The Harmonists
|
Our Price: $19.98 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $12.85 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Harmonists
Movie Review: Am Besten Filme
Summary: 5 Stars
The best German movie to date. I have a good collection but this out preforms all others. A must have for your German or even just plain Films collection.Movie Review: Music transcends all.
Summary: 5 Stars
A very classy movie that deals with the subject of racism. Haunting film that reminds us of the cancer in the Nazi philosophy. MikeMovie Review: Ausgezeichnet! (And darned good too!)
Summary: 4 Stars
Let's get the negatives over first. Just about every musical has some hokey scene where musicians who have either just met for the first time or who have yet to gel suddenly click and produce music that, if not miraculous, is at least fit to be included on the soundtrack album. It happens in Hollywood flicks and it happens here too. After being rejected at their first audition, a struggling German vocal group in late '20s Berlin is just about to pack it in, when in a burst of inspiration they turn their pity party into an extraordinary vocal jam session (where their uncanny ability to imitate musical instruments is revealed) and the rest is, as they say, history: their ultimate success, a given.That much may seem like formula--and maybe some of the boy-girl aspects of storyline may seem like familiar territory as well (two friends and musical collaborators competing for the love of the same girl). But the movie IS fact based, and presumably reasonably true to actual events. Of course, when those events take place against the historical backdrop of the rise of Nazism and the first intimations of the Holocaust to come, then they take on an additional poignancy. The inevitable squabbles and petty jealousies of musical partners will soon to be dwarfed by the sheer enormity of the historical events brewing all around them. We know it: they don't (yet). Therein lies much of the film's emotional power.
Much has been made of the fact that half the group, who come to be billed as "The Comedian Harmonists," was Jewish and that they nonetheless enjoyed considerable popularity in a society beginning to seethe over with anti-Semitism. In fact, the film plotline has top Nazi officials numbering among its biggest fans. The suggestion is that even the cruelest of hearts could be touched by music this bright, happy and fun. The tendency toward denial among German Jews (and other Germans!) is also hinted at. Surely, these beloved artists would be spared from the coming nightmare! It can't happen "hier"!
The movie is somewhat evocative of other films involving struggling entertainers in the pre-Hitler era. Like CABARET, it is a supremely entertaining musical with a political punch. But it's not nearly as dark as that film, or as other films that tread similar terrain (Bergman's SERPENT'S EGG, Visconti's THE DAMNED). Aside from their considerable musical talent, these characters are actually everyman types. Oh sure, they party hard and get their start singing in a brothel. But they all possess a certain innocence nonetheless. This is not quite the demimonde: it's more a bunch of blokes getting together to make light, humorous, jazzy music while the world around them crumbles.
They are indeed Comedians as well as Harmonists. But, as they say, sometimes the line between comedy and tragedy is a fine one.
Movie Review: Portraying the horrors of Hitler incrementally
Summary: 4 Stars
If you thought "Schindler's List" came off a little heavy-handed and patronizing, you are not the only one. I find movies such as "Sophie's Choice" and the "Comedian Harmonists" to be infinitely more effective in relaying the sadness and depressing realities of the Nazi fanaticism. Whereas "Schindler's List" is one numbing horror story after another, the smaller stories mentioned above have the ability to focus the viewers attention and admisration on a smaller range of characters and themes.
Watching this film was simultaneously uplifting and depressing-the fine characters practicing their art while the politics trudge on. The last concert scene is one of the more heartrenching aspects of this film. Hitler's drones allowing one last go-around before the Jews are disbanded from the group forcefully. It's amazing how petty the politics were-ranging from music,literature and artwork. We all know the end result, but it's more interesting to me to see it's effects and roots from a different viewpoint.
The music of course is the big draw here. Good acting and singing easily overcome some of the staid visual direction. Some scenes looked like they were slapped together. The sets were obvious and did not successfully visualize pre WW2 Germany and the depressed economy.
Movie Review: "The Harmonists" Shine!
Summary: 4 Stars
My friend and I first saw this movie at a theatre in Detroit when it first came to the USA. We enjoyed the movie very much, and the music is excellent! The only thing we didn't like were the English subtitles. Also, the cast of "The Harmonists" did an excellent job telling the story of the Comedian Harmonists. In addition, it is easy to understand why Barry Manilow and his callaborator, Bruce Sussman, were inspired by this movie and have written a musical called HARMONY as a result of this inspiration. Hopefully, HARMONY will make its debut on Broadway in 2003, and many more people will become aware of the fabulous Comendian Harmonists.