Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)

A collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.

Director:

François Girard

Writers:

François Girard (screenplay), Don McKellar (screenplay),

Stars:

Colm Feore, Derek Keurvorst, Katya Ladan

8 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colm Feore	...	Glenn Gould
Derek Keurvorst	...	Gould's Father
Katya Ladan	...	Gould's Mother
Devon Anderson	...	Young Glenn Age 3
Joshua Greenblatt	...	Young Glenn Age 8
Sean Ryan	...	Young Glenn Age 12
Kate Hennig	...	Chambermaid
Sean Doyle	...	Porter
Sharon Bernbaum	...	Female Guide
Don McKellar	...	Concert Promoter
David Hughes	...	Stagehand
Carlo Rota	...	C.B.S. Producer (as Carlo D. Rota)
Peter Millard	...	C.B.S. Engineer
John Dolan	...	C.B.S. Assistant Engineer
Allegra Fulton	...	Waitress

Storyline

As the title suggests, this dramatised documentary about the eccentric Canadian pianist Glenn Gould is broken up into thirty-two short films (mirroring the thirty-two part structure of Bach's 'Goldberg Variations', the recording that Gould made famous), each giving us an insight into some aspect of Gould's life and career. Out of respect for the music lead actor Colm Feore is never seen playing the piano, merely reacting to Gould's own recordings, which are extensively featured

---

Plot Keywords:

glenn gould | piano | arctic | northern canada | johann sebastian bach | 

---

Taglines:

The sound of genius.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

---

Details

Country:

Portugal Canada Finland Netherlands

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

32 Curtas Metragens Sobre Glenn Gould

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Gross:

$1,567,543 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Glenn Gould Ltd., Nederlandse Omroepstichting (NOS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The structure of the film is based on the structure of the piece that Glenn Gould is most famous for playing, Johann Sebastian Bach's "Goldberg Variations", which are 32 short pieces of music that are usually played together.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Glenn Gould: [voiceover] My mother tells me that by five years old I had decided definitively to become a concert pianist. I think she had decided some time earlier. The story goes that while I was in the womb she played the piano continuously to give me a head start, and evidently it paid off. My mother was my first teacher, and I've never doubted her methods. After all, she introduced me to Bach.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Night of the Blood Beast (1996)

---

Soundtracks

"Prelude No. 2 in C minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I"
Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Glenn Gould

User Reviews

surprisingly and wonderfully linear

the concept works. i like how the film is composed of individual films, yet the individual films do an excellent job of telling a singular, cohesive story. the best aspect is that we don't have to deal with the boring plot proceedings- we just fill in the blanks ourselves. learning about gould's personality through the dialogue kept my interest, but looking back, it was actually the strictly instrumental pieces that really kept my interest. fortunately gould's actual performances are mesmerizing enough on their own to really supplement the visuals. a couple of favorites off the top of my head are "man sitting in chair" and "a day's journal" (sorry, not the exact titles i think). colm feore, i've seen you in about a dozen pictures, but this is the one that made me really notice your name.