The Legend of 1900 [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

Sweet and gentle.......2007-08-03

This film started my love affair for Tim Roth. I know some posters have commented that the casting was poor, but I disagree. 1900 is a sensitive, naive soul and Tim Roth protrays this very well I believe. With Tim it is all in the eyes. 1900 would not have worked as a character had he been played by some gorgeous young hunk, what would be the point. As a character he is unwordly, shy and a talented genius musician, Tim Roth was perfect in the role.

The film can drag a little in places, but the music is beautiful and the sets rather lovely. In summary I would say it was a pleasing period piece, best suited for music lovers.

One of my favourites.......2007-03-12

This is an unusual gem - a real 'find'! I picked it up in the bargain box of my local video store a few years ago and bought it because it had an unlikely title and an intriguing storyline. I was not disappointed! Just as other reviewers have commented, it is gentle and slow and very moving. It also has its funny bits - one of the best scenes is when there is a big storm at sea, and the trumpet player gets seasick. He ends up sitting on the piano stool next to the pianist as the piano is cut loose from its tethers and rolls around the ballroom as the ship sways and tilts, and all the time the pianist is playing. Marvellous! I've watched the film several times and always cry at the end. I'm now purchasing the DVD to bring me more up-to-date.

A must see film!.......2006-05-04

This has to be one of my favourite films, not alot of people have seen this film which makes it all the better when i watch it. The music form start to finish was amazing and the narrative was well written and what i thought very unique. This film is not what i would call as a mainstream film but deserves praise for the enjoying it gave to me.

Bad Casting Ruins another Motion Picture!!.......2006-04-10

"The Legend of 1900" directed by Giuseppe Tornatore is a prime example of a Motion Picture ruined by poor casting.

Tim Roth has no mystery as an actor and is rather ugly to look at. Also his delivery and technique is poor. He might be able to play a working class yob or a raging monkey with some conviction but a genius pianist in coat and tails he cannot. I was not sure if at one point he wanted to do an American accent and then just abandoned the idea. His whining delivery of the last anecdotal speech is embarrassingly bad, unmoving and unfocused.

The other terrible piece of casting was that of the trumpeter. This actor wanted so much to be good but unfortunately he was the opposite. His eyes shifted continually in the most irritating manner and so you never had any idea who he was looking at or what he was feeling. He also had no natural rhythm. At one point he plays the trumpet and walks outside to where a crowd forms around him. His poor impressions of the movements of a trumpeter were so contrived and soulless that the scene was almost funny.

Casting these two unlikeable and untalented actors killed this picture before a camera started turning. What a shame as the story was an interesting one.

A curious yarn.......2006-03-16

THE LEGEND OF 1900 has as its protagonist a man named D.B.T.D.L. 1900. The "1900" is indicative of the year he was born and found abandoned on a luxury ocean liner, the "Virginian", after its passengers had disembarked in New York. Let it suffice to say that the other initials stand for the ship's crewman that discovered him, and the brand name on the produce crate in which he was lying.

The time frame of this film can be tricky at the beginning unless one pays attention. The "now" is, apparently, after WWII. After pawning his trumpet in an English hockshop, Max (Pruitt Taylor Vince) begs to play it one last time. While doing so, the pawnbroker recognizes the melody as that played on a piano on an old record. He spins it for Max, who identifies the pianist as 1900, whom he met in 1927 when he (Max) signed aboard the Virginian as a band member. In a flashback, he recalls the story of 1900's birth, emphasizing that the man never ever left the liner to set foot on solid land. On being asked where he found the disk, purportedly the master copy of the recording session and the only one in existence, the shop owner says it was hidden in a piano that came off an old hospital ship berthed in the harbor. On going to the dock, Max recognizes the rusting hulk as the Virginian, which is in the process of being loaded with explosives designed to scuttle the vessel. Convinced that 1900 is still aboard and hiding, he insists on a search. Interspersed with this activity are more flashbacks to the 20s and 30s when Max played with 1900 in the ship's main ballroom.

THE LEGEND OF 1900 is not a perfect film by any means. The character of The Girl (Melanie Thierry) and her relationship with 1900 are left frustratingly underdeveloped. Sad-faced Tim Roth is wonderful as the enigmatic 1900, who is perhaps too inscrutable. (But, then, legends generally are, or they wouldn't be legends. Remember the old saw, "Familiarity breeds contempt.") Without the monolog by 1900 towards the end when he explains himself to Max, the viewer would be left with precious little of the former to fathom. However, one thing is known for sure - 1900 is a phenomenal musical talent. He can play a melody on the piano, no matter how complex, after having heard it only once. He demonstrates this and more (wow!) during a "dueling pianos" session with Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III), the "inventor" of jazz, who comes aboard for an Atlantic crossing just so he can challenge the famous upstart. And, in perhaps the film's most entrancing scene, 1900 plays the piano in the deserted ballroom while the ship rolls in the ocean swells. 1900 has unlocked the piano's anchor wheels, so the instrument glides serenely back and forth over the dance floor while managing not to hit anything until ... well, you have to see it.

Viewed as a tragic figure, the viewer will understand 1900 when he says, "The world has passed me by 2000 people at a time." The film is bittersweet to be sure, but well done. See it if you're looking for something on the slightly eccentric side of ordinary.

Legend of 1900 [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Average customer rating:
Legend of 1900 [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Tim Roth
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Drama | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video
DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
ASIN: 6307012994
Release Date: 2002-06-04
Legend of 1900 [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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