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well i just rented and watched some dvds recently.. "shine", "the pianist", and "the piano"

..i think they were all great so do you guys know some similar movies that you would recommend?

There is one called "Madame Zchorski(ropopovithoski?)" (or some Russian sounding name) staring Shirley McClain as an authoritarian paino teacher and her wonder dog Bullet. (I'm not sure about the canine role, it may have been edited out. )
I think it was filmed in late 60's or 70's, I heard about it when it came out but didn't go. I have tried to find it but with no luck at the major rental places. I remeber that reviews rated it highly but predicted low box office results.

You could try "The Piano Teacher" (out 2 or 3 years now), but its more about the mental problems of a woman who teaches piano than piano or music.)

Older movies include The Eddie Dusquen (Dugan?) Story staring Tyron Power , "The Red Violin"...not piano, but really enjoyable....see it....one about Beethoven (The Great Obsession or something....sorry title is fuzzy) Schumman is shown in "sorry, a blank again"

try IMDB.com (InternetMovieDataBase) and type in Music as "Subject", or the composers name as "Character". That will root out a bunch of them. This is a pretty extensive and well tended site, though the subject it is weakest on is the music used on the soundtracks.

There was also a similar thread to this one 18 months ago or so. Its not in FAQ but a PW search with "Movie" in the "Thread Title" box may bring it up, (along with a lot of "favorite trashy movie" threads) Try "RED VIOLIN" as a search topic in THREAD SUBJECT. That might bring it up.

Bob

ahh 'the red violin' is good i watched it
i go check imdb.com now thanks

Chop, do a PW search on "Piano Video" or just "Video" as well, for websites with videos of performances.

A good site off top of my head is prs.NET which is also ClassicalMusicArchives.com.

There is a thread here on PW Pianist Corner on video topic within the last week I'm sure, but I can't remember the title or poster.


Bob

The best one I can think of, though already mentioned, is The Piano Teacher.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254686/

There are many, but a few that come to mind at the moment are:

A Song To Remember -- Came out a long time ago for most of you guys (not for me) on the life of Chopin. I think it was around 1943. It starred Cornel Wilde as Chopin and Merle Oberon as Sand. An excellent picture musically. The piano parts were played by Jose Iturbi. Made the Op 53 Polonaise really famous as they were playing it everywhere you went. After a while it was coming out of my ears. Though the story is not too accurate, it's a very interesting picture to see. Loads of his most popular music in it. If you ever get it, note the scene where he plays the b flat minor scherzo in the dark room. You can make out it's Iturbi's hands on the keys. Highly recommend it if you can find it.

Impromptu -- Another excellent one about Chopin and Sand, with Liszt and the painter Delacroix thrown in. He's the guy that made some beautiful portraits of him. The story is also pretty much the way it was. Ax and a few others contribute to the piano in this one.

Song of Love -- One of my all time favorites. Life of Schumann and Clara with Brahms and Liszt thrown in this one. Paul Henreid and Kathryn Hepburn play the leading roles with Robert Walker as Brahms. Arthur Rubinstein plays the dubbed music and could not be better. Plenty of it too. Acting is excellent and story great and touching.

Humoresque -- Not so much piano but some by Levant. Mostly violin dubbed by Isaac Stern. John Garfield and Joan Crawford play the leading roles and it will really introduce anyone to the beauties of the fiddle if they haven't discovered it already. Favorite part for me is the transcription of the Liebestod at the end where Crawford ends it all. Garfield does such a great job, many thought that he was actually doing the playing, as Stern only received credit as being a "Music Advisor".

I've Always Loved You -- Wasn't too popular as it was a bit corny, if you will. Starred Philip Dorn and Kathryn McLoed. Most of you probably never heard of them, as this was also in the 40's. Again Rubinstein's playing was excellent and this time the craze was the Rachmaninoff No.2. The theme was everywhere and they even made a popular song out if it. (Full Moon and Empty Arms)

Carnegie Hall -- Story stinks and the acting is the worst I've seen. However it shows in complete performance the greatest artists of the day. Try not to miss this one.

There are many more, including one on Liszt where Bolet plays the music, but I can't remember the details at the moment.

Hope this helps.

Zongora

There's also "The Competition" starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving as pianists playing against each other in a prestigious competition (like the Cliburn). Not the greatest movie by a long shot, but the piano scenes are good.

