Bavaria, 1854. Along with her seven brothers and sisters, the Princess
Elisabeth, affectionately known as Sissi, leads a happy and carefree life
at her family estate on the bank of Lake Starnberg. She is the second
eldest daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria. On a visit to
the spa town of Bad Ischl, Elisabeth's elder sister Helene is invited
to the imperial residence of the Emperor Franz Josef so that an engagement
between the young couple can be arranged. Not long afterwards, Franz
Josef has a chance encounter with Sissi and finds himself strongly attracted
to her. Realising that it is she the emperor has fallen in love with
and not her older sister Sissi takes flight, but by now her admirer has already
made up his mind to marry her...
Music: Anton Profes, Frédéric Chopin, Georg Friedrich Händel
Cast:Romy Schneider (Princess Elisabeth, aka Sissi),
Karlheinz Böhm (Kaiser Franz Joseph), Magda Schneider (Duchess Ludovika),
Uta Franz (Princess Helene), Gustav Knuth (Duke Max in Bavaria),
Vilma Degischer (Archduchess Sophie), Josef Meinrad (Gendarmerie-Major Böckl),
Erich Nikowitz (Archduke Franz Karl), Karl Fochler (Graf Grünne),
Franz Böheim (Johann Petzmacher),
Country: Austria
Language: German
Runtime: 102 min
The best of Japanese cinema
The cinema of Japan is noteworthy for its purity, subtlety and visual impact. The films of Ozu, Mizoguchi and Kurosawa are sublime masterpieces of film poetry.
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.