The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach /

The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (German: Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach) is a 1968 film by the French filmmaking duo of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet. It was their first full-length feature film, and reportedly took a decade to finance. The film stars renowned harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt as Johann Sebastian Bach, and is the first of several Straub-Huillet films to be based on works of classical music. The film was entered into the 18th Berlin International Film Festival. Though, as on all of their films, Straub and Huillet contributed to the film equally, Straub is the officially credited director. Despite its austere, rigorous style, it is considered to be Straub and Huillet's most "mainstream" film. As of 2008, it is the only one available on DVD in the United States. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach consists of excerpts from Johann Sebastian Bach's works, presented in chronological order and linked by a fictional journal written by his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach. Each work is typically presented in a single, often immobile take, with the musicians performing in the locations where many of the works were premiered, dressed in period costumes. Works