The Red Violin
by Fran?ois Girard
List Price:
Our Price: $9.99
You Save: $4.99 (33%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $7.49 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anita Laurenzi, Carlo Cecchi, Irene Grazioli, Samuele Amighetti, Tommaso PuntelliDirector: Fran?ois Girard
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language); German (Original Language); Italian (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 130 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of The Red Violin
Movie Review: Pretty Vignettes, Nothing More
Summary: 3 Stars
I came to this film backwards, from the experience of the Red Violin Concerto composed by John Corigliano, on the basis of the musical theme he contributed to the movie. The concerto is a vigorous, dramatic piece of music, with even a bit of emotional profundity about it, so I was expecting a movie of some depth. I have to say, I was disappointed. This is a sprawling edisodic melodrama, set in Renaissance Italy, Rococo Austria, Victorian England, and Maoist China, and when bow comes to string it's a movie about an art thief who succeeds, with no apologies. Now it's not every day that I get to practice my Italian, German, and Mandarin all in one sitting, so that's worth one star. The Italian and Austrian sets were beautiful, so there's another star. The "monastery" in the Alps was in reality a castle where I've spent time, so one star more for nostalgia. The depiction of China during the Cultural Revolution was mortally vivid, so there's a fourth star. However, the whole thing stalled unmercifully for lack of anything approaching suspense or drama, so I'm deducting one star, leaving three.
By all means, listen to the CD of the full Red Violin Concerto, as performed by Joshua Bell. It's a work of art.
Summary of The Red Violin
Mounted in high lavish style, from the opening strains to coda, The Red Violin pays homage to the careful uses of color and composition without bothering to support these qualities with any real substance. Oh, it's a class act on the surface all the way, while failing on nearly every other level to convince. The story tells the story, revealing precious little else. The 17th-century Cremonese instrument-maker Niccolo Bussotti finishes his final violin with a curious red varnish, the secret of which spans the film, yet will come as a surprise only to the very sleepy. The odd voyage of this unique violin through history is then explored from one episode to the next, from child prodigy to gypsies to Victorian virtuoso to a clandestine enclave of art lovers in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution. This is all framed by the violin's rediscovery in present day by instrument appraiser Charles Morritz (Samuel L. Jackson), for whom the perfect instrument strikes a resonant chord. The main scheme of the film, an object connecting a number of seemingly disparate stories, has been used many times, most notably in Max Ophuls's La Ronde. But while this approach is employed elsewhere to cause one scene to reverberate against another, The Red Violin is content to leave each episode thematically unconnected with any of the others. On the decorative level, the film may satisfy many viewers with its sensuous attention to tone and detail, as well as its eclectic and expertly performed score. But as narrative it is very slight. Just pierce the pretty crust of this puff pastry and gaze in wonder at the pocket of air within. --Jim GayArt House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Girls' Night Films
Finding Neverland (Widescreen Edition)DEPP,JOHNNY; Release date: 2005-03-22; DVD
Best price: $5.70
Price in other shops:
The Red ViolinRelease date: 2003-05-20; DVD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops:
OnceTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-12-18; DVD
Best price: $10.77
Price in other shops:
Meet Joe Black (Ultimate Edition)Release date: 2001-07-17; DVD
Best price: $6.78
Price in other shops:
StepmomROBERTS,JULIA; Release date: 1999-04-13; DVD
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
Anna and the KingTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2000-10-31; DVD
Best price: $7.88
Price in other shops:
The End of the AffairFIENNES,RALPH; Release date: 2000-05-16; DVD
Best price: $4.43
Price in other shops:
The Fountain (Widescreen Edition)WEISZ,RACHEL; Release date: 2007-05-15; DVD
Best price: $6.83
Price in other shops:
Becoming JaneBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2008-02-12; DVD
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Like Water for ChocolateCAVAZOS/LEONARDI; Release date: 2000-03-14; DVD
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Joshua Bell - Red Violin ConcertoRelease date: 2007-09-04; Music CD
Best price: $9.25
Price in other shops:
The PianoRelease date: 1998-01-20; DVD
Best price: $7.45
Price in other shops:
The Legend of 1900Release date: 2002-06-04; DVD
Best price: $9.02
Price in other shops:
ShineRelease date: 1997-07-16; DVD
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Copying BeethovenRelease date: 2007-04-03; DVD
Best price: $9.96
Price in other shops:
ImpromptuRelease date: 2002-03-19; DVD
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
Chopin: Desire For LoveRelease date: 2004-11-30; DVD
Best price: $4.20
Price in other shops:
Amadeus - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)Release date: 2002-09-24; DVD
Best price: $12.48
Price in other shops:
Immortal BelovedColumbia Pictures; Release date: 1999-10-05; DVD
Best price: $7.70
Price in other shops:
The Red Violin: Original Motion Picture SoundtrackRelease date: 1999-05-18; Music CD
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops: