Le violon rouge (1998)

Director:

François Girard

Writers:

Don McKellar (written by) &
François Girard (written by)

Release Date:

11 June 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Mystery | Music

Tagline:

Passion Is Timeless

Plot:

A perfect red-colored violin inspires passion, making its way through three centuries over several owners and countries, eventually ending up at an auction where it may find a new owner.

Plot Keywords:

Violin | Auction | Secret | Violinist | Passion

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Carlo Cecchi	...	Nicolo Bussotti (Cremona)
Irene Grazioli	...	Anna Bussotti (Cremona)
Anita Laurenzi	...	Cesca (Cremona)
Tommaso Puntelli	...	Apprentice (Cremona)
Samuele Amighetti	...	Boy (Cremona)
Jean-Luc Bideau	...	Georges Poussin (Vienna)
Aldo Brugnini	...	Assistant (Cremona)
Christoph Koncz	...	Kaspar Weiss (Vienna)
Clotilde Mollet	...	Antoinette Pussin (Vienna)
Florentín Groll	...	Anton von Spielmann (Vienna)
Johannes Silberschneider	...	Father Richter (Vienna)
Rainer Egger	...	Brother Christophe (Vienna)
Paul Koeker	...	Brother Gustav (Vienna)
Wolfgang Böck	...	Brother Michael (Vienna)
Josef Mairginter	...	Brother Franz (Vienna)

Also Known As:

The Red Violin (Canada: English title) (UK) (USA)
Il violino rosso (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

131 min | France:140 min

Country:

Canada | Italy | UK

Language:

French | English | Mandarin | Italian | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chicheley Hall, Chicheley, Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

Joshua Bell, who was the solo violinist on the sound track, was also the stunt violinist. When non-musician actors needed to be shown playing the violin in close-up, Bell would hide behind the actor, and his left hand would be the hand seen by the camera on the neck of the violin. According to an interview with Bell on NPR, he was scolded several times by director François Girard for overacting.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The substance used to give the violin its color would not actually work in real life. The substance does not mix into varnish, and would quickly coagulate and oxidize to a dark brown or black color if it were actually used as the movie implies.

Quotes:

Charles Morritz: What do you do when the thing you most wanted, so perfect, just comes?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ancient Evil 2: Guardian of the Underworld (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

O Richard! O mon Roi!

Unforgettable experience

After watching too many would-be "great pieces" lately that are enticing you from TV commercials, leaving you (or me, I should say) disappointed most of the time, "The Red Violin" is a gem among all these fleeting flicks or time-wasters. Recommended by a good friend I went to see this piece and frankly, I came out of the theater speechless! I was overwhelmed, enriched as well as happy that I finally, in years, got to see something that's well worth while.

From the story, costumes, cinematography, acting and finally its greatest actor -the superb music- all absolutely flawless! S.L.Jackson acts at his best, his performance is unforgettable and I am sure one of his own most favourite; I can tell. I was estatic to see J.Corigliano win the Oscar for the best score, and saddened at the fact that the whole movie wasn't nominated for even more Oscars - are they blind in that Academy or what?! Now that's a shame but you know what I don't care what the Academy has to say, important is my subjective feeling and this movie made my day, and days to come.

I couldn't wait to get hold of both, the video and the sound track, and I never seem to get tired watching or hearing that beauty all over again. And believe it or not, that ingenious soundtrack can be so erotic at times that if I may give a little advice to all these men out there seeking to entice and seduce their partners - hey, this might be the way to go - worked for me (and her!)!!!

Anyways, I'd like to recommend this movie to everybody with an open heart and mind, I guarantee satisfaction and enrichment in every possible way. And lastly let me bestow my gratitude and thanks to the very director F.Girard for enlightening my spirit, my heart and my soul with his vision of a truly quality story that I can never forget.