Thanks for the memories!

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Okay, for a TV movie this one isn't very bad. Frankly, if you can see beyond that, it's actually relatively enjoyable. 1992 must have been Beethoven's year in cinema: we got a movie about a lovable St. Bernard named after the famous musician and this TV movie in the same year.'Beethoven Lives Upstairs' cannot be considered a biographical film, but more of an introduction to Beethoven aimed mostly at youngsters. This less than 60 minutes movie is not only about Beethoven but also about a high-society young boy named Cristoph. Guess what, Beethoven is Cristoph's upstairs neighbor, hence the film's title. Like most people, Cristoph can't stand living near Beethoven. Overhearing the noise all day long drives him crazy. For him, Beethoven is a fruitcake, literally. But when he learns that Beethoven has a miserable life, works very hard and wants to change the world with his music, he understands him better and develops a friendship with him.But, even though Beethoven wins the boy's respect, he doesn't convince everyone. Many people still cannot put up with Beethoven because he has a short temper. In real life, Beethoven was known for his temper as much as for his musical talent. People like Beethoven were poor, lonely and worked hard for their music, so it's understandable that they were bitter.This film was shot in Prague (Czech Republic) and Canada. Its cinematography is refined and classic, with unquestionable beauty. Illya Woloshyn is excellent as Christoph and he looks a lot like Kevin Zegers from 'Air Bud'. Neil Munro does a decent job as Beethoven. But there are some flaws, such as the fact that this movie says that Beethoven is working on his 7th Symphony when in reality he is working on the 9th.

This film was designed for children, and as a result, it is an excellent movie if used for that purpose only. Having said that, the fact that this film won any awards is beyond me.Pro: Neil Munro is to Beethoven as Tom Hulce was to Mozart (in Amadeus) - absolutely and perfectly dead-on! If one were to meet the real Beethoven, this is likely the person they would see.Cons: Everything else.Children might not notice the difference, and that's fine, but from a factual point of view, take this one with more than a grain of salt. There are so many errors and artistic liberties taken by Heather Conkie (who I respect for her work done, both past and present) that this film can never be taken as anything more than pure fiction with regards to Beethoven and his life.Examples: In the film, Beethoven says he's becoming deaf for six years. This would put his age at about mid-30's, yet the premise of the film is that he has just died. This wasn't about to happen for another 20+ years or so. Also, in the film, he is working on his 9th Symphony. Fact: it should have been his 7th, but Conkie has altered history for the sake of the children. And there's much more. So, in this respect alone, don't plan to do a master's thesis on the factual stuff in this film - it's mostly fiction.Then there's the acting itself, which ranges from wooden to horrible to outright poor. Illya Woloshyn as the young boy Christoph is just terrible, as is Albert Schultz as Uncle Kurt. Veteran actor Paul Soles almost makes a convincing Schindler, who in actual life was a more dominant personality, and the only one who could boss Beethoven around and get away with it. Sheila McCarthy's only good scenes are where she goes toe-to-toe with Munro's Beethoven, and these are worth the price of admission alone.So, providing this film is seen only by children up to the age of maybe 10, it's excellent. To anyone older, it's horribly misleading, slower than a glacier and historically butchered beyond the call of duty. Its only saving grace is that it's a children's film on Beethoven. And as far as I know, it's the ONLY one. Not hard to be number 1 in a group of 1.Caution: Watch at own risk.

I first saw this movie 12 years ago, as a first grade student. I didn't think much about it - it was a really neat movie, and I was jealous that Christoph got to meet someone who I'd always heard adults refer to with reverence and admiration. I don't think I really realized how much I'd enjoyed it until we were given the opportunity to buy the film. I didn't have enough saved to buy the VHS, but I could afford the cassette soundtrack. When it arrived I was so excited. I took it home and spent hours listening to the story over and over, until I could practically recite it word for word. As I grew up, I would occasionally stumble across it and listen to the story again with a smile. Now, as a freshman in college, I'm taking a course on Beethoven's Symphonies. I credit my interest to seeing this movie as a child. It's a fantastic film for children. Is it on the same level as Amadeus? No, but it's still very much worth watching, and is a great way to introduce the great classical composers to young minds.

This movie was told from the point of view of a child, as the title implies, and I believe it largely succeeds for that audience. It's easy to see how a child would find this imposing man frightening - he bosses people around and gets away with it, he's loud, he's peculiar, and he's very angry. The journey for the boy is from fear to awe, and seeing that the Beethoven's pain and struggle had a purpose: it was not madness at all. This is not a comprehensive portrayal of Beethoven, but shows younger viewers that people are not always what they appear, and are worth understanding. It also shows that great accomplishments sometimes have a high price associated with them.I found this movie while channel surfing, and it held my attention partially because it made frequent use of Beethoven's wonderful music.