IMDb RATING
8.2/10
128
YOUR RATING
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
128
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writer
- Stars
- Alexander Bernstein
- Jamie Bernstein
- Leonard Bernstein(archive footage)
- Director
- Writer
- Stars
- Alexander Bernstein
- Jamie Bernstein
- Leonard Bernstein(archive footage)
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total
Leonard Bernstein
- Selfas Self
- (archive footage)
Harry J. Kraut
- Selfas Self
- (as Harry Kraut)
- Director
- Writer
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Did you know
- ConnectionsFeatures On the Town (1949)
Top review
The unvarnished Lenny
This documentary begins with the funeral cortège to Brooklyn's Green Wood cemetery from the Dakota Apartments on 72nd Street Manhattan, where Bernstein lived, and then goes through his life chronologically, more or less.
As Mr. Bernstein's life was extremely eventful, there is a lot of life to get through, from his childhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts (He was born in 1918. His parents' unstable marriage is well-documented in his early mini-opera "Trouble in Tahiti".) to his death in 1990, presumably from a heart attack. A major highlight of his career was his last-minute substitution for Bruno Walter at a New York Philharmonic concert in 1943 which turned him into a major celebrity.
The Broadway shows of course are given their due, especially "West Side Story" but, rather like Sir Arthur Sullivan in England, he wanted to be remembered for his serious compositions and that wish was not granted; this was a source of great unhappiness for Bernstein.
He married early on and had three children who all comment in this documentary but his homosexuality was an open secret throughout his life. He was never able to reconcile these two parts of his life, let alone his compositional and conducting careers.
This documentary does a good job of showing his many facets as well as his personality traits and blemishes and there are many comments by friends and colleagues. Overall a good and even-handed job of showing the life of this important musical figure of the twentieth century.
As Mr. Bernstein's life was extremely eventful, there is a lot of life to get through, from his childhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts (He was born in 1918. His parents' unstable marriage is well-documented in his early mini-opera "Trouble in Tahiti".) to his death in 1990, presumably from a heart attack. A major highlight of his career was his last-minute substitution for Bruno Walter at a New York Philharmonic concert in 1943 which turned him into a major celebrity.
The Broadway shows of course are given their due, especially "West Side Story" but, rather like Sir Arthur Sullivan in England, he wanted to be remembered for his serious compositions and that wish was not granted; this was a source of great unhappiness for Bernstein.
He married early on and had three children who all comment in this documentary but his homosexuality was an open secret throughout his life. He was never able to reconcile these two parts of his life, let alone his compositional and conducting careers.
This documentary does a good job of showing his many facets as well as his personality traits and blemishes and there are many comments by friends and colleagues. Overall a good and even-handed job of showing the life of this important musical figure of the twentieth century.
helpful•40
- standardmetal
- Sep 7, 2006
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- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Leonard Bernstein - Piase ti nota
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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