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Movies

From Kat S.
Posted August 2, 2006 at 06:28 AM

But very hard to get these days because of business idiocy; the folks holding the copyright aren't currently making it available, if I understand correctly.

Rhapsody with Liz Taylor for a laugh. (At one point the music students lept up and started improving on Zig, with Liz Taylor's love interest doing the solo. Really strange, even for musician-types.) But Michael Rabin played the soundtrack, so...

I also love "High Fidelity: Adventures of the Guarneri String Quartet" and the aforementioned Mao to Mozart, both by the same team.

That's a violin comedy movie about a deranged conductor (Moore) who suspects his wife of having an affair with a top violinist (Zukerman plays the violin for the actor). After a few hilarious male headbutting that includes Moore playing a gypsy piece and bumping his competitor off the stage, there's a final climactic scene where Moore tries to arrange the demise of the soloist but EVERYTHING goes wrong.

I have not seen this movie in years, but I'd like to do so again for the laughs. Oh, and Zukerman was incredible in the Tchaikovsky 3rd movement.

Doesn't the Red Violin seem to drag on a bit?

It is "Cavatina" by Brockman. AWESOME!!! Found in through Sheetmusicplus.com

-Peter

Sorry, really disliked Mr. Holland's Opus. Touching story, but if that piece was my opus, I think I would WISH I was deaf.

Preston

The Red Violin dragged on, and I just cannot watch fake violin player and over dramatisation. No one is that attached to an instrument, and no one can play that well with the 19th C. version of Paris Hilton giving you a happy meal.

Mr. Holland's Opus was embarrasing. Touching to be sure, in a very saccharine way... but the music was pretty bad.

I'm a big fan of movies (some are very commercial, so I'm not this big indie snob), and I'd like to think I have semi good taste. I've just never found a movie where music was the focus to be very good, except for Immortal Beloved which I really like.

In classical music (conductor, not violin) is the very funny 1948 black & white film "Unfaithfully Yours," in which Rex Harrison plays a conductor who suspects his wife's infidelity. The scene in which he concocts three scenarios in which to deal with her while conducting (variously Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Wagner) is hilarious. I've never seen the 1984 Dudley Moore remake, but assume that's good too.

What impressed me about the actors in Amadeus and Immortal Beloved was their skill at faking it. So often, we see bows and fingers going every which way when the music is not going that way at all. In Immortal Beloved, not only did Isabella Rossallini LEARN how to play the violin from scratch, but during the "Ghost" Trio, she was actually playing on the right strings with the correct fingerings! No, she didn't look 100% natural, but I had to hand it to the director and her for the accomplishment. Amadeus was great as well, especially with the young Mozart playing the violin.

The Red Violin is a movie you have to just lose yourself in, I think. Sure, those of us with intimate knowledge of the instrument are going to be watching critically, but I really enjoyed the evolution of the Corigliano score in this movie and the many personalities who played the instrument. Mr. Gypsy did a fine job personifying a Paganini-like character, I thought. It may have been over the top a bit, but isn't our image of Paganini?

Mr. Holland's Opus was okay on its first pass--kind of like how Forrest Gump was interesting in how it passes through many generations in one movie. I even appreciated the sentiment regarding music programs getting cut and how important music is in the development of students, even though these programs keep getting cut. The problem really was that in an effort to cover this man's entire teaching career, substance was lost along the way. More time could have been spent on the benefits of music education, etc. It drove me crazy that they let him conduct LEFTHANDED!!!--still horribly. And about that music he composed that was premiered at the end . . . tragic. It was a 3 minute symphony that took him 30 years to write. Oh dear.

-Peter

If we're going to talk about Music of the Heart, has anyone at least seen the documentary about the real woman and her story? I haven't, I must admit. Wouldn't that be more interesting and inspiring?

And I loved American Graffiti and Close Encounters, but...

there's another nice one: the art of the violin. ;)

Mahler was FANTASTIC. i went and got a few of his scores after that flick.

Thank you for reminding me about SHINE!!!

I can't believe I forgot to mention that movie--considering I OWN it on Laserdisc!!! Good golly!

Here again, the performance by Geoffrey Rush is truly remarkable--matching fingers to the piano!

Perhaps the only thing disappointing about this movie is that the film's subject (David Helfgott--sp?) was not actually THAT great of a pianist. I became very interested in learning more after seeing the film and was somewhat disappointed. Nevertheless, the film was very moving and well done--a great illustration of the power of music . . . that exists in all of us!

Best,
Peter

Blue is great. Are we the only two on here who've seen it?

The Pianist is really well done too.

I hear Red (Rouge) is also a good movie; also a Kieslowski film.

Preston

There is also a Peter Sellers movie called "The World of Henry Orient," in which Sellers plays (to perfection) a lecherous concert pianist who is hounded by two meddling but naive teenage admirers. There is a scene of a "modern" piano concerto that is one of the funniest satires of classical music performance I have ever seen or heard of. It's worth renting the movie just for that one scene alone.

Sandy

Of course my favorite would have to be Amadeus which although historically flawed is musically superb. As far as Amadeus, I would have preferred a less freakish plotline and a more accurate historical portrayal of the greatest musical mind ever.

A close second would be Geoffry Rush in "Shine."
Of course, on a somewhat less demanding level, Joachim Pheonix was still very impressive on guitar and vocals--he had never played or read a note of music prior to his preparation for "Walk the Line." He practiced many hours a day on guitar with a great teacher so he could play ever chord and pick every note of that film as well.

Hey, let's vote on WORST fake instrumental performance in a movie! Richard Dreyfuss in "The Competition" ???

-Peter

I'd be more impressed if he'd learned the ballade in G minor. But either way, the man swept me off my feet. Always a sucker for melancholy pianists.

