La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998)

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writers:

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

Release Date:

28 October 1998 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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:

Ship | 1900s | Piano | Immigrant | Pianist

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

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

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

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Spain:7 | South Korea:15 | 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:

There was actually a registered ship named the SS Virginian which was built in 1904 and scrapped around 1954. The ship had one funnel with the Allan Liner's colors on it. The SS Virginian also had a vital part in the Titanic disaster in April 1912 as she was reported near the vicinity of the sinking and within radio contact.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the beginning of the film, the immigrants are happy to be entering America through New York. However, the ships are shown passing from right to left in front of the Statue of Liberty. This would be taking them out of New York harbor, not into it.

Quotes:

1900: [after his grand finale on the piano, he lights the cigarette on the strings of the piano, walks to Jelly Roll Morton and says] You smoke it.
1900: I don't know how.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

The Finger Breaker

The antidote to all your troubles, "1900" will sweep you away

It is at a time like this I wish I could expand my vocabulary to better articulate the virtues and qualities of such a fine film. I also find I'm bursting to talk about this film that I regrettably saw alone. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but desperately want to share it with everyone.

The talented star of "The Legend of 1900", Tim Roth, presented this film along with Clarence Williams III. His encouragement to the audience was that if anyone was the sort who liked to pick apart at films and critique their lack of realism, they should just leave now. He touted this wonderful vision from the director of Cinema Paradiso, Giuseppe Tornatore, and likened the film to a "dream". He also said that if anyone had seen his own film, "The War Zone", that "1900" was the antidote for it. I was slated to see "The War Zone" the next day, but that was fine by me. I managed by a sheer stroke of luck to get into this Canadian premiere and found it to be absolutely extraordinary and the best film I'd seen so far of the Toronto International Film Festival.

It seems as though mere moments after the initial credits, that the wonderful storytelling and incredible music combined with stunning visuals almost had me moved to tears. While I'll admit that I'd be seeing films all day, no film in my recollection had such an impact so quickly.

The story is one of an abandoned baby who is found on a ocean liner by one of the ship's crew. He is unofficially adopted and named "1900" for the year in which he was born. At a very early age the boy demonstrates an extraordinary gift for piano playing which is only strengthened in his passing years. The boy grows up with no official identity, into a man having never taken a step off of the ship onto dry land in his whole life. The young man, played by Tim Roth is encouraged by his dear friend to leave the boat and pursue a life of fame and fortune as the great pianist he has become. 1900 declines, explaining simply that everything he needs is on the boat.

Well, that should be enough to intrigue you; there's much more of course, but I've no desire to spoil it for anyone. I must encourage everyone to see this film, I can hardly imagine anyone being disappointed. It's for music lovers, dreamers, romantics and film buffs everywhere and my greatest hope is that it will be seen by many, many people, especially those I know and love. And after seeing the film, and hearing Tim Roth's words echoing in my mind, he was absolutely right. It is like a dream, a wonderful dream that I wished would never end. And for a future prediction, I see this film as a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination for 1999.