Qquestion about graveside photosl
I have a couple of photos of OW that have to do with someone's funeral. One is by the graveside and there is a wreath on the grave. So it must be fresh. Does anyone know who it was that he was close to that died? I would like to know. Thank you!

Well, could be the grave of Werner Krauss... if it is the one I have in my head.. so to say.

hi!
I agree with Nici, of course........this lovely photo is somewhere on the internet, I forget which gallery of photos it´s in, but how he loved his mentor Werner Krauss! Elizabeth

Thanks!
I thank both of you!

Hi, Is this image ? It was in what year ? Do you know what year this picture was made ? Werner Krauss died in Vienna in 1959. Oskar was 37 years old. On the picture he seems to have more. It was toward the end of his life ? Friendly, Marie-Jeanne

Hmm 1982-1984.. I should take a look into my books, but it must have been around this time.

Thank you Nici, :) I think he knew he was in the process of leaving. All his attitude is like a long message he gave to his friend. My impression is that he didn't know if he could come back to see him. I think that picture before 1984, I'm not sure. On You Tube to this address : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXVieVzJXL4 there is a videoclip which can be seen at the end, an image just at the end. This picture is certainly in 1984, one of the last. We can see on his face that he seems so broken. We can feel he didn't go a long time in this wayand he knew it too. Friendly, Marie-Jeanne Je pense qu'il savait être à la fin de sa vie. Toute son attitude est comme un long message qu'il donnait à son ami. Mon impression est qu'il ne savait pas s'il reviendrait le voir. Je pense cette photo avant 1984, je ne suis pas sûre. A une adresse sur You Tube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXVieVzJXL4 il y a une vidéoclip qui montre à la fin, une image juste à la fin. La photo est certaienment de 1984, sur la fin. Nous pouvons voir sur son visage qu'il est si brisé. Nous pouvons sentir qu'il ne va pas aller longtemps sur ce chemin et il le sait aussi. Amicalement, Marie-Jeanne

This photo appears in Robert Dach's book "Ein Nacklang". So, it was probably taken during Oskar's really depressed time. I just checked the book cover and while it is not given a specific date of publication or preparation it had Oskar's cooperation. I would guess the photo might have been taken in '81 or '82. Werner Krauss was Oskar's "spiritual father" as far as his interest in the theater was concerned. Oskar was inspired very early by a performance by Krauss in "Don Karlos." Later, as Oskar remembered, he appeared with Krauss in that same play in the "Burg Theater". There is also a wonderful photo from Oskar's private collection of him with Werner Krauss on the terrace of Oskar's house in Triesen, Liechtenstein. That was taken in the mid-'50s probably not long before Krauss's passing. It is very apparent that the two are very fond of each other.

My Dear Pamela, I buy the book by Robert Dasch, in German. I come to realize that I have many affinities today with the German language that I found difficult in the past. I shall translate each day a piece of books in German speaking of Oskar. Vocabulary and German, and I listen a lot to Oskar more understand phonetic that I already knew a little. Oskar is in the process of the German teach me without his knowledge, through books about him and what I discovered on him. It's funny ! :) I will have books when I make french translation for myself, without wanting to translate for the others. It's very funny ! Here with you, I speak English, and all alone with Oskar by listening to him on CD or reading his biography, I learn the German! It would be nice if all the Oskar's fans doing the same thing ! Don't forget that for mim I wrote my first novel ! And for another I continued wrote after ! :D I make you a kiss my dear Pamela, Foundly to you. :) Friendly, Marie-Jeanne

Dear Marie-Jeanne - you do know that Oskar was fluent in French.... he did his own dialogue in "Jules et Jim." He was, in fact, something of a master in languages in general. He sent two former teachers of English running for a dictionary by his use of a certain word in a letter to me! It was very funny! Fondly Pam But, in Oskar's own use of his native language, he spoke with a quite different Viennese dialect. It is much softer than regular German. I sent a cd of him reciting poetry along with a soprano singing it to my cousin who actually was a teacher of English himself and had lived for a year in Germany. My cousin was absolutely thrilled with Oskar's voice and the difference the Viennese dialect made with the language.

