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Intermezzo |  | Director: Gregory Ratoff
Actors: Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best, John Halliday, Cecil Kellaway
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $6.98
as of 11/27/2009 20:25 CST details
You Save: $8.00 (53%)
New (12) Used (2) from $6.98
Seller: djk_media
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 19219
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 70 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 1006180
ISBN: 0792862139
UPC: 027616903822
EAN: 9780792862130
ASIN: B0002KPHXS
Theatrical Release Date: September 22, 1939
Release Date: October 19, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Ingrid Bergman made her radiant Hollywood debut in this David O. Selznick-produced remake of a 1936 Swedish film, in which she played the same role, a gifted piano teacher. Leslie Howard costars as the brilliant violinist whose world tours often take him from the flow of life within his own family. Married to a fine woman (Edna Best) and blessed with two wonderful children, Howard's character only begins to realize that so much is passing by him when he falls for his concert pianist (Bergman). During a Riviera holiday, the two illicit lovers bask in passion while privately agonizing over the collapse of their separate destinies. Can two people find happiness built on the unhappiness of others? That's the question asked by the sage friend (Cecil Kellaway) whom they both share. In the same year Selznick cast Howard in Gone with the Wind, the sophisticated actor did a fine, sympathetic job penetrating the lost and tormented heart of his character in Intermezzo. But it is Bergman--the very picture of spring and a magnificent avatar of the perpetual conflict between mind and heart--who ultimately gives this film its soul. The Selznick machine, with its top-drawer production values and the dreamy gloss of its human stories, makes this film a more poignant experience than the average weepie. --Tom Keogh
Description
"Eloquent, sensitive, poignant" (The New York Times), this romantic and heartbreaking film has an "absorbing power" (Los Angeles Times). Legendary OscarÂ(r) winner* Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca), in her first English-speaking role, and Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind) star in this "well-acted, expertly written" (Motion Picture Herald) tale that proves that music is indeed the food of love. Renowned violinist Holger Brandt (Howard) is delighted to be back with his family after a long tour. But when he meets his daughter's piano teacher, Anita (Bergman), and hears her play, he is captivated. Despite the devastating toll on his family, Holger and Anita begin a musical partnership that quickly becomes a passionate romance. But are they meant to live in harmony forever or is this merely an intermezzo? *1956: Actress, Anastasia, 1944: Actress, Gaslight; 1974: Supporting Actress, Murder on the Orient Express
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
Pleasant but Unremarkable Love Story that Introduced Ingrid Bergman to America. August 12, 2009
mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA)
"Intermezzo" is a tale of forbidden love, running only 70 minutes, that introduced Ingrid Bergman to American audiences in 1939. It's a remake of a 1936 Swedish film that also starred Bergman in the role of a young woman who falls in love with a married man. Holger Brandt (Leslie Howard) is a concert violinist who spends most of his time away from his family, touring with his accompanist Thomas Stenborg (John Halliday). But Stenborg plans to retire, so Brandt retreats to his country home to be with his family for a while. There, he is introduced to his young daughter's piano teacher, Anita Hoffman (Ingrid Bergman). Holger is taken with Anita's playing and then with her charm, but their illicit affair threatens to come between Holger and the family he holds dear.
The film feels like a vignette. It captures the brief interlude that Anita and Holger share between the greater acts of their lives: the intermezzo. It is sentimental, not only about their affair, but in particular in regards to Holger's family. It isn't quite sappy, though. We never know much about the emotional lives of the characters beyond their feelings for each other, but "Intermezzo" is entertaining enough, and Ingrid Bergman is radiant. Anita doesn't have the glamour or worldliness of some of the characters that would later make Bergman famous, but it's easy to see what made her a movie star. "Intermezzo" looks good and sounds good, thanks to a musical score by Max Steiner. The MGM 2004 DVD has no bonus features, but the print is good. Subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish.
