Seungyong Chang: François Girard

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

The Stories about Music Films: 20. The Red Violin (1998)

Basic Info

Title: The Red Violin

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Country: Canada, Italy, United Kingdom

Language: English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin

Running time: 131 minutes

Release date: September 2, 1998 (Venice), November 13, 1998 (Canada), April 9, 1999 (United Kingdom)

Staff

Director: François Girard

Producer: Niv Fichman

Written by: Don McKellar, François Girard

Music: John Corigliano

Cinematography: Alain Dostie

Edited by: Gaëtan Huot

Cast

Carlo Cecchi as Nicolò Bussotti

Irene Grazioli as Anna Rudolfi Bussotti

Jean-Luc Bideau as Georges Poussin

Greta Scacchi as Victoria Byrd

Jason Flemyng as Frederick Pope

Sylvia Chang as Xiang Pei (& Xiang Pei's mother)

Colm Feore as Auctioneer

Don McKellar as Evan Williams

Samuel L. Jackson as Charles Morritz

Summary

"The Red Violin" is a 1998 drama film directed by François Girard and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi and Sylvia Chang. The film tells the story of a mysterious red-colored violin and many people who owned it throughout four centuries and five countries. Made in 1681 in Cremona, Italy, with a future forecast by tarot cards, the instrument was moved to Montreal in 1997, where an appraiser evaluates and goes to auction. This film is an international co-production among companies in Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The screenplay was written by Don McKellar, who also acted in the film, and Girard, inspired by a historic Stradivarius violin made in 1720, nicknamed "Red Mendelssohn". The film was shot in Austria, Canada, China, England and Italy. John Corigliano made the music for the film with solos by violinist Joshua Bell.

After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, it received positive reviews from critics, and numerous honors, including the Academy Award for Best Original Score and eight Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture.

Movie Review

“Absolutely wonderful”

“Unforgettable experience”

“A wonderful journey”

“A wonderful and very musical movie”

“Absolutely amazing from start to finish”

“Beautiful film”

“Splendid”

“A beautiful film that enchants you completely”

“A unique masterpiece”

Interesting stories about the film

1. Christoph Koncz (as Kaspar Weiss the orphan virtuoso) was only 9 years old when he appeared in the film. He is an Austrian-Hungarian classical musician who became a world-renowned violinist and conductor.

2. The scene when Frederick Pope (Jason Flemyng) leans back in the bathtub with the letter from his lover in his hand is a reproduction of the famous 1793 painting "The Death of Marat" by Jacques-Louis David.

The Death of Marat, Jacques-Louis David (1793)

3. Joshua Bell, a solo violinist on the movie soundtrack, was the violinist double appeared in the film. According to an interview with National Public Radio, Bell was scolded several times by Director François Girard for overacting.

4. According to the commentary, Morgan Freeman was originally considered to play the part of Charles Morritz.

Thank you.

Movie Trailer

Amazon Author Page

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

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Naver Post

Monday, August 10, 2020

The Stories about Music Films: 19. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)

Basic Info

Title: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

Genre: Drama

Country: Canada

Language: English, French

Running time: 98 minutes

Release date: September 7, 1993 (Venice), September 14, 1993 (Toronto)

Staff

Director: François Girard

Producer: Michael Allder, Niv Fichman, Barbara Willis Sweete, Larry Weinstein

Written by: François Girard, Don McKellar

Music: Glenn Gould

Cinematography: Alain Dostie

Edited by: Gaétan Huot

Cast

Colm Feore as Glenn Gould

Derek Keurvorst as Gould's Father

Katya Ladan as Gould's Mother

Summary

“Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould” is a 1993 biographical anthology film produced in Canada about the pianist Glenn Gould, played by Colm Feore. Directed by François Girard with a screenplay by Don McKellar, the film is presented as not one narrative, but a series of 31 short films (the 32nd segment is End Credits).

The segments include documentaries, consisting of interviews with individuals who actually knew real Gould and reenactments of episodes in Gould's life. The twentieth segment, "Gould Meets McLaren" uses animated “spheres” from filmography of Norman McLaren, a Canadian animator, director and producer. The film received positive reviews and won four Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture.

Glenn Gould was a Canadian pianist, who was born on September 25, 1932 and died on October 4, 1982, and one of the most famous classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly famous as an interpreter of Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard works.

Glenn Gould

Gould rejected most of the standard Romantic piano music by Chopin, Liszt, and others, and preferred music of Bach and Beethoven, along with some late-Romantic and modernist composers. Gould was also known for his eccentricities, from his unorthodox musical interpretations to aspects of lifestyle and behavior. He was also a writer, broadcaster, composer and conductor, and stopped concerts at the age of 31 to concentrate on studio recording and other projects.

Movie Review

“Spellbinding...a treat for the eyes and ears”

“Classic for those who don't understand classical”

“Magic is created when the art of film making and the music of Glenn Gould come together”

“The genius of Glenn Gould”

“Visual and auditory pleasure”

“Gould & Bach: best of both!”

“Beautiful Presentation of a Curious Life”

Interesting stories about the film

1. Rhombus Media was founded in 1979 with the goal of making a film about pianist Glenn Gould, who was still alive at the time. Producer Niv Fichman explained, "He was our greatest hero. So we thought we had to make a few short films before making one about him." After Gould's death in 1982, director François Girard revived Fichman's plan and mentioned the idea of making Gould's biopic in 1990.

2. Director Girard said, “Because Gould was a very complex character, the biggest problem was to find a way to look at his work and deal with his visions. The film is made up of segments, with each one trying to capture an aspect of Gould. There was no way to put Gould in one box. This film gives the viewer 32 impressions of him. I didn't want to reduce him to one dimension."

3. Actor Colm Feore, who played Gould's role, watched Gould's available videos and listened to his recordings for his role. He also read through 6,000 letters written by Gould.

4. Girard and McKellar re-employed some of the crew members of this film, including cinematographer Alain Dostie and editor Gaétan Huot, for their next film, "The Red Violin (1998)."

"The Red Violin" (1998) poster

5. The TV series “The Simpsons” gave homage to the film with the title of the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", which aired on 14 April 1996.