Search - Tchaikovsky on DVD

They Don't Make 'em Like This Anymore!

Raymond Notley | Suffolk, England | 11/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This film is closely linked to what must have a passionate, personal crusade for Dimitri Tiomkin. The film is well crafted and is best watched in Russian with English sub-titles. It was shot in Russia. The dubbed English version is irritating. The flim concentrates on the curious relationship of Tchaikovsky and his rich patron Madame von Meck - they never met. Locations and interiors are superb with some great performances by the large supporting cast. What is missing, of course, is the question of the sexuality of Tchaikovsky but the period detail is fascinating and genuine. There is little for the sensation seeker but a great deal for those interested in Tchaikovsky, 19th century Russia, and, indeed, for Hollywood movie music buffs interested in the great Dimitri Tiomkin. A most interesting contrast to Ken Russell's overheated The Music Lovers"

Another Beautiful Mind

Babington | Seattle, USA | 12/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that this is a film filled to the brim with film cliches portraying Tchaikers as a genius modern artist, struggling with an ungrateful public for recognition. The good news is... Oooh, they do it so well!!! This film really moved me, the portrayal of Tchaikovsky was so absorbing that it really matters to you as you watch it if things go right or wrong for him. I was carried away, and recommend what I expected to be a slightly dodgy soviet biopic which turned out to be a great film. The Soviets could do 'Amadeus' any day of the week!"

MUST SEE FOR THE GREAT ACTING

Philippe RENAUD | MIAMI, FL United States | 10/04/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Fans of P.I. Tchaikovsky's music will be touched by Innokenti Smoktunovsky's portrayal of the composer. Smoktunovsky gives us the right combination of introversion, pain (not too much, not overdone), shyness, sensitivity, and personal trauma. Those of us who have enjoyed the actor's performance of HAMLET in Kozintsev's movie will not be disappointed. We truly feel sorry for Tchaikovsky in the end. Nadezhda VON MECK and the conceited (but gold hearted) RUBINSTEIN are also well portrayed. Their presence has a powerful impact on us. In the visuals and great acting lie all the power of this movie.
As a biography, the work unfortunately does not break new ground. Tchaikovsky's painful struggle with homosexuality is not touched upon (only suggested through subtle hints). 1972 Soviet censorship would, of course, have blocked any suggestions that one of their cultural icons suffered with this issue. Also, the movie uses a special sound filter on Tiomkin's arrangements that are meant to portray the inner workings of the composer's mind during the creative process. This filtering, however, sounds cheezy and distracts the viewer more than anything.
A beautiful and evoctive portrait of the times otherwise. The movie does cover most of the "acceptable" annectdotes of the composer's life in a most touching manner (Desiree Artot, the circumstances behind his disastrous marriage, Nadezhda Von Meck, and, of course, the matter of "diverging octaves" in the famous Piano Concerto's 1st mouvement). Thirty years later, the movie has the feel of well crafted and sensible PUBLIC TELEVISION production that will touch and educate us. This is not money wasted."

Bravo

Ellsworth G. Stanton | New York, NY | 02/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent film. Beautifully photographed. Russia as I imagined it at that period in history Very well acted."