Films about Classical Music, Composer Biopics et al. (Strictly Classical)

[listener]

Ivan Passer's Intimate Lighting
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[Holden]

Some more:

Richter the Enigma - a fascinating bio of the great pianist

David Oistrakh, Remembering a Legend

Speaking of Ken Russell - Lisztomania. One viewing is more than enough

A Song to Remember - Film about Chopin

The film about Beethoven's Nephew is called..........Beethoven's Nephew. A terrible film.

[jochanaan]

What?  No one has yet mentioned The Red Violin?  I found that one a beautiful film.

Immortal Beloved is worth seeing for one reason only: Gary Oldman absolutely nails the Beethoven role. Oh, and the scenery is not bad.  (That comment can be taken several ways. )

There is an obscure Italian film called Basileus Quartet that, better than any other film I've seen, portrays the excitement, drudgery and psychology of being part of a chamber-music group.

[(poco) Sforzando]

What?  No one has yet mentioned The Red Violin?  I found that one a beautiful film.

Haven't seen it yet, but it's by the same director who did the 32 Short Films about GG.

[Spineur]

Alexander Sokurov, a great film director (Alexandra, The Sun,...) made this Shostakovitch biopic
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The editing job is very nice.
I recommend also Monsaingeon, a documentary specialist on Richter
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and to a lesser extend on Yehudi Menhuhin
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For the most motivated, he also made bios on Fisher Dieskau (6 Blu-ray which I havent seen)
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and a tribute to Valeriy Sokolov
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[Madiel]

I watched "Mozart's Sister" last night (original French title, Nannerl, la sœur de Mozart).

It was not very good.

[david johnson]

Riot at the RIte (bbc '05) was entertaining.  I rather enjoyed the movie's Pierre Monteaux     Eroica (bbc '03) is a good flick about the first rehearsals and performance of that symphony.  I recall a Mahler movie in which Gustav goes to visit Hugo Wolfe at the asylum. Copying Beethoven was great fun for me

[listener]

fiction: THE CONDUCTOR    (1980) dir. Andrzej Wajda, starring John Gielgud dubbed in Polish  seems to still be in VHS only

[NikF]

There is a film about Paganini directed and starred by Klaus Kinski, more about Kinski than Paganini but I seem to remember liking it.

There are two films about Chopin. One with Hugh Grant and one, La note bleue, directed by Andrzej Zulawski with pianist Janusz Olejniczak in a role of Chopin. Again I seem to remember liking both.

Also Death in Five Voices, an off-beat sort of documentary on Carlo Gesualdo by Werner Herzog. I definitely liked that one.

Yeah, 'La note bleue' is one we watched fairly recently.
I can't think of anything else that fits the criteria and hasn't already been mentioned, although a harmless piece of nonsense titled 'Le Concert' is one we've seen. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Concert (2009)

Also -

Last but hardly least: the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera!

Absolutely.

[Spineur]

Tonight Friday March 18th, the film

http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/048600-000-A/paganini-le-violoniste-du-diable

is broadcasted at 20:55 on ARTE TV.  The violonist David Garett plays Paganini role.  I'll watch

If you miss it, you will have a second chance on Sunday Mach 20th 9:30.

[bigshot]

Ken Russell's BBC docudramas have just been released on blu-ray in the UK.
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_71/ken_russell_great_composers_blu-ray.htm

Another great UK blu-ray is "Battle For Music" (1945) which dramatizes the struggles the London Philharmonic went through to survive WW2.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134309/

Battle For Music has great extended scenes of Boult and Lambert conducting and the blu-ray has some good extras.

[listener]

For comic relief, sort of a "Big Bang Theory" about music students sharing an apartment RAISING THE WIND

[listener]

remembered another (which I haven't seen) 100 MEN AND A GIRL
The daughter of a struggling musician forms a symphony orchestra made up of his unemployed friends and through persistence, charm and a few misunderstandings, is able to get Leopold Stokowski to lead them in a concert that leads to a radio contract.

[Bogey]

My favorite.

[Spineur]

I am having a special "Astor Piazzolla" evening with these biopics and music tribute films
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Plus some of the CD's I own
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[Roy Bland]

There is a film about Paganini directed and starred by Klaus Kinski, more about Kinski than Paganini but I seem to remember liking it.

There are two films about Chopin. One with Hugh Grant and one, La note bleue, directed by Andrzej Zulawski with pianist Janusz Olejniczak in a role of Chopin. Again I seem to remember liking both.

Also Death in Five Voices, an off-beat sort of documentary on Carlo Gesualdo by Werner Herzog. I definitely liked that one.

[Cato]

controversial

Many movies with the wild Klaus Kinski were/are controversial!

remembered another (which I haven't seen) 100 MEN AND A GIRL

The daughter of a struggling musician forms a symphony orchestra made up of his unemployed friends and through persistence, charm and a few misunderstandings, is able to get Leopold Stokowski to lead them in a concert that leads to a radio contract.

With the great Deanna Durbin, who had an excellent voice.


Stokowski had no trouble doing such cameos: note his billing! 


Of course, he had to endure things in the dialogue like "That's enough of that long-hair stuff * , baby!  How about singing some real music?"


* ( "Long-hair stuff" = Classical Music)






On the other hand, any movie with the great comic Billy Gilbert is worth watching...or at least his scenes are worth watching!   

[Karl Henning]

Its inevitable limitations notwithstanding, I remain fond of Jas Lapine's Impromptu. And, to be sure, it amuses me to reflect that my first sight of Hugh Grant on the screen was in the role of Chopin. 

[Roasted Swan]

The 40th Anniversary of Amadeus - loved that film (and the original play at London's National Theatre with Frank Finlay and Simon Callow)

[Karl Henning]

The 40th Anniversary of Amadeus - loved that film (and the original play at London's National Theatre with Frank Finlay and Simon Callow)

I was cast as Salieri in my College's production of the play. The theatre majors were somewhat vexed with the Department chairwoman, but she wanted a musician in the role and she had me coached in the part.