Freud
“A portrait of the great psychoanalyst.”
Creator
Carey Harrison
Director
Moira Armstrong
Screenplay
Carey Harrison
Freud, also known as Freud: The Life of a Dream, is a 1984 six-part BBC television serial dramatised by Carey Harrison, and starring David Suchet as Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Each episode begins with Freud and his family in London, where they had fled from Vienna in 1938 following the Nazi Anschluss, leading up to Freud's death a little over a year later. The rest of the episodes are told mainly in flashbacks to key moments in Freud's life and career
Seasons
1
Episodes
6
Country
—
Status
Ended
Cast
David Suchet
Sigmund Freud · 6 eps
👤
David Swift
Joseph Breuer · 6 eps
Anton Lesser
Wilhelm Fliess · 5 eps
👤
Helen Bourne
Martha Bernays · 6 eps
Suzanne Bertish
Minna Bernays · 5 eps
Howard Goorney
Jacob Freud · 4 eps
Miriam Margolyes
Baroness von Lieben · 3 eps
Michael Kitchen
Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow · 3 eps
Glyn Houston
Professor Meynert · 3 eps
Allan Corduner
Oscar Rie · 2 eps
Dinsdale Landen
Jean-Marin Charcot · 2 eps
Michael Pennington
Carl Jung · 2 eps
Amber-Jane Raab
Mathilde Freud · 2 eps
Christopher Sandford
Dr Schur · 2 eps
Juliet Stevenson
Elizabeth von Rietberg · 1 eps
Peter Jeffrey
Federn · 1 eps
Clive Merrison
Tausk · 1 eps
Kerry Shale
Otto Rank · 1 eps
Peter Blake
Darkschewitsch · 1 eps
Leon Lissek
Wittels · 1 eps
Clare Clifford
Emma Eckstein · 1 eps
Jack Chissick
Oppenheim · 1 eps
David Hatton
Stekel · 1 eps
John Grillo
Delboeuf · 1 eps
Bruce Purchase
Professor Nothnagel · 1 eps
Diana Payan
Excited Woman · 1 eps
Sally Mortemore
Young Anna (uncredited) · 1 eps
Reviews
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Where to Watch
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Episode Guide
1
In the Name of the Gods
Ailing 83-year-old Sigmund Freud, his wife Martha, and daughter Anna settle into a new home in London after being forced to flee Austria. Flashbacks recall Freud's early professional life, ambitions to do important work, and engagement to Martha, whose sister Minna is also engaged. Freud experiments with cocaine as a cure for morphine addiction and other uses, prompted especially by his relationship with Ernst von Fleischl-Marxow.
2
The Hypnotist
Paris, 1885: Freud goes to Paris to study under Jean-Marin Charcot, who has been experimenting with hypnosis to treat patients with 'hysterical' neuroses. Returning to Vienna, his advocacy of Charcot's techniques is largely rejected, especially by his superior, Theodor Meynert. With the aid of Josef Breuer, Freud begins to use hypnosis to treat patients, particularly the Baroness von Lieben. His work leads him to begin investigating the role of dreams and repression of memories.
3
The Secret of Dreams
Vienna 1891: through his practice, self-examination, and friendships with Breuer and Wilhelm Fliess, Freud develops his concepts of the unconscious and the role of desire, beginning to posit sexuality as a source of psychic conflict and to develop his 'seduction theory'.
4
Madonna
An intriguing new relationship develops when Minna Bernays, Freud's attractive sister-in-law, joins the family. Freud's recent theory has outraged Vienna, leaving him, professionally, more isolated than ever. With Martha consigned to maternal duties and the Fliess friendship deteriorating, increasingly, Minna alone shares Sigmund's private frustrations until the celebrated 'Oedipus' theory ensures his future.
5
Messiah
Vienna 1907: The movement of psychoanalysis is born. Freud's revolutionary theories appeal to a growing band of supporters—Adler, Stekel, Federn, Rank, Ferenczi—who passionately participate in the 'Wednesday Society'. Of the newfound disciples, Carl Jung is the master's favourite. In this distinguished Swiss gentile, Freud sees the key to promoting the group's image beyond that of a Jewish cabal and, more importantly, the personal relationship he constantly craves.
6
The World As Dream
London, 1939: Psychoanalysis flourishes in America and Freud's works are sought worldwide: his international standing has far surpassed his father's simple plea that he make professor. But in the prophet's own land, it is a different matter. More cautious friends have persuaded the elderly Sigmund to take refuge in England and it is there that he completes the final, revealing session of self-analysis.
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