| The Legend of 1900 |
Italian poster |
| Directed by |
Giuseppe Tornatore |
| Written by |
Giuseppe Tornatore |
| Starring |
Tim Roth
Pruitt Taylor Vince |
| Music by |
Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography |
Lajos Koltai |
| Editing by |
Massimo Quaglia |
| Distributed by |
Italy:
Medusa Film
United States:
Fine Line Features |
| Release date(s) |
Italy:
October 28, 1998
United States:
October 29, 1999
United Kingdom:
December 17, 1999 |
| Running time |
Italy:
160 min.
United States:
120 min. |
| Country |
Italy |
| Language |
English |
| Budget |
$9,000,000 |
| Gross revenue |
United States:
$259,127 |
The Legend of 1900 (Italian: La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano) is a 1998 film directed by the Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore, starring Tim Roth. This is Tornatore's first English-language film.[1] The film is inspired by a theater monologue, Novecento, by Alessandro Baricco. The film was nominated for a variety of awards worldwide, winning several for its soundtrack.
Plot
The story is told in media res as a flashforward. Max Tooney, a musician, enters a secondhand music shop just as it's closing, broke and badly in need of money. He only has a trumpet, which he sells for less than he had hoped. Clearly torn at parting from his prized possession, he asks to play it one last time. The shopkeeper agrees, and as the musician plays, the shopkeeper immediately recognizes the song from a broken record master he found inside a recently acquired secondhand piano. He asks who the piece is by, and Max tells him the story of 1900.
1900 was found abandoned on the four stacker SS Virginian, a mere baby in a hand basket, and likely the son of poor immigrants from steerage. Danny, a coal-man from the boiler room, is determined to raise the boy as his own. He names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900 (a combination of his own name, the year, and an advertisement found in the basket) and hides him from the ship's officers. During the early years of his life 1900 comes across an advertisement for an man with the initials of T.D, however Danny upon seeing the advertisement and possibly 1900's biological father decides not to tell 1900 the truth. Sadly, a few years later, Danny is killed in a workplace accident, and 1900 is forced to survive aboard the Virginian as an orphan. For many years, he travels back and forth across the Atlantic, keeping a low profile and apparently learning the languages spoken by the immigrants in Third Class.
The boy shows a particular gift for music, however, and eventually grows up and joins the ship's orchestra. He befriends Max in 1926, but never leaves the vessel, even when presented the opportunity to fashion a new life with a pretty immigrant girl. Apparently, the outside world is too "big" for his imagination at this point. But he stays current with outside musical trends as passengers explain to him a new music trend or style, and he immediately picks it up and starts playing it for them.
His reputation as a pianist is so renowned that Jelly Roll Morton, of New Orleans jazz fame, on hearing of 1900's skill comes aboard to challenge him to a piano duel. 1900 merely toys with the hot-tempered Morton, beginning with a tune so simple and well known that its clear he's goading the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz. As Morton becomes more determined to display his talent, he plays an impressive improvised tune that clearly outmatches 1900's earlier attempt. 1900 calmly sits at the piano and plays the entire tune that Morton had just improvised from memory, note-for-note, demonstrating his superior skill, but again clearly mocking Morton. But 1900's playing doesn't impress the crowd until he plays an original piece of such virtuosity that the metal piano strings become hot enough to light a cigarette, which 1900 then hands to Morton, who has lost the duel.
A record producer, having heard of 1900's prowess, brings a primitive recording apparatus aboard and cuts a demo record of a 1900 original composition. But the pianist ends up smashing it, offended at the prospect of anyone hearing the music without him performing it.
The story flashes back to the mid-1940s periodically, as we see Max (who leaves the ship's orchestra in 1933) trying to lure 1900 out of the now-deserted hulk of the ship. Having served as a hospital ship and transport in World War II, she is scheduled to be scuttled and sunk far offshore. Max manages to get aboard the ship with the recording 1900 made long ago and plays it, hoping to attract 1900's attention. When it does, Max attempts to convince 1900 to leave the ship. But he is simply too daunted by the size of the world. And feeling that his fate is tied to the ship, 1900 cannot bring himself to leave the only home he has known. In the end, the Virginian blows up and sinks, presumably with 1900 still aboard.
Cast
Awards
References
External links
