La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998)

A baby boy, discovered in 1900 on an ocean liner, grows into a musical prodigy, never setting foot on land.

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Writers:

Alessandro Baricco (monologue Novecento), Giuseppe Tornatore

Stars:

Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Bill Nunn

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 21 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Roth	...	Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred '1900'
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Max Tooney
Bill Nunn	...	Danny Boodmann
Clarence Williams III	...	Jelly Roll Morton
Mélanie Thierry	...	The Girl
Gabriele Lavia	...	Farmer
Peter Vaughan	...	'Pops', the Shopkeeper
Niall O'Brien	...	Harbor Master
Alberto Vazquez	...	Mexican Stoker
Luigi De Luca	...	Neapolitan Stoker
Femi Elufowoju Jr.	...	Black Stoker (as Femi Elufowoja Jr.)
Nigel Fan	...	Chinese Stoker
Roger Monk	...	Irish Stoker
Leonid Zaslavski	...	Polish Stoker
Bernard Padden	...	Boatswain

Storyline

1900. Danny Boodmann, a stoker on an American passenger liner, Virginian, finds a baby abandoned on the ship. He names the child Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred '1900' and raises the child as his own until his death in an accident on the ship. The child never leaves the ship and turns out to be a musical genius, especially when it comes to playing the piano. As an adult he befriends a trumpet player in the ship's band, Max Tooney. After several years on the ship Max leaves, and tells the story of 1900 to the owner of a music store.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | 1900s | piano | pianist | jazz | 

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Taglines:

A beatiful story of a man who could do anything... except be ordinary.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English French

Release Date:

28 October 1998 (Italy)

Also Known As:

La légende du pianiste sur l'océan

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$39,200, 31 October 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$259,127, 12 December 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sciarlò,Medusa Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min 123 min (international)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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 Line'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.

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Goofs

The recording equipment used for making the record was clearly acoustic in nature, showing large horns. This type of recording was largely replaced in 1925 by electrical recording, using microphones. Yet the recording was made somewhere between 1927 and 1933, according to Tooney's story. Furthermore, the recording engineer played back the matrix immediately; this would have ruined the matrix, which was cut in wax. In those days, immediate playback was only possible using a 2nd set of equipment expressly for that purpose.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max: I still ask myself if I did the right thing when I abandoned his floating city. And I don't mean only for the work. The fact is, a friend like that, a real friend - you won't meet one again. If you just decide to hang up your sea legs, if you just want to feel something more solid beneath your feet - and it's then you no longer hear the music of the gods around you. But, like he used to say, you're never really done for, as long as you got a good story, and someone to tell it to. ...

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Alternate Versions

Original version released in Italy is 2 hours and 45 minutes long. A 123-minutes version premiered at the Locarno film Festival in July 1999. This shorter version is the same released in the USA by Fine Line under the title "The Legend of 1900".

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Connections

Referenced in Seven Pounds (2008)

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Soundtracks

Lost Boys Calling
(1998)
Music by Ennio Morricone
Lyrics by Roger Waters
Produced by Patrick Leonard
Performed by Roger Waters
Guitar solos by Edward Van Halen
Roger Waters appears courtesy of Columbia Records
Edward Van Halen appears courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.

User Reviews

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.