Leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, La (1998)

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writers:

Alessandro Baricco (monologue Novecento)
Giuseppe Tornatore (written by)

Release Date:

28 October 1998 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

An epic story of a man who could do anything... except be ordinary.

Plot:

Shortly after the Second World War, Max, a transplanted American, visits an English pawn shop to sell his trumpet...

Plot Keywords:

Italian Immigrant | Italian | Port | Musical Duel | Transatlantic

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tim Roth	...	Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred '1900'
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Max Tooney
Mélanie Thierry	...	The Girl
Bill Nunn	...	Danny Boodmann
Clarence Williams III	...	Jelly Roll Morton
Peter Vaughan	...	'Pops', the Shopkeeper
Niall O'Brien	...	Harbor Master
Gabriele Lavia	...	Farmer
Vernon Nurse	...	Fritz Hermann, the Bandleader
Alberto Vazquez	...	Mexican Stoker
John Armstead
Cory Buck	...	The Young 1900 II
Norman Chancer
Sidney Cole	...	Musician
Katy Monique Cuom

Also Known As:

The Legend of 1900 (USA)
The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

165 min | Spain:120 min (DVD edition) | France:120 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Spain:7 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Medusa Produzione

Trivia:

Exterior shots of the ship are the inspired blueprints of the SS Lusitania and her sister ship the SS Mauritania. The ballroom in which 1900 plays his piano in had a dome similar to the dome the SS Mauritania had in her ballroom during the transatlantic period.

Quotes:

Max: Sometimes that is the way you have to do it: you go right back to the beginning.

Movie Connections:

Version of Novecento (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Peacherine Rag

Impressive

Not a classic, but whoa, some of that piano playing just sweeps you right off your feet. Tim Roth is good as the handsome pianist Nineteenhundred and so is all the the rest of the cast. This cast also includes Clarence Williams III, presumably the grandson of Clarence Williams (the man who wrote the song "Basin Street Blues" one hell of a classic), as Jelly Roll Morton. This leads me on to one of the most impressive parts of the film where Nineteenhundred and Morton have a match to see who is the best pianist. There is some piano playing in this scene which will leave pianists with there mouths hanging open. Probably the best thing about this film is it's music. There are many rousing themes played throughout the film, especially the love theme played while Nineteenhundred kisses a girl he has fallen in love with, a simple yet very effective theme. Another thing that makes this film very good is the fantastic camera-shots, especially one of Nineteenhundred as he stands halfway across the plank which leads him from the boat to New York, undecided whether or not he should leave the boat and head for world-wide celebrity on land, or stay on the boat and remain unknown to anyone but the passengers. I have got to get myself the soundtrack to this film and you have got to see it somehow. Enjoy!