"Quartet" - Dustin Hoffman's first film director

Older people get shiny eyes when there is talk of the film “Die Matipepfung” , the day of some young people in the 1970s was essentially determined to emulate the title hero.

The first critical examination of uncomfortable history experienced these years through the “marathon man” , the first idea of ​​an inconsistency of the gender roles with “tools” , the perhaps failure of the almost equally equal relationship in “Kramer against Kramer” , the full-safe failure of the in reality only exploited careerists in “death of a traveling traveler” and the first encounter with the loneliness Or bring with it illness or disability, in “Rain Man” .

Dustin Hoffman can be seen as a strikingly good actor in all of these films, as a shy lover, morally and physically untouchable marathon man, silly program, career and insensitive father, frustrated representative and as brilliant and sensitive actors in the difficult role of an autistic man. So you certainly don't want to miss him.

Hoffman is also a term as an actor, with films such as “Sleepers”, “Confidence”, “The verdict”, “My wife, her in -laws and I”, “Das Perfum”, Barney's version ”and many more he was also a guest on the cinema screen in the past decade.

Dustin Hoffman's debut as a film director

On Sunday, January 20, 2013, at 11 a.m. in the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a new era started, for Dustin Hoffman and for his fans: the German premiere of "Quartet" , Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut .

This also celebrated a film in the Deutsche Oper Berlin premiere for the first time, and there is a reason that this premiere took place in a large opera house: "Quartet" is a film that celebrates classical music and life (with music).

The plot illuminates the really quiet event in a residence for former opera singers. The retirement seat for these opera singers was donated by the opera composer Guiseppe Verdi , and of course a concert is held here every year for the Verdi's birthday.

A concert that is occupied with the inmates, singers of very ripe age who do not always want to admit their perceptible restrictions.

The line -up is just as brilliant as far as Hollywood: Maggie Smith , with over 50 prices spoiled British actor legend, plays the consistently bitchy opera star Jean in old age; To visit and immediately chose the star of the planned concert, but also endangered everything with his ego center.

In addition, she almost brings the nerves of her once spotted ex-husband Reginald to tear, an almost calming role, presented by Tom Courtenay sensitively. The two have other long-term known in the residence, Cecily and Wilfred, the four were formerly a famous opera quartet.

Cedric Livingstone, the director of the Verdi-Gala, cannot miss such a publicity opportunity. He is played by the Irish actor Michael Gambon , whom most of us know better than Professor Albus Dumbledore, here he is just as happy as a stubborn and tireless perfectionist.

But Cecily ( Pauline Collins ) is a little arguing, and Wilfred ( Billy Connolly ) can actually only be described as too old for his eternal all -howen alles ... You can already imagine that there is a lot going on when preparing this gala.

Of course, a lot can be heard of Verdi (who really celebrates his 200th birthday this year), as the whole story goes back to the fact that Verdi really launched an old -age home for an aging opera singer: The Casa Di Riposo via Musicisti in Milan, who was already known as Casa Verdi, which was already worldly known through the internationally inspiring documentary film "Il Bacio di Tosca" (Daniel Schmid, 1984).

The story for “quartet” was also stimulated by the documentary, and in the film, Hoffmann was able to convey his reverence before the aging singers and before the great music so well that tears flowed at the premiere in the audience.

The aging and anger over it gives a lot of fabric for touching scenes, but also for pithy sayings, if e.g. B. to Reginald “Opera is when a man gets a knife in the back and does not die, but sings” or if Cecily puts the quote from Bette Davis, after “aging is not for wimps”.

As a pleasant side effect, it should be noted that in “Quartet” the Rigoletto quartet “Bella Figlia dell'amore” and the drinking song from La Traviata can be heard, while the prisoner choir from Nabucco is saved, which is not very suitable for older voices and thus provides embarrassing scenes in “Il Bacio”.

Dustin Hoffman Langer and Dorniger Weg followed

Why Dustin Hoffman only gives his directorial debut at the age of 75 has explained in the interviews about the film premieres. So we learn from decades of wrestling, who repeatedly addressed themselves: do I have the talent to the director?

Dustin Hoffman represents his way to the director as traumatic: "Like every person, I have my demons that I have to fight against. One of these demons was managed." However, it comes to the calming conclusion "and now that I have finally done it, I ask myself: Why have I waited so long?" ( www.zeit.de/2013/02/dustin-hoffman-quartet-kinofilm ).

We also ask ourselves that, or maybe not if we belong to the age group that know about Hoffman's first attempt at the first director in 1978. In “hour of probation”, Hoffman had fully committed himself to handing over the direction of his friend Ulu Grosbard as a director, leading actor and in every production detail from the screening with the authors to the casting in the middle of the shoot and to be given to his friend Ulu Grosbard.

That was 35 years ago, as long as Hoffman was considered "the guy who didn't pack it in Hollywood.", Or at least felt like that. Although it should not be assumed that he was not asked again and again on the topic that he was not again and again to try again as a director, but he was also unable to overcome himself with fabrics that he himself worked on.

Hoffman would probably have driven better if he had dared to have his director disputes with Sidney Pollock when shooting Totsie are legendary and, in addition to the “director's failure” label, also brought him the call to be complicated.

His wife also noticed that the actor was actually becoming more and more complicated: Hoffman had almost no role in the past four years because the script, director or occupation did not agree. His wife was pushing, Hoffman even started therapy, and his agent simply did not accept his rejection to the director at Quartet.

Perhaps he only took over the director at “Quartet” because his wife has annoyed him enough, maybe he took the chance to be in the spotlight after the age -based decrease in Hollywood (which the younger, which has always been younger, had to accept from the age of 60)?

Even if he had no vanity, the talented enthusiast would certainly like to work, and if he was supposed to appear as a supporting actor, he may have little desire to live this more rudimentarily elaborated Hollywood roles without appreciation and payment and to breathe in.

We probably come closest to the puzzle of conversion when we assume that Hoffman has finally dared to take the directorial work in order to continue to be able to deliver high -quality work.

And that is exactly what he did: The entire implementation is funny and British and fast -paced , the credible love for music gives the old people a meaning of life and the sometimes somewhat pitcher -over -loaded framework, and if they read or criticized in other reviews of too much “romantic transfiguration” that the impending death is not in full hardness, they do not interfere - probably the respective critic still has the whole Ignorance of the youth, and if they have grown out of teenage age, they will find this film intelligently and entertaining, even if the opera singers do not smell in blood or crucal death in front of their eyes.

Hoffman said in an interview about his directorial debut: "It took me a long time to understand how important things are for us that we like to do. And that it is not just about what comes out in the end." ( www.zeit.de ).

Critics mentioned should be wished that they approach such knowledge somewhat more than him.

“Quartet” started in German cinemas on January 24, 2013, more information about this and excerpts from this worthwhile film can be found at www.quartet-derfilm.de .