Elisabeth - Wien 1992 - English subtitles [7/11]

Wien 29.08.1992 dress rehearsal

Wir oder sie | Nur kein Genieren | Maladie/Die letzte Chance
__________

Obligatory brothel scene: check!

__________

EXPOSITION/NOTES:
[17] "A ringleader advanced.../...to a minister of state!"
Likely refers to Count Gyula Andrássy (1823 – 1890), a Hungarian statesman who, in 1867, with Elisabeth's backing became Prime Minister of Hungary.

[18] "...she rules like a Pompadour!"
Madame de Pompadour (1721 – 1764) chief mistress of French king Louis XV and, later, his close friend and confidant. While having little official political influence, she was able to gather a network of supporters and wielded considerable power behind the scenes.

[19] "Instead of Goethe or Schiller.../...she recites Heine!"
A serious offence indeed seeing as Goethe and Schiller are some of the most iconic/well-known German writers while Heine's more radical works were banned.

[20] "I will, myself, undertake.../...delivering a Circe to him"
In the Greek epic poem Odyssey, the hero Odysseus is steadfast and unrelenting in his attempt to return home to his faithul wife Penelope, except for that one entire year he spends feasting and sharing a bed of a powerful sorceress named Circe. Because why not.

[21] "One.../...known as the French disease."
Anemia, fever and dizzy spells are not exactly the most prominent symptoms of secondary syphillis and Elisabeth's bad health is only speculated to be a result of a veneral disease instead of constant stress she was under, but I suppose we just have to trust the personification of death on this one. You'd assume he'd know.
__________

CAST:
Pia Douwes (Elisabeth), Uwe Kröger (Death), Ethan Freeman (Luigi Lucheni), Viktor Gernot (Franz-Joseph), Else Ludwig (Sophie), Andreas Bieber (Rudolf)