as Max

Lee Montague
as Bernhard Mahler

Rosalie Crutchley
as Marie Mahler

Benny Lee
as Uncle Arnold

Miriam Karlin
as Aunt Rosa

Angela Down
as Justine

Terry O'Quinn

David Collings
as Hugo Wolfe

Ronald Pickup
as Nick

Antonia Ellis
as Cosima Wagner

Kenneth Colley
as Krenek

Arnold Yarrow
as Grandfather

Dana Gillespie
as Anna von Mildenburg

Elaine Delmar
as Princess

Michael Southgate
as Alois Mahler

Otto Diamant
as Prof. Sladky

Gary Rich
as Young Mahler

Peter Eyre
as Otto

George Coulouris
as Dr. Roth

Andrew Faulds
as Doctor On Train

David Trevena
as Dr. Richter

Sarah McLellan
as Putzi

Claire McLellan
as Glucki

Oliver Reed
as Stationmaster

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Critic Reviews for Mahler

All Critics (4) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (0)

This is filmmaking -- and filmmaking of a kind we've rarely seen.

Jun 23, 2003 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Though the film like Mahler's music is clearly not for everyone it, nevertheless, rises in a crescendo of brilliant spectacle to overwhelm the usual timid biopic.

Jan 1, 2000 | Rating: A | Full Review…