My dear Pamela, :) I knew that Oskar spoke very well french. It's was his voice in Jules and Jim and his words in the film was his words because I saw he was true, so true that it was its words. With my heart Pamela :)

I only know that Oskar wasn't able to speak French during the filming of "Jules and Jim" he learned the words, phonetically.. and am also sure he wasn't able to speak French while filming of !"F 451"... so, when did he learn it? As for the Viennese dialect: He only spoke it softly at some poem recordings... on other occasions it can sound like a whip. ;) Actually Austrian-German, and mostly the Viennese dialects, are way harder than the German-German. But, of course you only recognize it, when you're used to German a lot. ;)

He would have learned it quite quickly after "Jules et Jim". His mother-in-law lived in Paris and he visited her there, also his wife, Anne, would have been fluent in it as well, having been born and raised, until her parent's divorce, in France. I am surprised that he hadn't learned it more for "Jules". Remember our laughing about what he said he felt when he met Truffaut for the first time? Using dogs as the images.... and how they sniff to see whether a new dog is a "nice" one? (Now, I suppose we will have others on the Forum picking up on this if they know much about dogs!) All the same, I wonder if he could have come to his conclusion then without some acquaintance with the language. Maybe not enough for the whole role. However, he was responsible for a lot of the dialogue in that film. As he said, "Whole pages... came from (him). What matters is that he did become fluent in several languages. So much so that he could use English better that two teachers of English! But, you know that story. And, "Fahrenheit" was filmed in England in English with English actors. By then he was fluent but that didn't help with the "auteur" Truffaut felt he had himself become by then.

Well, if Oskar would have been able to speak French fluent during "F 451" then, I think, there wouldn't have been that many missunderstandings with Truffaut. Truffaut was a genius. So was Oskar. I never doubt what Truffaut said about Oskar, and same for the opposite. What they said, was, what they saw... how they felt. Both raised more fame in the time between "J. & J." and "F 451". Truffaut seemed not to have had any troubles with Julie Christie for an example, though he couldn't speak a lot of English. Oskar also hadn't trouble with Truffaut during "J. & J." though he didn't understood a word of what he said, or what the director said to him... they couldn't talk a lot, but they managed to work with each other... so, whatever their problem was, it surely didn't only had something to do with the "language barrier". However... As for "J. & J.": Truffaut filmed the movie, and 3 months after it was finished, he let it dub by the actors. Truffaut said, that Oskar didn't understand much of what he said while filming, since he only spoke a few words. Later, during the dubbing, he understood a bit more of his text, and Truffaut said, how Oskar managed to play Jules, without understanding the essence of the text, showed what great actor he was. Well, sorry, I now talked about the filming of "J. & J." and of their work togehter, instead of talking about the languages he spoke.. but, well, it's very interesting for me.. so, please, forgive me. ;)

Hello Nici, concerning OW speaking French: I re-watched my Fahrenheit DVD - in the Bonus material the Producer Lewis M. Allan mentiones, that Julie Christie spoke French, because she had lived in French and "of course, Oskar Werner spoke French" -------- But of course, they don't mention, how well he spoke French. Both the Producer Lewis M. Allan and the Editor Tom Nobel are quite critical about Oskar's behaviour during shooting Fahrenheit. The producer told, that OW told Julie Christie already when meeting her the first time, how he ment her role should be played, not only his own role. I have thought a lot about what all the difficulties can have been influenced by and I got the idea, that the theme of Fahrenheit 451 might have provoked Oskar very deeply because of his own nightmare like experiences with Kristallnacht and his lifethreatening experiences during the war. Modern knowledge about how traumas have an impact on the human nerve system could give an understanding of Oskar's way of handling certain situations during shooting Fahrenheit. Maybe he felt an inner drive to re-experience certain experiences as a kind of self therapy. With or without his awearness of this aspect. This could highlighten his for Truffaut unacceptable behaviour/reactions. If that could work properly, Oskar would have needed a greater influence on how to make this movie. And if that was not possible better not taking on that role. - I can hardly believe, that Oskar only because of his success in Ship of Fools should have become more arrogant, as it was said. His intentions should have been understood. In that way, Truffaut, even he was a formidable filmmaker, he was not a good director for Oskar in that movie. Beeing a good director should involve a greater understanding of his actor even the director has the last word. - Several times it is mentioned, that Oskar's fear of the fire was big. Such emotions are often covered up by aggression or an intellectual discussion about what is right and wrong. - I really miss a biography of Oskar, taking in account these implications, not only in a descriptive way but with an understanding of all the different aspects of his character. Such a great actor as Oskar should be profoundly understood like great poets. Greetings to all of you from Susanne