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1938 Rosamarie Magdalena Albach is born in Vienna at the 23. september at 22.05 p.m. She is the first child from the married couple Magda Schneider and Wolf Albach-Retty who are both actors. (.)
In october the whole family moves from Vienna to Schönau at Berchtesgaden. Here Romy grows up under the eyes of her grandmother Maria Schneider while her mother has engagements. Her grandmother on her father`s side is the castle-actress Rosa Albach Retty who became 105 years on the 26. december 1979. The name of the paternal grandmother was originally Rosa Retty. "Retty" is the Vienna-form of the original hungarien family name. Rosa Retty was born in Berlin during an engagement of her parents who were also actors. After the marriage with a K.a.K.-officer named Albach she called herself Rosa Albach-Retty. Her son Wolfgang Albach then called himself Wolf Albach-Retty as an actor. Therefore Romy Schneider`s real name is Rosemarie Albach.
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The name Rosemarie is the combination of the names of the paternal grandmother, Rosa, and the maternal grandmother, Maria. Romy Schneider owns the German nationality. She was called "Romy" from earliest childhood. She was still called Rosemarie Albach in the times of her movie-debut. She was given the name Rosemarie Schneider-Albach as actress in her first movie which - was probably her mother`s idea. But some critics also wrote by mistake Rosemarie Albach Schneider. In publicity-articles about her first movie the short form "Romy" was often mentioned and in this way established in public. In her second movie "Feuerwerk" she was officially named "Romy Schneider".
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1940 The birth of her brother Wolf-Dieter (nickname: Wolfi) who is today living in Zurich as a surgeon.
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1943 The parents - who are married since winter 1963 - split up. Wolf Albach-Retty lives together with the actress Trude Marlen.
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1944 Romy starts school at Berchtesgaden in september.
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1945 After the end of the war Romy changes to the boarding school "Goldenstein" which is lead by the " young english ladies". The marriage of her parents is divorced in september.
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1953 Romy has her debut under the name Romy Schneider-Albach in summer. She plays at her mother`s side in the movie "Wenn der Weiße Flieder wieder blüht". Her screen-debut is so successful that she already gets engaged in autumn for her next movie "Feuerwerk" at the side of Lilli Palmer. Magda Schneider marries the restaurateur Hans Herbert Blatzheim from Cologne .
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1954 Romy Schneider is put on the short list in spring for a supporting role in the movie-project "Der Ziegeunerbaron" from Arthur Maria Rabenalts. But the role is filled with Waltraud Haas. In the summer Romy plays her first leading role. She is engaged by, the regisseur Ernst Marischka for the role "Mädchenjahre einer Königin". This performance of a monarch should not be without consequences.
1955 Romy Schneider is established in the German movie-industrie. After her movies "Die Deutschmeister" and "Der letzte Mann" she is able to enter the German star-system with "Sissi" which becomes a great success with the public. Everybody in Europe is mad about her - the young girls, the mothers and even the grandmothers.
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1956 The continuation "Sissi, die junge Kaiserin" is filmed in spring so that the dream can go on. The enthusiasm of the spectators has no limits - but Romy suspects something terribly. She takes over two leading roles in which she is save from the overhelming burden of the crown to free herself from the impending cliche: "Kitty und die große Welt" and "Robinson soll nicht sterben".
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1957 In spring she is for the first time in front of the camera in Paris (!) for the film "Monpti". It is a lovestory from Gabor von Vaszary. Vaszary writes a book named Romy about his meeting with Romy Schneider. But in summer the young runaway is called back to order from the regisseur Ernst Marischka and his still dreaming audience. Romy has no chance the crown must be back: "Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin". She can recover herself during the mild late season at Ischia as "Scampolo".
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1958 After the unfortunate remake of "Mädchen in Uniform" follows the even less unfortunate remake of "Liebelei" from Schnitzler with the title "Christine" which includes her first meeting with Alain Delon. The movie "Die Halbzarte" in autumn makes the suffering of her Sissi-audience finally complete.
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1959 Germany is loosing Romy Schneider this year: the officiel engagement with Alain Delon takes place at the 22. march. The German - French coproductions "Ein Engel auf Erden" and "Die schöne Lügnerin" succeed. But also the French cannot forget "Sissi" so that she plays "Katja - die ungekrönte Kaiserin" at the side of Curd Jürgens. At the end of summer Romy visits Alain Delon during tne shooting of "Nur die Sonne war Zeuge" and has a short appearance in one scene of the movie.
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1960 She comes back to Germany because of the request of the great Fritz Kortner. She plays the role of the Myrrhine in the original television film "Die Sendung der Lysistrata". Afterwards she goes to Milano to visit Alain Delon at his shooting of "Rocco und seine Brüder" and gets to know Luchino Visconti. This meeting is leading to a long lasting, mutual and close relationship which will change Romy Schneider`s life completly.
