Watch Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

I love this movie so much

An Exercise In Nonsense

Admirable film.

I realize that this is a well made film, and many people, Gould fans or not, enjoyed it very much. But on the chance that someone out there is on the same wavelength as me, I'll tell you why I didn't like it.The film paints the picture of a self-absorbed, eccentric oddball... a bit arrogant and presumptuous (like when he grabs a lowly chambermaid and makes her listen to one of his records as a sort of reward for her day's work). The Glenn Gould character always speaks in a supercilious New England tone of voice (think Frazier but without the jokes). He says phrases like "never the twain shall meet". If you're like me, you might have a healthy mistrust of people who say "twain" unless they're talking about Huck Finn. Maybe you can guess the problem: unless you're already convinced that Glenn Gould is god's gift to Carnegie Hall, the film offers no motivation to like him.This could have been EASILY remedied by showing a performance to earn the audience's respect. It could have been an archival clip, or even a semi-convincing pantomime by the actor playing Gould if done convincingly would have made me take the character more seriously. But we never get that. So the result is a whole bunch of people telling us how great he is, including the Diva himself. It gets irritating.I feel like the real Glenn Gould was cheated. Here is a film, purportedly in honor of a great musician, which never shows him being a musician. Instead we get a lot of ponderous scenes of (the actor playing) Glenn as he walks across frozen lakes, or sits in a chair unmoving with an intense expression on his face, or waving his arms dramatically in the air while listening to the playback of one of his recordings. People around him are made to look like simpletons for not being on the same supernatural level as Gould. They chatter about coffee or gardening while the maestro slips further away into a lofty dreamworld that we mortals cannot dare understand. The entire film thus takes a very condescending air, telling us that Gould was a misunderstood genius yet not offering to show us what exactly was genius about him.I read that the actor playing Glenn chose not to be shown playing the piano out of respect for Mr. Gould. Could someone please explain that to me? It's OK to act like someone being a goofy oddball dancing to invisible pianos in his head, but it's somehow disrespectful to portray him actually playing one?I was not familiar with Glenn Gould before I watched this, and 90 minutes later I'm still completely clueless. Even worse, I'm not particularly inclined to learn more. I believe this film is great for people who are already fans of Gould, or perhaps casual fans of classical music as a whole. Me, I'm a hardcore classical music fan who never happened to hear Glenn Gould (there are so many amazing musicians out there, it happens).If I were to list the best musical documentaries & biopics I've seen, they would be "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" about the unsung studio musicians who made it happen, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" a hilarious and heartfelt documentary about a bunch of aging rockers who never say die, and of course the masterpiece "Amadeus" which, like this film, shows the maestro as an arrogant oddball, but it shows powerful musical performances which instantly earn our respect and interest. Really, just one lousy performance would've made all the difference, but alas I can't say this movie impressed me.

I'll admit, I'm a sucker for films about artists-- especially troubled eccentrics. Canadian Glenn Gould, one of the most celebrated and controversial pianists in history, is honored in this brilliant cinematic portrait.Rather than travel the middle-of-the-road, as did last year's biopic "Ray", director Francois Girard and screenwriter Don McKellar offer thirty-two vibrant, momentary glimpses of Gould's life, which combine, like the facets of a prism-- or the notes of a melody. Each short film is a piece of a puzzle that spans childhood to old age. While the styles vary from narrative to abstract, one constant is the hypnotic beat of Gould's genius fingers across the keyboard.Though I don't know a lot about classical music, this film made me hungry to learn more. There's a lovely scene where a hotel chambermaid falls spell to one of Gould's dazzling recordings. At that moment, so did I.Actor Colm Feore respectfully portrays the perfectionism, idealism, and anguish that eventually unraveled Gould's career. Oh, but what a career it was!

the concept works. i like how the film is composed of individual films, yet the individual films do an excellent job of telling a singular, cohesive story. the best aspect is that we don't have to deal with the boring plot proceedings- we just fill in the blanks ourselves. learning about gould's personality through the dialogue kept my interest, but looking back, it was actually the strictly instrumental pieces that really kept my interest. fortunately gould's actual performances are mesmerizing enough on their own to really supplement the visuals. a couple of favorites off the top of my head are "man sitting in chair" and "a day's journal" (sorry, not the exact titles i think). colm feore, i've seen you in about a dozen pictures, but this is the one that made me really notice your name.

I had never heard of Glenn Gould before this movie was released, but I had heard so many good things about the film that I just had to check it out. Am I glad I did. The film is quite unconventional in that it is not a strict "biopic" in any sense of the word. The film -- much like the title suggests -- takes 32 vignettes that concern some aspect of GG's life. Gould, a Canadian classical pianist, was by all accounts an unusual yet charming man. A merciless hypochondriac who popped pills incessantly and wore heavy clothing even in the middle of summer, Gould was also enormously talented, both as a pianist and a producer of highly unusual radio programs. The film examines Gould's life, his passions, his obsessions, and of course his music. The soundtrack is breathtaking. Colm Feore portrays the enigmatic Gould brilliantly. If you are a fan of daring, original films -- as well as a Gould fan -- you will not want to miss this.