Violin reviews

disappointing, at best. I hate to say it, but this was an abysmally executed movie. I had high hopes, despite a total lack of critical acclaim, and for once find myself siding with the critics... The interplay of the chronologies was potentially clever, but executed poorly enough to add only superficial interest. The movie unfortunately stayed superficial in its treatment of all the characters, including the violin. I believed the violin was special only because I was told so - it never resonated for me as apparently it did for Moritz. As the ostensible main character, Moritz is unexplored - the depth of feeling the movie suggested was necessarily present in anyone able to recognise the masterpiece was non-evident, except in one contrived moment when he chastises a scientist for "not getting it". The cinematography lacked originality (or even effectiveness), the dialogue was mediocre and predictable. The one redeeming feature was the score, which often overwhelmed the film entirely such that at times I was tempted to turn the picture off. I would recommend anyone who actually watches this film to optimize their enjoyment by listening in full surround sound. Or better yet, skip the movie and buy the soundtrack.

Lacking DVD for an absolutely wonderful film. The Lion's Gate Entertainment release of The Red Violin is a stripped down DVD with no extra features whatsoever. How sad. I'd love to see cast information, director commentary and a "making of" featurette. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to know the in's and out's about how this wonderful film was put together. Maybe some day we will. It's annoying when studios put out a bare bone DVD, only to sucker consumers a year or two later with a "Special Edition". If that's what Lion's Gate has in mind here, then shame on them. There is another DVD version put out by Universal/MCA in 2000 which has basic extras like production notes, soundtrack information, and trailers. I believe it is currently out of print though. Anyway, the picture and sound quality on this widescreen disc are great. There are English and Spanish subtitles, scene selection and a trailer for the film (as well as other Lion's Gate releases). The film gets 5 stars. The DVD gets a 2. Hopefully this film will get the full DVD treatment it deserves in the future.

I love his movie except for one thing..... The tarot card reading through out the film is an integral part ofthe story bt if they could have found another way to convey the story, I would have given it 5 stars but the astrology stuff gives me the creeps! Otherwise a superb movie from beginning to end.

All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go . This film is all swelling, grand music and shiny surfaces with absolutely nothing at the center. The power of music? The passions stirred by art? Nonsense. "Music" is just a series of shallow caricatures, made up of dancing, beautiful Gypsies and child prodigies. I read all the positive reviews - has anyone actually looked beyond the expensive, lavish, ravishing, etc. costumes and sets and listened to the god awful dialogue in this film (particularly the scene between Pope and his mistress)?

The acting by all concerned was stiff, lifeless, and oh-so earnest; and all of such a type I have to assume the director is to blame. I never imagined Samuel L. Jackson would ever look wrong in front of a camera, but here the film-makers manage even to make this great actor appear shallow, despite staging him over and over in scenes of posed drama.

Every single shot and scene looks like a very expensive perfume advertisement, and the director has absolutely no sense of pace. The characters are cardboard cutouts, expressing nothing but the most obvious of emotions and the writing would end up in the recycle bin of any competent romance novelist. Finally, was there anyone, anywhere that was surprised by the source of the violin's varnish (revealed in yet one more scene of swelling music and overly-pretty shots)? I give it two stars for some very interesting playing by Joshua Bell.

One of 1999's Best!. After seeing this movie, I expected it to garner more Oscar nominations. I was moved by this ensemble cast that took us on a violin's voyage through time: from 17th Century Italy, 18th Century Austria, 19th Century Oxford, China during the Cultural Revolution, and the Montreal of today. This movie was visually impressive, brilliant performances by the ensemble cast, and the story itself is just plain enchanting. Kudos to the Academy for rightly recognizing the masterful musical score of John Corigliano (performed by the great violinist, Joshua Bell).