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1961 Visconti is able to convince Romy - who never accepted acting-lessons before - to stand for the first time on a stage. Although the stage play is in a language she loves but does not have a good command of. Visconti puts the elisabethanic incest-drama "Schade, daß sie eine Hure ist" from John Ford with her and Alain Delon on stage of the Theatre de Paris. After Romy Schneider - who weared herself out completly at the rehearsals - had an appendix operation the premiere takes place in Paris at the 29. march. Whole Paris is enthusiastic. The critics commend in particular Romy Schneider`s change towards a serious stage-actress. She films with Visconti the episode "Der Job" from the movie "Boccaccio `70" during the summer break of the theatre season. Visconti, Coco Chanel and the hairdresser Alexandre finish Romy`s metamorphose. In november she is shooting "Kampf auf der Insel" with Jean-Lonis Trintignant. The movie is directed by Alain Cavalier who is a close colaborator from Louis Malle. Afterwards she begins with the rehearsals for a theatre-tournee with the Compagnie Sacha Pitoöff: she plays the role of Nina in Tschechovs play "Die Möwe".
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1962 Romy takes a short guest appearance in the movie "L`Amour a la mer" from Guy Gilles. The shooting for "Der Prozeß" directed by Orson Welles starts in march. Afterwards Romy fims her first movie for Columbia which is called "Die Sieger". Romy takes a short guest appearance in the movie "L`Amour a la mer" from Guy Gilles. The shooting for "Der Prozeß" directed by Orson Welles starts in march. Afterwards Romy fims her first movie for Columbia which is called "Die Sieger".
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1963 She flies to the US in february for the American-start of "Boccaccio `70". Robert Rossen offers her the role of the Lilith which is later played by Jean Seberg. Otto Preminger who is a regisseur in Hollywood engages her for the female leading role in "Der Kardinal". Romy meets her parents - who became reconciled in the meantime - during the shooting in her home - town Vienna. In Paris she gets the prize for best foreign actress for her performance of the Leni in "Der Prozeß" in june. In autumn Romy moves to Hollywood and shoots the comedy "Leih mir deinen Mann" with Jack Lemmon.
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1964 The shooting for the movie "L`Enfer" starts in spring under the direction of Henri-Georges Clouzot who had to stop the shooting because of illness. The movie remains incomplete. The shooting for the movie "Die Tarnowska" - which Visconti tried to realize with Romy - suffers the same fate. Romy receives the audience-prize La Victoire du Cinema Francais out of Mchele Morgan`s hands in june. But the bad luck continous this year: Alain Delon and Romy split up. Romy gets nearly striked dead by a spotlight during the shooting for "Was gibt`s Neues, Pussy?" under the direction of Clive Donner
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1965 In spring Romy Schneider comes back to Germany. She takes part in the opening ceremony of the Europe-Center in Berlin where her stepfather "Daddy" Blatzheim opens a new restaurant. Romy meets Harry Meyen at this occasion who is an actor from Berlin and also a boulevard-regisseur. Their common theatre plans fall through ("Fräulein Julie") but the two stay close together for now on. In autumn Romy films the movie "Halb elf in einer Sommernacht" with Melina Mercouri and Peter Finch under the direction of Jules Dassin. She rejects Claude Lelouch`s offer to play the female leading role in "Ein Mann und eine Frau".
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1966 In the Ruhr district she films for the first time with her future accomplice Michel Piccoli the movie "Schornstein Nr.4" from march to may. This is follwed by the movie "Spion zwischen zwei Fronten" from the James Bond regisseur Terence Young in june. Hans-Jürgen Syberberg fims with her in Kitzbühl the famous television documentation "Romy - Porträt eines Gesichts" for the Bavarian radio. She marries Harry Meyen in Sant-Jean Cap Ferrat at the 15. july. The couple moves to Berlin-Grunewald in autumn. Their son David Christopher is born at the 3 .decembre. After that Romy is drawn back to her privat life.
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1967 The death of her father Wolf Albach-Retty.
1968 She returns to the movies in spring. She films in London the agent-parody "Otley" which failed completly with Tom Courtenay as her partner. But then comes a movie which goes straight to the viewers` hearts and gives some food to the yellow press. Romy plays together with Alain Delon in "Der Swimmingpool".
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1969 She shoots the movie "Inzest" in England in the spring which is teared up completly from the critics. But then comes the crucial meeting with Claude Sautet. Romy gains one accomplice more. In summer she films with him "Die Dinge des Lebens" which should become the movie-event in France only one year later.
