Taking Sides Page #2

Synopsis: A tale based on the life of Wilhelm Furtwangler, the controversial conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic whose tenure coincided with the controversial Nazi era. One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 30s, Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order--and justice--to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing. Orchestra members vouch for Furtwangler's morality--he did what he could to protect Jewish players from his orchestra. To the Germans, deeply respectful of their musical heritage, Furtwangler was a demigod; to Major Arnold, he is just a lying, weak-willed Nazi.
Genre: Drama, Music, War
Director(s): István Szabó
  9 wins & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.2
Metacritic:
61
NOT RATED
Year:
2001
108 min
511 Views


WALLACE:

Well, they say here that when you

went on a case, you stayed on it.

(looks up at Steve.)

Now we can't take every Nazi in

this country to trial, although I

would like to; it's an

impossibility. So we're going for

the big boys in industry, education,

law, culture.

STEVE:

Like this bandleader.

WALLACE:

(a smile)

Well, he's more than just a

bandleader, Steve. He's a great

conductor, a gifted artist. But we

believe that he sold himself to

the devil. Your number one priority

from this moment on is to connect

him to the Nazi Party. Don't be

impressed by him. I want the folks

back home to understand why we

fought this war. Find Wilhelm

Furtwängler guilty. He represents

everything that was rotten in

Germany.

Steve wants to rise, but Wallace puts a hand on his shoulder

to make him sit again.

WALLACE:

Stay put, Steve. There is some

other stuff that I'd like for you

to see here. Background.

He nods to the projectionist, then starts to go, but stops.

WALLACE:

Oh, one thing that may be a problem.

Our Occupation Authorities in

Wiesbaden have a duty to help these

poor unfortunates with their

defence. They keep repeating: 'We

must be just, we must be seen to

be just.' Well, I've only one thing

to say to the liberals in Wiesbaden:

f*** 'em.

(as he goes)

You answer to no one but me. Is

that understood?

(to the projectionist

in the door)

Show him the film.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Ronald Harwood

Sir Ronald Harwood, CBE, FRSL (born Ronald Horwitz; 9 November 1934) is an author, playwright and screenwriter. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007). more…

All Ronald Harwood scripts | Ronald Harwood Scripts

0 fans

Submitted by aviv on November 02, 2016

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Taking Sides" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/taking_sides_403>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Taking Sides

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.