Sissi (film)
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| Sissi | |
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 DVD Cover |
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| Directed by | Ernst Marischka |
| Produced by | Karl Ehrlich Ernst Marischka |
| Written by | Ernst Marischka |
| Starring | Romy Schneider Karlheinz Böhm Magda Schneider Uta Franz Gustav Knuth Vilma Degischer Josef Meinrad |
| Music by | Anton Profes |
| Release date(s) | 22 December 1955 |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Country | Austria |
| Language | German |
Sissi is a 1955 film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Gustav Knuth, Vilma Degischer and Josef Meinrad.
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[edit] History
It is the first of a trilogy of romantic films about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was known to her family as "Sisi" (but never "Sissi" as spelled in the title of the film), a term of endearment of her first name. The film is based on the play Sissys Brautfahrt by Ernst Décsey and Gustav Holm.
The movie was followed up in 1956 by Sissi – The Young Empress and Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress in 1957. The first movie of the trilogy was watched by around 20 to 25 million cinema viewers, making it one of the most successful German-speaking movies ever made. In 1962, a condensed version of the trilogy was released in English under the title Forever My Love.
The role of the young empress was Romy Schneider's big breakthrough as an actress. She became synonymous with her role, an image that was difficult for her to shake off as she progressed in her career. Schneider reprised the role of Elisabeth in Luchino Visconti's 1972 film Ludwig, this time portraying the empress as a mature woman with a slightly cynical view of her world.
The trilogy is a popular Christmas television special, and is shown on channels throughout German-speaking countries and Hungary.[1] The fact that the empress was born on Christmas Eve 1837 adds to the appeal. The success of the movie made the historical figure even more legendary as she entered popular culture. The wild popularity of the trilogy led to a tourism boom to places in Austria that are connected with her life, an appeal that still holds today. The popularity of her led to creation of the musical Elisabeth in 1992, which became the most successful German-language musical of all time. The 2007 animated film Lissi is a parody of the trilogy.
The movie has been dubbed in languages such as English, Spanish and Japanese.
[edit] Plot
Princess Elisabeth, lovingly called Sissi, is the second oldest daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. She grows carefree with her seven siblings in the family seat Possenhofen Castle on the shores of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria. The impetuous girl loves animals and nature and spent a happy childhood without the usual constraints connected to her status as a royal.
Together with her mother and her older sister Helene (called Néné), the 16-year-old Sissi travels from Possenhofen to the summer spa resort of Bad Ischl in Upper Austria. Ludovika's sister, Archduchess Sophie, is the mother of the young emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. On the initiative of the emperor's mother, Helene is called to meet her cousin, the young emperor Franz Joseph in the imperial villa, to be immediately engaged to him. Sissi is unaware of the real reason for the journey and is not allowed by her mother to participate in any social events in Bad Ischl due to her rebellious ways. So she ends up spending her free time fishing in the forest.
The two meet by chance, as the arriving emperor has no idea that the pretty girl is his younger cousin Sissi. He takes a liking to her and invites her for the afternoon for a hunting trip in the Alps. They meet and spend a wonderful time in the mountains, talking and getting to know each other. She ends up falling in love with him but does not reveal her true identity. At this meeting, the surprised Sissi learns of the planned marriage of Franz Joseph with her older sister Néné. Wistfully however the young emperor confesses that he envies the man who will one day get to marry Sissi instead, as he does not feel a connection to Néné. Upon hearing this indirect declaration of love, she becomes distraught due to her loyalty to her older sister. She runs away from him without any further explanation and leaves him back puzzled.
As they return to their residence, Néné airs the secret of the trip to Bad Ischl: to become engaged with Franz Joseph the same evening. Sissi will also attend this social high point with a ball in honour of the birthday of the emperor.
At his birthday party, Franz Joseph is suddenly confronted by the appearance of Sissi in the presence of her mother and sister, realizing who she in reality is. He tries to talk to her, now openly confessing his love and asks her to marry him. In order not to hurt her sister Néné, she rejects him. Franz Joseph however, openly defies his mother's reservations and Sissi's resistance and announces to the surprise of every guest present their betrothal. The spurned Néné is heartbroken and leaves the ball in tears, while Sissi is in a state of shock but has to accept the emperor's wishes.
Back in her native Possenhofen, the wedding preparations are in full swing. However, Sissi can not look forward to her impending marriage, as the hurt Néné has left home for an indefinite period. However, just as Sissi is about to break off the engagement for the sake of her older sister, Néné returns as she has just fallen in love with her new suitor, Maximilian Anton, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis. Overjoyed, the two sisters reunite and Néné gives her blessings to Sissi, now opening her way to her marriage and future happiness.
For the wedding ceremony Sissi travels with her entire family on board the steamboat "Franz Joseph" down the river Danube to Vienna. The people line the banks of the river and joyfully wave flags and cheer on their future empress. In a grand procession, Sissi enters the city in a gilded carriage and the dream wedding between her and Franz Joseph takes place in the Augustinian Church on April 24, 1854.
[edit] Filming locations
Filming took place on the original locations of the empress's life such as Schönbrunn Palace, the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl and St. Michael's Church, Vienna.
[edit] Starring
- Romy Schneider – Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria, later Empress Elisabeth of Austria, called Sissi
- Karlheinz Böhm – Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
- Magda Schneider – Duchess Ludovika of Bavaria, Sissi's mother
- Uta Franz – Princess Helene of Bavaria, called Nené, Sissi's older sister
- Gustav Knuth – Duke Max of Bavaria, father of Nené and Sissi
- Vilma Degischer – Archduchess Sophie, Franz Joseph's mother
- Josef Meinrad – Gendarmerie-Major Böckl
- Erich Nikowitz – Archduke Franz Karl, Franz Joseph's father
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Sissi I. – A magyarok királynéja", www.port.hu
[edit] Further reading
- Heidi Schlipphacke: Melancholy Empress: Queering Empire in Ernst Marischka's „Sissi“ Films. In: Screen. 51, 3, 2010, ISSN 0036-9543, 232–255.
[edit] External links
- Sissi at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Site (German)
