The Legend of 1900

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, see this movie.......2007-09-05

Why are all the gems overlooked? It's sad, intelligent, funny, heartwrenching, dramatic, and everything a movie should be. Please see this movie, you will not regret it. Please.

The Legend of 1900.......2007-07-24

Trust me, this is something you have to OWN because it's compulsive viewing that requires watching over and over again and be delighted to find new things each time afresh.

This is not a romantic love story that some reviewers had us believed. The strength of the story lies in the human journey of life, the poetic script and the delivery of lines, the hauntingly beautiful music and cinematography, the strong acting of a fine cast, the thoughtful production and vision of the director- all the elements we come to appreciate in European films as opposed to the pedestrian Hollywood box office stuff. It's an Italian production directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and made in Rome.

Tim Roth shines. Don't miss his stunning performance.

The story begins with the touching scene of Max, a down and out talented musician selling his trumpet at a pawn shop for next to nothing to buy a decent meal. He begged to play his trumpet one last time and began to play the music created by a "nameless" pianist known as 1900. The indifferent pawnbroker was at once moved by the music and curious about the story behind.

Max reminisced the past on how he got to know 1900 when he played on the luxurious ocean liner, Virginian. His first meeting scene with 1900 is absolutely mesmerising. He was so sea sick and 1900 showed him the way to cure his misery - the now famous piano ride scene- with 1900 playing magical music on a moving grand piano (with brakes taken off). It's an amazingly breathtaking scene that completely captivates the audience with the piano surging backward and forward to the rhythm of the rough sea, crashing everything in the way and landing them in trouble with the ship captain. While being punished to shovel coal in the engine room, 1900's story was told.

He was a newborn foundling in a lemon box on top of a grand piano in the first class cabin discovered by an engine room coal stoker. Hardship and harshness of life had not diminished his kindness of heart and yearning for love so he raised the boy to avoid the boy's doomed fate of an orphanage.

Audience will be moved and enjoy how 1900 still talked about people would be locked up in an orphanage if they don't have children as his adoptive father told him once in jest when he was little. This is 1900's own quiet way of coping with his private grief and keeping his adoptive father's memory alive.

1900 knew little beyond the confines of the ship and was innocent and naive of the ways of the world. His communication and interaction with people were through his music which he created instinctively to express himself and in response to his immediate environment through his keen observation of people and the world around him.

He was born to make music on the piano with magical fingers which impressed the ship captain and others so much that he was allowed to stay on board to entertain after his adoptive father died in an engine room accident and was adored by all. But there would be lonely moments when he and his music were left abandoned by the adoring crowd after the ship docked and passengers flocked ashore to their respective lives and then he was all alone again with his piano.

Through some lovely and thoughtful piano recital scenes for both first and third class passengers, the director shows us how unaffected 1900 was and how he was totally comfortable mixing with the rich and the poor unconscious of class distinction.

He was as relaxed with the rich in his tailed tuxedo in first class cabin as with the poor immigrants in the third class cabin who would utter some incomprehensible notes and asked 1900 to play a tune that reminded them of the home they left behind. 1900 would make magical music just on hearing a tune once, to the delight of the crowd and the director also took care to show us how first class passengers would deign to go to the third class cabin with handkerchief on nose just to listen to 1900's music.

The three landmark episodes of his life were played out in the following poignant scenes:-

1) His humble response to the ostentatious King of Jazz's bully and challenge to a piano duel. Watch out for how they use a cigarette to prove who has the lightest butterfly fingers whilst making the most earth moving music and how he plays as if he had two pairs of hands.

2) His gentle, brief yet profound encounter with the girl, a third class passenger, the power of which lies with the director's deliberate intent to leave an indelible mark on the audience through the unsaid, the unspoken and the unrequited love.

3) His trust and friendship with Max culminating to the bittersweet ending of the story through his most endearing and enduring soliloquy about his fear of life not so much because of what he saw but what he didn't see -"Where the whole thing came to an end...how do you just choose one woman, one house, one piece of land to call your own, one landscape to look at ...one way to die...you don't even know where it all comes to an end...it's a voyage too long, perfume too strong... I can't get off the ship (his reality); at best, I can step off my life..."This is some powerful stuff that could easily be uttered by anyone of us in our eternal search for our reality and the meaning of life.

This sums up the tragedy that's his and ours.

I am just typing off the top of my head after I saw the film and can't wait to share with you. I can certainly fine tune and improve on it given more time but in the meantime, enjoy.

Ballerina, Australia
24 July 2007

A journey, a dream, a fantasy.......2007-07-17

I feel that many of the reviews here do not get Tornatorrwe. To appreciate this fabulous Italian director is to understand that the plot does not really matter in and of itself. The plot here is simle, if unusual, a boy who is a musical genuis - born and living his whole life on a transatlantic liner in the golden age of translatlantic voyages.

