Gesualdo - Death for Five Voices

Starring:Pasquale D'Onofrio, Salvatore Catorano, Angelo Carrabs, Milva, Angelo Michele Trorriello, Raffaele Virocolo, Vincenzo Giusto, Giovanni Iudica, Walter Beloch, Principe d'Avalos, Antono Massa, Alan Curtis (III), Gennaro Miccio, Silvano Milli, Marisa Milli, Gerald Place
Director: Werner Herzog
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa (1560-1613), was not only insanely jealous (he murdered his unfaithful wife and her lover); he was insane, period. In this brilliantly directed documentary with expertly sung music, Werner Herzog explores Gesualdo's madness through his biography, visits to the sites of key events in his life, paintings, still-active gossip, and above all the music he composed--madrigals whose death-haunted texts and abrasive harmonies still have the power to shock.

Amazon.com

Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa (1560-1613), was not only insanely jealous (he murdered his unfaithful wife and her lover); he was insane, period. In this brilliantly directed documentary with expertly sung music, Werner Herzog explores Gesualdo's madness through his biography, visits to the sites of key events in his life, paintings, still-active gossip, and above all the music he composed--madrigals whose death-haunted texts and abrasive harmonies still have the power to shock.

Description

Werner Herzog's chilling story of sixteenth century composer Don Carol Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, whose life embraced sexual excess, ghastly murder and obsession. Filmed on location in Italy, the program explores both Gesualdo's musical legacy and the extraordinary influence his tormented life has continued to exert on those whose lives crossed his path. Contributors include Gerald Pace, director of The Gesualdo Consort, Alan Curtis, music director of the singing ensemble II Complesso Barocco, and Professor Ludica of the Archeological Museum in Venosa.

Customer Reviews:

Herzog at his quirkiest.......2003-12-30

The subject matter that Herzog had to play with fed straight into his sense of the absurd. Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices starts off as a straight-up documentary about a demented renaissance composer, but Herzog's twists are what make it memorable. Strange characters appear in Gesualdo's ruined castle. People begin to speak straight into the camera at odd moments. And Herzog's fine eye for the peculiar is at it's best here. His use of technology throughout the film is interesting.

Gesualdo..........gesUALdo.........GESUALDO!!.......2002-12-14

This DVD is wonderful in all its wonderfulness. Gesualdo, was perhaps the greatest musician to ever live. Not only did he compose wonderfulness, he was multi-talented in the areas of gardening (he chopped a measly country-side in a matter of 2 to 3 months), cooking (he prepared a meal for over 1000 people with 125 courses of quail), and murder. His music foreshadows the likes of such greats as Wagner, Jacopo Peri, Ignatz Stotmeiker, Stravinsky, and Charles Burney. We see the tortured soul of Gesualdo having an effect on present day pyschopaths. There is even a retarded boy riding a horse, and a young child being chained and flying through the air while forced to wear women's clothing.

In short, Gesualdo is the most imortant (besides Franz Tunder, Walter Von de Vogelwiede, and Busnois) who ever graced God's green Earth (which, incidently, is less green because of Gesualdo's wacking).

If I could give this 23 stars I would give it 17 and a half, but that's still more than the five I gave it here.

ONE OF HERZOG'S FUNNIEST & A GREAT INTRO TO THE MUSIC.......2001-12-30

I almost can't believe that GESUALDO is out on DVD. This is one of Herzog's funniest documentaries. I'd never heard of Gesualdo before, but the film made me a huge fan of his music. He led a crazy life and made some hauntingly beautiful polyphony--all of it is shown with the expected immediacy and weird humor by master filmmaker Werner Herzog.

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