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1970 She shoots "Die Geliebte des anderen" a crime thriller with Maurice Ronet in january. The movie "Bloomfield" follows with Richard Harns as partner and regisseur. She films in Italy "La Califfa" with Ugo Tognazzi in summer. Sautet-Piccoli-Romy - the successful team - is reunited in the movie "Das Mädchen und der Kommissar". In late autumn she plays again with Alain Delon in "Das Mädchen und der Mörder - die Ermordung Trotzkis". Romy Schneider also becomes sociopolitical involved: in the magazine the Stern she admits togeher with hundreds of women "I had an abortion" and claims the abolition of paragraph 218.
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1971 During the film festival in Cannes in may Visconti suggests to her to play once again the role of the empress Elisabeth of Austria. Romy accepts. The last exorcism of Sissi has begun.
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1972 She stands together with Helmut Berger as "Ludwig II" under Visconti`s direction in front of the camera in spring. The German movie viewers will get the oppertunity to see this movie in his complete version not until seven years later because it was cut rigorously from the German hiring out. Claude Sautet shoots his third movie with Romy: "Cesar und Rosalie". Romy Schneider and Harry Meyen split up. (The marriage will be divorced in june 1975.)
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1973 After quite some time in Switzerland she is back in front of the camera in "Le Train - Nur ein Hauch von Glück". From now on everything goes quickly. In the middle of august "Sommerliebelei" under the direction of Jean-Claude Brialy, in the middle of september "Das wilde Schaf" under the direction of Michel Deville and in winter "Trio Infernale" under the direction of Francis Girod.
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1974 After her shocking role in "Trio Infernale" she takes on a role in the movie "Nachtblende" in summer under the direction of Andrzej Zulawski, a young Pole and Wajda-student.
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1975 Her most successful movie in France "Das alte Gewehr - Abschied in der Nacht" with Philippe Noiret is shot in the beginning of the year under the direction of Robert Enrico. She gets the public prize - du cinema - in february. On the festival in Taormina she gets awarded for best actress. She marries Daniel Biasini her secretary in Berlin at the 18. decembre.
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1976 In february the readers of the magazine Clint-Revue award her the Grand Prix International. She gets awarded with the french Oscar, a Cesar, at the 3. april for her performance in the two movies "Nachtblende" and "Das alte Gewehr". Her speech of thanks turns into a speech in praise of Luchino Visconti who died shortly before. She shoots three movies this year: "Die Frau am Fenster" under the direction of Pierre Granier-Deferre, a supporting role in "Mado" again under the direction of Claude Sautet and after a long time again in Germany Heinrich Böll`s film version"Gruppenbild mit Dame" under the direction of Aleksander Petrovit. During this time Romy has a short guest appearance in the television film "Tausend Lieder ohne Ton" from Claudia Holldack.
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1977 Romy Schneider gets awarded at the 24. june for best actress with the Filmband in Gold of the German film-prize for her performance of the Leni in "Gruppenbild mit Dame". Her daughter Sarah is born in Gassen near St. Tropez on the 21. july. In winter Romy cancels the role of the Lulu in the planed film version of Wedekind because of incompatible interests between her and Liliana Cavani the regisseur. Walerian Borowczyk makes the movie two years later with Anne Bennet.
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1978 Romy shoots her fifth movie with her favourite regisseur Claude Sautet in summer: "Eine einfache Geschichte". She is in front of the camera in Munich in november for the big international star-production "Blutspur" under the direction of Terence Young.
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1979 Romy`s first husband Harry Meyen commits suicide in Hamburg on the 15. april. Romy gets her second Cesar in Paris on the 3. february for her performance in "Eine einfache Geschichte" from Claude Sautet. In spring she films for the first time under the direction of Costa-Gavras the problematic lovestory "Die Liebe einer Frau" with Yves Montand. The movie "Death Watch" (La mort en direct) from Bertrand Tavernier follows in may with outside-filming in Scotland. This movie will be shown as a official french contribution at the competition of the 30. international film festival in Berlin in february 1980.
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1980 In spring Francis Girod directs the movie "Die Bankiersfrau" (La Banquiere) with Romy in the leading role. The shooting in Rom for "Die zwei Gesichter einer Frau" (Fatasma d`Amore) starts in autumn under the direction of Dino Risi. The readers of "Paris Match" elect Romy Schneider and Alain Delon as the favourite stars of the year.