Those looking for a "period drama" will be disappointed here. This movie, like many of Tornatorre's films, is a journey through time and human experiences. The film is interlaced with retrospectives back and forth through time, weaved on a canvas of beautiful images - such is the picture of fascinated passangers arriving in America when they see the statue of Liverty or the main character playing a piano which is "dancing" in the ballroom of a ship.

This movie is a rich poetic and artistic exerience for those who are willing to take the journey. The music of Enio Morricone is wanderful, the performances are impressive and the experience memorable.

Gen on the ship and enjoy the journey!

p.s. for those who like the movie, I recommend other Tornatorre/Moricone features, such as "Malena" and, of course "Cinema Paradiso"

Throw logic out the window. Just enjoy.......2007-05-21

You have to think of this movie as a vivid, fantastical, dream. And like such dreams, logical connections are no stronger than wisps of smoke.

Can an infant be abandoned at birth on a cruise ship without the captain's eventual knowledge, and would not any such officer have reported it to some authority? Don't waste your time worrying about it.

And how can a boy be brought up by a black shipworker among other semi-educated shipworkers, and grow into a man speaking with a cultured English accent? Again, don't waste your time worrying about it. Enjoy the magic.

Beautifully filmed.......2007-03-08

I can't say that I loved the ending, but I was captivated by this film. The music is, of course, lovely, but it was the cinematography that I thought stunning. I found myself searching through each scene for something that was a bright, apple-green.

The Legend of 1900 / Bodies, Rest & Motion

Average customer rating:

The Legend of 1900
Great Find
The Legend of 1900
1900 is One of my favorites. A really fresh look at life.
Legend of 1900

The Legend of 1900 / Bodies, Rest & Motion
Starring: Tim Roth , Pruitt Taylor Vince , Mélanie Thierry , Bill Nunn , and Clarence Williams III
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore , and Michael Steinberg
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000D1FFQ
Release Date: 2003-10-21

Customer Reviews:

The Legend of 1900.......2007-03-05

I saw this movie on a flight between Hong Kong and Seattle. However, I fell asleep and missed the ending. I looked for several years before I finally found it. The Legend of 1900 was a wonderful movie and a great story. The ending was different from what I thought happened and my efforts to find it was well worth it! I highly recommended it.

Great Find.......2007-02-08

This is an excellent movie that didn't get much press, but when I found it through this vendor at such a reasonable price, I couldn't resist. It was shipped promptly and arrived in just a few days in excellent condition. I'm very pleased with my purchase experience with this vendor.

The Legend of 1900.......2007-01-04

I originally saw only a small portion of this movie on TV, but enough so that I purchased the DVD. Seeing the entire movie brought every thing into focus and using my own ranking scale, I gave it a strong B+.

The story line is unique, the characters and characterization wonderful and I have recommended it to many friends who I think will appreciate it. It is for people who have a sense of adventure and a fair degree of sensitivity, so I have been selective about my recommendations.

As for Bodies, Rest & Motion; I felt uncomfortable in viewing the first 15 minutes of it, so didn't bother watching the remainder.

1900 is One of my favorites. A really fresh look at life........2006-04-20

This was something completely different. What Hollywood doesn't produce anymore. A quirky somewhat melancholy movie that has many fascinating visual and auditory highlights as well as some darker moments that grab you and keep you thinking.

Legend of 1900.......2006-04-19

Haven't seen the other movie but had to own 1900. Good story and acting. The music scene during the storm is one of the most memorable of *any* film.

Average customer rating:

Excellent, see this movie
The Legend of 1900
A journey, a dream, a fantasy
Throw logic out the window. Just enjoy
Beautifully filmed

The Legend of 1900 [IMPORT]
Starring: Tim Roth , Pruitt Taylor Vince , Mélanie Thierry , Bill Nunn , and Clarence Williams III
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Manufacturer: Pid
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00005QB9A
Release Date: 2001-09-04

Album Description

Import only NTSC/Region 1 DVD. The touching story of a man (Tim Roth) who was born and raised on a ship. His only interactions with the outside world are through the ship's passengers. As he matures, he becomes an accomplished pianist, and eventually falls in love with a woman who threatens to tempt him into stepping off the ship for the very first time. Tornatore's fairytale is at once a tender and moving motion picture that gives Roth a chance to shine. Stars Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Clarence Williams III, Melanie Thierry, Bill Nunn, Peter Vaughan. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Widescreen 2.35:1, 1989, 125 minutes. 2001.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, see this movie.......2007-09-05

Why are all the gems overlooked? It's sad, intelligent, funny, heartwrenching, dramatic, and everything a movie should be. Please see this movie, you will not regret it. Please.

The Legend of 1900.......2007-07-24

A journey, a dream, a fantasy.......2007-07-17

Throw logic out the window. Just enjoy.......2007-05-21

Beautifully filmed.......2007-03-08

Average customer rating:

Legend of 1900
Starring: Tim Roth , Pruitt Taylor Vince , Mélanie Thierry , Bill Nunn , and Clarence Williams III
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000065KH2
Release Date: 2001-09-04

DVD:

DVD

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