 A Harlequin Romance for the screen January 9, 2009
AB in DBQ (Iowa, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Given what great scores this flick gets in all the databases, I was shocked at how poor INTERMEZZO is. Sure, Bergman is gorgeous, but that isn't enough to compensate for the trite plotting, two-dimensional characters, and laughable dialogue. Want a strong romance from 1939? Try DARK VICTORY. A 1939 pageant? GONE WITH THE WIND. A 1939 comedy? NINOTCHKA. 1939 Family fare? THE WIZARD OF OZ. 1939 was a fantastic year for movies, so go buy/rent/watch something with a little creativity behind it, and stear clear of this time-waster.
"I have been an intermezzo in his life." September 7, 2008
Samantha Kelley (USA)
This movie is a remake of a Swedish film which introduced Ingrid Bergman to American audiences. Selznick Studios liked her so much, they brought her to Hollywood to make Intermezzo in English. The story is about a middle aged musician (Leslie Howard) who falls in love with his daughter's piano teacher (Bergman). He leaves his wife to be with her and the two share happy but fleeting moments together in France. There are times when the story becomes overly dramatic, but what it lacks in believability it makes up for in visual opulence.
Not only does Intermezzo benefit from a beautiful cast and beautiful music, director Gregory Ratoff does an excellent job of making each frame look artistic. Both of the stars are give many gorgeous close-ups and their beauty helps the love story seem believable. The two just glow when they are with each other.
 An "Intermezzo" of Romance August 25, 2007
Bklyn gal (Bklyn, NY)
This film packs a wallop of romance! Starring Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind) and Ingrid Bergman(Casablanca). Howard plays a sensitive violinist who falls in love with Ingrid Bergman- the only problem is that he is married and she is his daughter's music teacher. Despite these "complications," there love of music and each other prevail. His wife never really undertsood him and despite her desperately wanting to bridge the gap between them, there is a part of him that he could never really share. He found his soul's refuge in Bergman's arms and leaves his wife and two small children to be with her. Bergman undertsood him completely because, in many ways, they were two sides of the same coin with same outlook on life, love, and music. They tour the country together and end up living in Europe as lovers.
Dilemma arises when Bergman is offered a prestigous scholarship to further her musical study and Howard's divorce papers arrive from his wife. Are they willing to cast all else aside in order to be together? Is Howard ready to sever ties with his family and is Bergman going to give up the chance of a lifetime?
The film is a romantic journey through the perils and pitfalls of loving the wrong people. Sometimes love comes in as an "intermezzo" to reality, but whether or not it endures is hardly the point. The point is that it happened- and you remember.
Small-Scale Love Story Offers Fresh-Faced Bergman in Her American Debut September 13, 2006
Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The familiar David O. Selznick gloss is all over this minor 1939 soap opera, most noteworthy as the American film debut of 24-year old Ingrid Bergman. She was brought over from Sweden by Selznick for this melodramatic remake of the 1936 film which brought her great acclaim in her homeland. Her fresh-faced beauty and natural manner are intoxicating as she plays Anita Hoffman, first a piano teacher to the young daughter of renowned violinist Holger Brandt and then his accompanist on a world tour. It's a brief movie, only seventy minutes long, directed by Gregory Ratoff (more famous as the ulcer-ridden producer Max in "All About Eve") focusing on the illicit affair that develops between Anita and Holger.
Much of the story has to do with the guilt they both experience in terms of the familial repercussions, and the ending reflects as much. A role away from his Ashley Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind", obviously the more important Selznick movie in production a the time, Leslie Howard plays Holger in his familiar erudite manner. Veteran character actor Cecil Kellaway (later the monsignor in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner") plays the sage maestro who acts as the film's conscience. Scenes often seem strangely truncated to move the story briskly along. Beyond Bergman, the most accomplished aspects of the film are Gregg Toland's lush cinematography, Lyle Wheeler's art direction (making Monterey, California look very much like the Italian Riviera) and Max Steiner's romantic music (oddly uncredited). But the impossibly striking Bergman is the primary reason to see this predictably developed film. The 2004 DVD offers no extras.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
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