A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his subsequent life after he was abducted by the KGB as well as a history of his instrument.A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his subsequent life after he was abducted by the KGB as well as a history of his instrument.A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his subsequent life after he was abducted by the KGB as well as a history of his instrument.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
Vladimir Lenin
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Lenin)
Ingrid Bergman
- Dr. Constance Petersen
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Bobby Burgess
- Actor in 'The Mickey Mouse Club Show' Clip
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Samuel Hoffman
- Self - in 'The Mickey Mouse Club Show' Clip
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Jerry Lewis
- Sidney L. Pythias
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Ray Milland
- Don Birnam
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Patricia Neal
- Helen Benson
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn 1991, director Steven M. Martin traveled to Moscow, found Léon Theremin, and bought him back to the United States for the first time since 1938.
- GoofsIn the credits, the song "Someday My Prince Will Come", by Larry Morey and Frank Churchill, is listed as "Someday My Price Will Come".
- Quotes
Brian Wilson - Founder of The Beach Boys: It sounded like one of those scary movies where - OOOH - a weird trip, you know. Weird facial expressions. Weird, you know. It's almost sexual.
- Alternate versionsThe uncut version of the film contains a segment from The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) that is not available in any of the home-video releases because of rights issues.
- SoundtracksSerenade Melancolique
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (as Tchaikovsky)
Performed by Clara Rockmore and Nadia Reisenberg
Courtesy of Delos Records
Featured review
It makes you want to buy a theremin and start playing....
I owe my watching this documentary to my strange daughter. Now I do not mean this in a bad way--I come from a family of strange people and the fact that she KNEW what a theremin was surprised me, as I sure didn't. Apparently a theremin is a magnificent electronic musical instrument created in the early part of the 20th century by Dr. Theremin--a genius who had immigrated to the US around the time of the Russian Revolution. This film, then, is about the instrument and its inventor--and it makes for a slow but very interesting story worth seeing even if you are not a musician. I am certainly not one, but I found myself marveling at the beautiful and other-worldly sound of this machine. In fact, we have all heard the theremin before--most often in sci-fi movies but even in other places such as the Beach Boys' song "Good Vibrations". And, speaking of this, seeing Brian Wilson interviewed was pretty bizarre, as he looked pretty good but the more he talked the more you realized that he still is quite mentally ill.
Anyway, there is MUCH more to the story in regards to Dr. Theremin--much more, but I don't want to say more because it would spoil this wonderful film. His life, put simply, is MUCH stranger than fiction! I give the documentary very high marks for all the effort it took to construct--with trips to Moscow, locating the Doctor, arranging for interviews, etc.. Clearly this was a labor of love and I appreciate this. The only reason i don't rate this even higher is that it is a bit dry in places and although it kept my interest, I have a much larger capacity than normal for this sort of thing...and the average person might just find their mind wandering. Still, it's fascinating and I strongly recommend you try it.
Anyway, there is MUCH more to the story in regards to Dr. Theremin--much more, but I don't want to say more because it would spoil this wonderful film. His life, put simply, is MUCH stranger than fiction! I give the documentary very high marks for all the effort it took to construct--with trips to Moscow, locating the Doctor, arranging for interviews, etc.. Clearly this was a labor of love and I appreciate this. The only reason i don't rate this even higher is that it is a bit dry in places and although it kept my interest, I have a much larger capacity than normal for this sort of thing...and the average person might just find their mind wandering. Still, it's fascinating and I strongly recommend you try it.
helpful•10
- planktonrules
- May 24, 2011
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Лев Термен: Электронная одиссея
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $253,311
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,335
- Aug 27, 1995
- Gross worldwide
- $253,311
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1993) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer