Bayern 4 Klassik “Händel”

Written by Hermann Vaske, directed by Charles Barker (ASD Lionheart, London), and shot in Budapest, this commercial features more than 500 extras, an Iljuschin airplane, and portrays Händel as a pop star.

Shot in black and white like an MTV-style rockumentary, we see several ecstatic fans try to get close to their idol, ripping Händel’s clothes apart and trying to touch a curl of his hair. During his concert, fans hold up posters reading “Georg Friedrich” while girls faint and have to be carried away by security. An enthusiastic female fan exclaims to a reporter, “I got up at two in the morning and walked seven miles just to see him!” Such are the scenes we know from Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Taylor Swift.

Backstage, accompanied by the sound of his world hit “Halleluja,” a harassed Händel escapes into his limo.

The punch line: “You have to be quite good to stay in the charts for 250 years.”