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:

Exterior shots of the ship are the inspired blueprints of the SS Lusitania and her sister ship the SS Mauritania. The ballroom in which 1900 plays his piano in had a dome similar to the dome the SS Mauritania had in her ballroom during the transatlantic period.

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: You rolled out in front of me a keyboard of millions of keys, millions and billions of keys that never end. And that's the truth Max, that they never end. That keyboard is infinite... and if that keyboard is infinite, then on that keyboard there is no music you can play. You're sitting on the wrong bench... That is God's piano.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

The Crave

A wonderfully wistful mixture of melodrama and music.

"The Legend of 1900" wistfully tells its creative, capriciously unpredictable, and musical tall tale with excellence in all aspects of film from sets to sound, costume to casting, and script to screenplay. Roth and Vince work well together in this plaintive, simple story which will captivate those who can make the leap of faith required to "buy in". A good film for all but critics, "Legend" will likely resonate most with those who equate living with musical expression. La vita è musica.