In "A Song to Remember" Katheryn Hepburn did about THEE worst hand playing on the keys that I have seen thus far...in some parts she just waved her hands over the keys like a hula dance...absolutely laughable. She may have been a great actress, but as a pianist she really....well, you know the word that's begging to jump out.

I'd say "The Piano Teacher" is an anti piano picture in a way. The teacher is incredibly unlikeable and seriously, seriously, repressed. The movie prompted some people to walk out on it. There's also a scene, harrowing for pianists, that involves glass shards and a recital compliments of... you guessed it, the piano teacher.

There was a recently somewhat decent movie directed by Wong Kar Wai (spelling?) about a child prodigy violinist. Can't remember the title, but I think it had tommorrow in it. I also noticed a couple of French films about pianists in the video store lately.

I just recently watched the movie called Amadeus, as you can guess it is about Mozart. It was a very good movie.

Also I have watched the Pianist. It was good as well.

I would be careful with "The Piano Teacher" directed by Michael Haneke. It is not a date movie, or suitable for the kiddies.

The title character is a disturbed, controlling, neruotic woman who wounds one of her students prior to a recital because the student is not up to her (unattainable) standards, and practices self-mutilation for sexual gratification. It is a dark, deep, and graphic story. It explores a few extremes of human psychology and behaviour.

The ending is bizarre, twisted, and pretty unpredictable. My girlfriend and I saw the film in England when it was on its first run in Europe. At the end of the film, the theater was unnervingly silent for at least a minute (it seemed like an hour) before people got up and headed for the door without uttering a word.

But there is some incredible piano playing.
_________________

We also went to Poland last fall and spent a day seeing the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw and sites related to the holocaust. I strongly recommend a visit to the Jewish Heritage Center. We saw "The Pianist" shortly after we got back. It is a very accurate depiction of the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII, although I felt at time the depictions of brutality were not as ugly as what really happened. I had a hard time accepting a few of the scenes where the Nazi occupiers overlooked various transgressions. But I wasn't there, and the author of the movie script was, so I can't question the accuracy of those scenes.

Also there's "Merci pour le Chocolat." The piano scenes are pretty hackneyed, but it's a good Hitchcockian type movie.

I second the warning about "The Piano Teacher." It's also rated R for good reason. (raunchy springs to mind...) I didn't like the movie, and I'm not necessarily a movie prude. Caveat emptor!!

The Shirley MacLaine movie was called "Madame Souzatska." (Bob, do you think you might be having trouble finding it in your movie rental place because you're getting it confused with the little-known "Madame Zchorski(ropopovithoski)"?

Here's a link to a description, FYI:

imdb blurb about Mme Souzatska

Nina

"Together" and it is lovely with a bit of surprise ending. I also loved to see the contrasts in portrayal of the old and new China.

Yes! We rented "Together" recently. It's a wonderful movie. Many themes are interwoven -- the Old and New Chinas, the values across generations, the relationships between students and teachers, and the love between a father and son.

I highly recommend it.

"The Beast With Five Fingers" made a big impression on me when I first saw it on "Creature Features"... a weekly TV showing of horror movies in the NY metro area.

The best part is when the severed left hand of a dead pianist plays a transcription of a Bach chaconne. It does a damned fine job too!

Here's the description:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038338/

It stars Alan Alda's father.

Oh, and I forgot the all-time classic "5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" which featured the world's longest piano, and the immortal lines:

"Is it atomic?"
"Yes, sir. It's very atomic."

5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

The film Madame Souzatska, a really good movie, was made in the late 80's and is thought to have been inspired by the pedagogue Isabella Vengerova, although some believe it was based on the life of Nina Grosavitch Zavadsky.

Song Without End:

story of Liszt's virtuoso life when he was 20. lots of playing in it.

Immortal Beloved:

Story of Beethoven's secret lover. some playing but overall a good movie about Beethoven

Spring Symphony:

Story of Shumann and his love life with Clara.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson, a classic. Also The Talented Mister Ripley is very good, although the piano has a lesser role. Then there was the one with Alan Alda where the dead concert pianist takes over Alda's body because of his magnificant hands. (The Mephisto Waltz, I think).Kind of corny, but fun to watch.