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1981 Romy takes over a small role in the movie "Das Verhör" (Garde a Vue) as well as Lino Ventura and Michel Serrault under the direction of Claude Miller. She gets in the headlines in february because of her divorce wtih Daniel Biasini (which is consummated in june). In April the shooting for "Die Spaziergängerin von Sans-Souci" (La Fassante de Sans-Souci) must be put off again because of a broken leg. The filming begins in may for a short time under the direction of Jacques Rouffio . But then a operation at the kidney forces her to interrupt the movie. Her son David has a deadly accident on the 5. july. David tried to climb the garden fence of Biasini`s grandparents as he slips away and the fence runs through him. He dies in the hospital as a result of his serious injuries. He was only 12 years old. The shooting for "Spaziergängerin" continues in octobre and ends in the middle of decembre.
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1982 The specialist journal "Le Cinema Francais" announce the beginning of the shooting for the movie-project "Einer gegen den anderen" (L`Un contre l`autre) for the 1. june. Alain Delon should be her partner and Pierre Granier-Deferre should direct the movie. But that will never happen. Romy dies in Paris in the early hours of the morning of the 29. may as a result of a heart failure; only 10 month and 24 days after the death of her son David.
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Her first project "Die Spaziergängerin" which she has initiated by herself will be her farewell movie. She dedicates it to "David and his father". She gets awarded on the film festival in Montreal - short after her death - with the prize according to the best performance in her last movie. She did not have the time to dub her movie in German.
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Romy Schneider forever: "Sissi"- movies frozen (1998)
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Romy Schneider won the hearts of the audience all over the world with the role of "Sissi". Those three movies about the life of the Austrian empress Elisabeth still reach high viewing figures during television repeats.
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But the "ravages of time" were gnawing considerably on the old movies. The Munich enterprise of Leo Kirch was able to restore the three movies with modern digital technology to keep them true for our future generations.
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On the hunt for the grey veil of mist
At the age of seventeen Romy Schneider became suddenly a star with her first "Sissi"-movie in 1955. The unforgottable actress from Vienna who died in 1982 would have become 60 years at the 23. september. "The original negatives became worn with each copy from year to year ", says the material expert Paul Reichl from Kirch`s company Taurus -Film. And hundreds of copies were made from the "Sissi"-movies. The result : the colours faded and a grey veil of mist developed on the movies. The involved technical experts had an exciting painstaking and detailed work with the restoration which cost about 300.000 DM. Every picture had to be "felt all over" und was then transfered to a new digital master band. At that occasion the colour was brightened up and even the scrathes on the movie matrial were retouched on the computer screen.
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We were also able to eliminate the typical flickering of old movies which develops from the chemical change in the "emulsion-film" of the movie", explains Reichl. The roaring was as well filtered away to a large extent. "We avoided to give the movie an inordinately large electronic touch so that the movies do not have a sterile effect", emphasizes the expert.
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The new digitalized Sissi - videos
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Vacuum-packed in aluminium foil
The selling rights for the "Sissi-trilogy" is privatly ownd from Kirch since the 70s as well as the original negatives. Future copies are made from the new digital master band. The original negatives shall be frozen and conserved for eternity according to the motto of the "immortal Sissi". Therefore the liquid has to be taken away from the "emulsion-film" in dry cupboards. After that the movies are loosley rolled up and - similar to grinded coffee - double vaccum-packed in aluminuim foil. The movies come in cardboard boxes in the "sanctuary" of Kirch`s enormous movie store-room in Unterföhring: this is a cold store about the size of a classroom in which the valuable movies are stored packed by minus eight degrees celsius.
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Will "Sissi" still be a box-office hit in the year 2500?
"The death of each movie material is moisture and high temperature", explains Reichl. "We are able to protect the movies for at least 500 years with this preservation. And I am convinced that "Sissi" will have a great audinece even in the year 2500 - those movies are absolutly classics." The preservation is important because we cannot know the future technics for movie-dealing.
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The sensation!
During th search for the movie scenes in the best condition an unknown black-white- movie material of about 18 minutes length was discovered in the archives which documents the shooting of the second part from the Sissi-trilogy. Also a tape was found on which Romy Schneider herself (!) comments on the work of the movie team. So she talks for example about how an stubborn donkey dropped her during the shooting and gave her some blue patches.
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The black-white shooting shows Romy Schneider discussing her text at a balcony at Schloß Schönbrunn in Vienna. At the same time her movie partner Karlheinz Böhm drives in front with "Jockele" and toots on the horn.
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"Jockele" was a Karman Ghia which Romy got as a present for her 18. birthday short before.
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Jürgen Balthasar
& Das Romy Schneider Archiv(.) http://www.romy.de/images/Sissi_Werbung.jpg http://www.romy.de/images/Sissi_1-3.jpg
http://www.romy.de/images/Sissi_Box.jpg
http://www.romy.de/images/Making_of.jpg
http://www.romy.de/images/desktops/kopf3.zip
en hier nog een paar links naar een paar sites over rpmy schneider.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~luitja/index.html
http://groups.msn.com/romyschneider
cissy100@home.nl
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