Of course, to play any instrument on the highest level takes great dedication. But-- when's the last time you saw anyone successfully fake the violin in a movie? And please don't give me Meryl Streep or Russell Crowe! Violin has to be one of the toughest instruments to get off the ground.

I don't understand what's wrong with Meryl Streep. I thought her playing in Music of the Heart was excellent, although it wasn't "faking", if that's your objection; she actually learned to play the Bach Double, which I find quite impressive.

Really, the nature of the violin is such that it's difficult to fake convincingly; one really has to be able to play it---even if with poor intonation---to pull it off when the music is dubbed.

I realize that I'm sensitive to violin visuals (like most of us here) but I do find it interesting that it's a difficult illusion to pull off, playing the violin. More than piano or guitar, like I mentioned before, and which we've all seen done both well and badly by actors. That's why I get especially incredulous when movies use actors to play musicians in non-speaking roles. They look bad doing it, and their whole purpose should be to look good!

Oh well, I'm sure there's someone who sounds just like me on countryguitarist.com ripping on Joaquin Phoenix.

Now in Humoresque, I read about Isaac Stern actually putting his arms through the coatsleeves of the actor and playing the showpieces! Now that's special effects!

"even though in real life Szpilman played the C# minor nocturne..." Maura, I always wondered how in the heck a starving concentration camp victim in a sub-freezing room could pull off that ballade without even actually practicing. So he didn't huh? Figures. And you know that piano wouldn't have been in tune at all.

This is why I can't really enjoy movies. But Adrien Brody helps.

Also terribly interesting is Nathan Milstein's "Art of Invention" video, which is a two hour interview/performance with Georges Pludamacher.

The same goes for Nadja Salerno's "Speaking in Strings", Stern's "From Mao to Mozart" and Perlman's "Moscow" videos.

I too love Amadeus, From Mao to Mozart, and all the others mentioned. I was surprised this movie wasn't mentioned. It's not great, but is quite enjoyable.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E4DA1F31F933A05756C0A9659C8B63

Neil

Violinist: "It is the brain, the heart of the orchestra... the violin is the most virile instrument of the orchestra because it is penetrating, phallic! It is not feminine but lovesick, vibrant and always actual; it is still the favorite instrument at conservatoire. It is the diva of the orchestra, the star! [...]"

Trombone: "An irreplaceable instrument used for accompanying the clowns when they fall on the ground. [...]"

Great movie, though a little bit fogyish, but it's always a great scene, when some brass players exchange the conductors stand with a giant metronome during the rebellion while an elder woman says in the camera : "Once a child asked me, where does the music go when music ends?"

Another that hasn't been mentioned is "Impromptu", a romantic comedy in which Judy Davis plays George Sand, Hugh Grant plays Chopin, and Julian Sands plays Liszt.

al

Buena Vista Social Club and Fitzcarraldo, should be mentioned as well. And the Boccerini in Ladykillers, feat. Prof. Marcus & his ensemble.

... and thanks to Luis for the tip: Tocar Y Luchar is a MUST. Unbelievable, what has been done there:

[quote from their site]
"Today, the orchestra system directly affects more than 250,000 children, most of which live in rural areas with limited access to the cultural and educational opportunities usually found in more urban centers. This orchestra system has produced some of the most renowned musicians in the world including world class conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Berlin’s philharmonic youngest player Edicson Ruiz. But most importantly, the system has exposed children of all ages, races, and social classes to the wonders of music for ever changing their relationship with arts and their communities."

AN

Un Coeur en Hiver
Shine
Amadeus
Red Violin
Together
L'Accompagntrice (or however you spell accompanist in French)

Have always felt rather sheepish about admitting to musicians that I fell in love with Mozart's music because of Amadeus, and then listening to the soundtrack over and over and over. (Had never seen a violin up close, back in those days, much less played one.) Oh well, there it is. Just relieved to see here that classical musicians don't bash the movie, b/c I really really loved it.

Am nervous about seeing The Pianist. Holocaust stuff really breaks my heart and leaves me emotionally wasted for days and days. A poll here, for anyone still reading this thread - is the movie a must-see? Like I said, I love good music movies.

The Piano Teacher with Isabelle Huppert (based on Elfriede Jelinek's novel) is very good if you can stomach a walk on the wild side. At least you will be glad that you did not have a mother like the main character's (which I understand is pretty much what Jelinek's mother was like).

And the pianist...wow, powerful! its amazing!

Braveheart "outlawed songs on outlawed instruments"

The Red Violin--a little cheesy on the story line but powerful.

Jesus Christ Superstar--the original, not latest.

Phantom of the Opera--the original.

Re: "Music of the Heart," aside from its violinistic feature film merits, I highly recommend watching the 77-minute documentary on which it was based, "Small Wonders." It is included as a 2nd DVD disk with the feature film (at least the "Collector's Series" release). It includes footage of the 1993 "Fiddlefest" at Carnegie Hall, which is recreated in the movie. Where else could you see, all playing on stage at one time, Ani and Ida Kavafian, Isaac Stern, Midori, Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, and Mark O'Connor, among others of note, and of course Roberta Guaspari Tzavares herself conducting (the role played very accurately, it turns out, by Meryl Streep). Not all were apparently available for the 1999 feature film, which reconstructed the concert, and I don't think Joshua Bell (in the movie version of the concert) was in the original concert. The documentary itself was nominated for an Oscar.

Also notable are some of the special features on the movie DVD, including "Background/Wisdom Sound Bites," in which a number of the professional violinists talk briefly about how they took up the instrument; and an uncut behind the scenes version of the 1st movement of the Bach double concerto as it was being filmed at Carnegie Hall. All worth a look. How can you be a violinist and not give both movies two scrolls up? :)