Editing Empress Elisabeth of Austria (section)

===Film===
The 1921 film ''Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich'' was one of the first films to focus entirely on Elisabeth. It was co-written by Elisabeth's niece, [[Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich|Marie Larisch]] (who played her younger self at the age of 62), and starred Carla Nelsen as the title character. The film later achieved notoriety when a group of [[con-artists]] started selling stills from the murder scene as actual photographs of the crime.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}  [[Adolf Trotz]] directed the 1931 German film ''[[Elisabeth of Austria (film)|Elisabeth of Austria]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021835/|title=Elisabeth von Österreich|date=21 July 1931|publisher=IMDb}}</ref>

In 1936, [[Columbia Pictures]] released ''[[The King Steps Out]]'', a film version of the operetta ''Sissi'', directed by [[Josef von Sternberg]]. It starred opera diva [[Grace Moore]] and [[Franchot Tone]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} [[Jean Cocteau]] directed the 1948 film version of his play ''[[The Eagle with Two Heads]]''. [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s 1981 film ''[[The Mystery of Oberwald]]'' is another adaptation of Cocteau's play.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In the German and Italian-speaking world, Elisabeth's name is often associated with a trilogy of romantic films about her life directed by [[Ernst Marischka]] which starred a teenage [[Romy Schneider]] and made her famous worldwide:
* ''[[Sissi (film)|Sissi]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Sissi – The Young Empress|Sissi – Die Junge Kaiserin]]'' (1956) (''Sissi – The Young Empress'')
* ''[[Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress|Sissi – Schicksalsjahre Einer Kaiserin]]'' (1957) (''Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress'')
* ''Forever My Love'' is a condensed version, with the three films edited down into one feature and dubbed in English. This version was released in North America in 1962.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In early dramatizations, Elisabeth appears as peripheral to her husband and son, and so is always shown as a mature character. Schneider's characterization of Elisabeth as a young woman is the first time the "young" Empress is seen on screen. The trilogy was the first to explicitly depict the romantic myth of Sissi, and ends abruptly with her determination to live a private life. Any further exploration of the topic would have been at odds with the accepted image of the loving wife, devoted mother, and benevolent empress. The three films, newly restored, are shown every [[Christmas]] on Austrian, German, Dutch, and French television. In 2007, the films were released as ''The Sissi Collection'' with English [[subtitles]]. Schneider came to loathe the role, claiming, "Sissi sticks to me like porridge ({{lang|de|haferbrei}})." Later she appeared as a much more realistic and fascinating Elisabeth in [[Luchino Visconti]]'s ''[[Ludwig (film)|Ludwig]],'' a 1972 film about Elisabeth's cousin, [[Ludwig II of Bavaria]]. A portrait of Schneider in this film was the only one, taken from her roles, which is displayed in her home.

[[Ava Gardner]] played Empress Elisabeth in the 1968 film ''[[Mayerling (1968 film)|Mayerling]]'', in which [[Omar Sharif]] starred as Crown Prince Rudolf. A 1991 French-German film called ''{{ill|Sissi la valse des cœurs|fr}}'' ({{aka}} ''Sisi und der Kaiserkuss'') starred French actress [[Vanessa Wagner (actress)|Vanessa Wagner]] as Elisabeth, [[Nils Tavernier]] as [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]] and [[Sonja Kirchberger]] as [[Duchess Helene in Bavaria|Helene]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102936/ |title=Sissi und der Kaiserkuß |publisher=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

An indirect reference to Elisabeth is made in the 2004 film ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)|Phantom of the Opera]]''. The heroine Christine (portrayed by [[Emmy Rossum]]) wears an elaborate white/silver ball gown in her first leading role, with diamond stars in her long, dark hair. The ensemble is modeled after Elisabeth's attire and hairstyle in the iconic [[:File:Empress Elisabeth of Austria with diamond stars on her hair.jpg|Winterhalter portrait]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} In 2007, German comedian and director [[Michael "Bully" Herbig|Michael Herbig]] released an animated [[parody film]] based on Elisabeth under the title ''[[Lissi und der wilde Kaiser]].'' It is based on his Sissi [[parody]] sketches featured in his television show ''[[Bullyparade]].'' In ''[[Bullyparade – Der Film]]'' (2017), Elisabeth is played by Herbig himself.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

A recent appearance of Sisi was in the new 2012 biopic about [[Ludwig II of Bavaria]] titled ''[[Ludwig II (2012 film)|Ludwig II]]'', where she was played by [[Hannah Herzsprung]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} In 2014, to coincide with the presentation of the Pre-Fall 2015 "Metier d'arts" collection by luxury fashion house [[Chanel]], shown in [[Leopoldskron Palace]], creative director [[Karl Lagerfeld]] directed a short film featuring [[Cara Delevingne]] as Empress Elisabeth accompanied by [[Pharrell Williams]]. During a dream sequence, the duo sing a song written by Williams entitled ''CC the World'', playing on the iconic interlocking logo of the fashion house, the initials of its founder [[Coco Chanel]], as well as the Empress's nickname "Sisi". Lagerfeld recreated the iconic gown worn by Elisabeth in the [[:File:Empress_Elisabeth_of_Austria_with_diamond_stars_on_her_hair.jpg|portrait by Winterhalter]], whilst Pharrell takes on attire similar to Franz Joseph.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The 2022 film ''[[Corsage (film)|Corsage]]'' directed by [[Marie Kreutzer]] focuses on Empress Elisabeth's life following her 40th birthday celebrations. The film premiered at the [[2022 Cannes Film Festival]] within the [[Un Certain Regard|Un Certain Regard section]] and actress [[Vicky Krieps]], who played the Empress, was awarded ''[[Ex aequo et bono|ex aequo]]'' the Best Performance Prize.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/communique/articles/un-certain-regard-winners-list-2022 | title=Un Certain Regard Winners List 2022 - Festival de Cannes | date=27 May 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/movies/the-empress-corsage-sisi.html | title=An Empress Ahead of Her Time is Having a Pop Culture Moment | newspaper=The New York Times | date=7 October 2022 | last1=Safronova | first1=Valeriya }}</ref> The 2023 Austrian-German-Swiss film ''[[Sisi & I]]'' directed by [[Frauke Finsterwalder]] and starring [[Sandra Hüller]], [[Susanne Wolff]], [[Tom Rhys Harries]] and [[Angela Winkler]], tells the story of Empress Elisabeth from the point of view of her lady-in-waiting, [[Irma Sztáray]], with Wolff playing the role of Empress Elisabeth and Hüller in the role of Sztáray. The film was released in Germany on 16 March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sisi & I |url=https://dcmstories.com/en/collection/sisi-and-me/ |access-date=24 August 2022 |website=DCM Stories |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818233414/https://dcmstories.com/en/collection/sisi-and-me/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>