Fall of the Eagles www.elisabeth-sissi.org

[deedragongirl]

I also read that she (Sissi) accused her niece for being a negotiator to Rudolf and Mary, is this true?

[dht23]

@deedragongirl Yes. Sissi's niece, named Marie, introduced Mary and Rudolf. She also was their go between. Marie covered for Mary's departure to Mayerling (there are even some rumors Rudolf paid her when she got nervous). After Mayerling Sissi never spoke to Maire again, and Marie had been her favorite niece.

[samk1101]

This is not the Empress Elisabeth made famous by Romy Schneider. What you have here is a tough, intelligent woman with a brutal and ruthless streak. She was every inch an empress.

[vonFalkenstein77]

Rachel Gurney was just GREAT. *****

[Lytton333]

Well I'll be blowed.. it's Mrs Bellamy of 165 Eaton Place!

[soulgirl66]

@Lytton333 Wow...it really is her! I had to take another look. Her facial expression are so much harsher in this scene that I hardly recognized her. She looks nothing like Lady Marjorie here.

[vonFalkenstein77]

@soulgirl66

If Upstairs Downstairs had not started in 1903 but several years before that´s how Lady Marjorie´s/Rachel Gurney´s costumes could have looked like.

[vonFalkenstein77]

@Lytton333

Not MRS Bellamy but Lady Marjorie Bellamy.

[BPFanatico]

I wish they hadn't made Sissi like this.

[kieran196]

@BPFanatico Lady Bellamy not mrs!

[Elisabetta611]

Strangely enough, some of the personal accusations aside, this is pretty much how this confrontation played out. She did accuse Mary of poisoning Rudolf. She did tell the Baroness to keep her mouth shut. And she also told her that the official story would be heart failure.

[BPFanatico]

@Elisabetta611 You mean it was true?

[Elisabetta611]

@BPFanatico Those things were true. But she was far less spiteful & cruel about it.

[Gingermaus]

This is a very weird movie. Franz Joseph is fat, Sisi blonde, Taffe her best friend...

[BPFanatico]

No offense, but I hate how this Sisi is potrayed here. She's so domineering and very spiteful! She's like a spoilt brat here!

[emlodik]

@BPFanatico Well, Sisi WAS spoilt and spiteful, but not at this point. She was far too consumed by her own inner self-loathing and misery to act the way she did in this show.

[BPFanatico]

@emlodik From what evidence was she spoilt and spiteful?

[emlodik]

@BPFanatico Just read any of her current biographies, documentaries and letters from her children/ladies-in-waiting. SIsi wasn't an innocent persecuted fairy tale princess she's always made out to be. She was much more complex and fascinating.

[SapphireCrusader1988]

@BPFanatico She's angry, but trying to restrain herself. Her only son is dead, and she's in the presence of the mother of the woman who killed him.

[theflowerpower01]

First of all,thank you to show this nice piece(that I rememerd of the 70's).There's a lot of contraverse of the dead of Rudolph and Marie, personaly I never believe it was suicide but murder.That Elisabeth comes hard over that's not a suprise, she lost in a short time many family and friends and at the most she wanted a divorse.Many forget that she did many good works and came up for the rights of woman and children.

[BPFanatico]

She wanted a divorce from Franz Joseph??? That's so sad! But why actually?

[theflowerpower01]

Yes, she wanted a divorce, why? Because she was unhappy, hated the Vienna court and hated infact royals.She even found a " replacement " Katherina Schratt" for her husband.She was not a lot in Vienna and was mostly abroad where she was also got murdered by the anarchist Luigi Lucheni in Geneve (Switserland).That she wanted a divorce was long time kept secret but it came to light when the time limit was up and direct ancestors where dead.

[BPFanatico]

But their relationship are warm right?

[theflowerpower01]

In the first years of their mariage yes, later not.She was fed-up, he loved her till she died.The real story is not like in the films, life for her was not all the rose shine and romantic, that's why she ran away so many times of the court.

[emlodik]

@theflowerpower01 Actually, towards the end of her life, Sisi established a warm and caring platonic relationship with Franz Joseph. They hardly so each other, but kept in touch through letters. I really feel sorry for Franz Joseph, pining away for so many years after a person who simply couldn't return the affection. I can relate, actually.

[theflowerpower01]

Yes, they had correspondence via letters, I know all that, but it was not all that warm, their where also some sacastic and cryptic letters not without reason.

[BPFanatico]

Really, from what source???

[theflowerpower01]

Read the books, there so many and then I mean not the ones of the films.

[BPFanatico]

Have you try Wikipedia or watch the musical?

[theflowerpower01]

I don't like the Musical, too commercial(still with my deepest respect for all the actors), but I can see why they did.

Wikipedia is mostly historical right, still the comparnes with Diana I don't agree, they where totally different in every way.

[BPFanatico]

@theflowerpower01 really, but still she established a warm relationship with him.

[HouseOnSunset]

I didn't like the way Sisi was portayed during the "Mayerling" episode... I hardly think she was ball busting power bitch at the time (or ANY time) as portrayed.

[hochkelewinter]

hehe i tought the same years ago but real Sissi was a little bicth, im not saying she was a bad woman, but had an egotistical thing

[HouseOnSunset]

Oh, she WAS! But at this point, she was a completely broken, shut-in woman. She wasn't even in Austria when it happened! She refused to believe Rudolf was dead and most certainly wouldn't bitch out poor Mary Vetsera's mother the way she did in the mini-series.

[BPFanatico]

I must agree with you.......you mean to say that Sissi was in Hungary at the time she heard the news that her son died?

[HouseOnSunset]

Not sure about that... She might've also been at her vacation villa at Corfu. But one thing for certain she was so depressed and empty by fifty, she'd hardly have any strength to run around concealing evidence of her son's suicide and creating conspiracy scandals. In fact, the government kept her "under the mushroom principle" as well. Meaning, Sisi was also kept in the dark and fed bullshit, just like Mary Vetsera's mother and Rudolf's spouse.

[plkbvt1]

No, she was in Vienna at the time -- she was the one who broke the news to the emperor.

[emlodik]

Ah, I see... Still, I doubt she behaved as portrayed in the series.

[BPFanatico]

I don't think so

[ausart]

I saw this show years ago. It's excellent, but one of the most tragic stories Ive ever seen! You must see the whole show. This just begins to tell the entire tragedy that takes place in this episode!!!

[abacab65]

donde se puede ver esta serie doblada al español?

[gohanamoves]

i never seen this before its great :) 5*