At the centre of Pianomania is a fair-haired, mild-mannered man wearing rimless spectacles who tunes concert pianos in Vienna for Steinway. Movies being what they are today, you expect some 15 minutes in that this innocuous figure will throw himself in front of a celebrated musician on the stage of the Vienna Kunsthaus, disarm a would-be assassin and turn out to be a retired secret service agent just waiting to be called back to active service. In fact, it's more interesting than that. It's a genuine Austrian documentary subtitled "The Search for the Perfect Sound" about Stephan Knüpfer, a celebrated figure in musical circles, whom we see preparing the pianos for, and working very seriously with, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Alfred Brendel and Lang Lang, and for a little light relief, working on japes with the comic music duo Richard Hyung-ki Joo and Aleksey Igudesman. The directors tell us nothing about Knüpfer's background or career,...
- 8/21/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Mother (15)
(Bong Joon-ho, 2009, S Korea) Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Ku, Yoon Jae-Moon. 130 mins
After his mutant tadpole movie The Host, Bong brings us another Korean monster: a middle-aged herbalist with a will of steel and some serious overprotection issues. Her simple-minded son has been fitted up for a schoolgirl's murder, and in a society of inept cops, exploitative lawyers and generally corrupt townsfolk, only mommie dearest believes he's innocent – and sets out to prove it. It's a mystery thriller to make Hitchcock proud, and a delectably warped parable of blood running thicker than water.
The Expendables (15)
(Sylvester Stallone, 2010, Us) Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li. 104 mins
Now that the 80s beefcake reunion has actually happened, does anyone care? Probably enough to make this a guilty-pleasure night out, and that's all it really asks for. With a last surge of testosterone coursing through their wrinkled physiques, our senior...
(Bong Joon-ho, 2009, S Korea) Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Ku, Yoon Jae-Moon. 130 mins
After his mutant tadpole movie The Host, Bong brings us another Korean monster: a middle-aged herbalist with a will of steel and some serious overprotection issues. Her simple-minded son has been fitted up for a schoolgirl's murder, and in a society of inept cops, exploitative lawyers and generally corrupt townsfolk, only mommie dearest believes he's innocent – and sets out to prove it. It's a mystery thriller to make Hitchcock proud, and a delectably warped parable of blood running thicker than water.
The Expendables (15)
(Sylvester Stallone, 2010, Us) Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li. 104 mins
Now that the 80s beefcake reunion has actually happened, does anyone care? Probably enough to make this a guilty-pleasure night out, and that's all it really asks for. With a last surge of testosterone coursing through their wrinkled physiques, our senior...
- 8/20/2010
- by The guide
- The Guardian - Film News
This week, Jason Solomons meets the man behind what some have billed as the most horrific film ever made: The Human Centipede. Tom Six reveals how a tasteless outburst during his previous job as a Big Brother director inspired the film.
Jason also speaks to co-director of the documentary Pianomania Robert Cibis about his loving portrait of Steinway's master tuner Stefan Kupfner.
Xan Brooks drops in to review this week's other releases, including Angelina Jolie in Salt, and Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables.
Jason SolomonsXan BrooksJason Phipps...
Jason also speaks to co-director of the documentary Pianomania Robert Cibis about his loving portrait of Steinway's master tuner Stefan Kupfner.
Xan Brooks drops in to review this week's other releases, including Angelina Jolie in Salt, and Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables.
Jason SolomonsXan BrooksJason Phipps...
- 8/19/2010
- by Jason Solomons, Xan Brooks, Jason Phipps
- The Guardian - Film News
Bizarre horror The Human Centipede may be shocking audiences everywhere but, as Nick explains, mondo cinema has been doing the same thing since the 60s...
In a week that sees the release of the much talked about The Human Centipede, it seems only right that I talk about the weirder side of World Cinema. After-all, it is a fact I have mentioned several times over the last ten weeks. It is the unknown that draws us to seek out different cultures' cinema, and more often than not, it is the less salubrious unknown which intrigues and interests, or otherwise repulses.
Not long ago, I discussed shock tactics in cinema and I can only reiterate those points again. Shocking scenes make people talk about a film and, over time, can even shape perception of an entire culture's cinema. But while the odd scene here and there, or even a shocking premise,...
In a week that sees the release of the much talked about The Human Centipede, it seems only right that I talk about the weirder side of World Cinema. After-all, it is a fact I have mentioned several times over the last ten weeks. It is the unknown that draws us to seek out different cultures' cinema, and more often than not, it is the less salubrious unknown which intrigues and interests, or otherwise repulses.
Not long ago, I discussed shock tactics in cinema and I can only reiterate those points again. Shocking scenes make people talk about a film and, over time, can even shape perception of an entire culture's cinema. But while the odd scene here and there, or even a shocking premise,...
- 8/18/2010
- Den of Geek
How can it take a year to tune a piano? Jude Rogers on a gem of a movie about a bid to perform Bach's Art of Fugue perfectly
It does not, at first, seem the most promising of premises. But Pianomania, a delicate Austrian documentary about the painstaking work of a master piano-tuner, has spent the last six months scooping up international awards.
The film takes us into the life of Steinway's piano technician Stefan Knüpfer as he works on the instruments of the world's greatest virtuosos. In the pursuit of perfection, Knüpfer bounces tennis balls on piano strings, replaces the leg of one instrument with a cheap violin as an experiment – and spends an entire year working on one piano until it's the ideal instrument on which to play an unfinished masterpiece by Bach.
Pianomania began as a pipe-dream in 1999. Documentary-maker Robert Cibis met Knüpfer one afternoon as he...
It does not, at first, seem the most promising of premises. But Pianomania, a delicate Austrian documentary about the painstaking work of a master piano-tuner, has spent the last six months scooping up international awards.
The film takes us into the life of Steinway's piano technician Stefan Knüpfer as he works on the instruments of the world's greatest virtuosos. In the pursuit of perfection, Knüpfer bounces tennis balls on piano strings, replaces the leg of one instrument with a cheap violin as an experiment – and spends an entire year working on one piano until it's the ideal instrument on which to play an unfinished masterpiece by Bach.
Pianomania began as a pipe-dream in 1999. Documentary-maker Robert Cibis met Knüpfer one afternoon as he...
- 8/17/2010
- by Jude Rogers
- The Guardian - Film News
The European Film Academy have announced the documentary film titles nominations and out of the ten mostly unknown titles we find a pair of exceptions in Burma VJ (which received some solid buzz at Sundance) and The Beaches of Agnes... - The European Film Academy have announced the documentary film titles nominations and out of the ten mostly unknown titles we find a pair of exceptions in Burma VJ (which received some solid buzz at Sundance) and The Beaches of Agnes (which received a film festival red carpet treatment and was shown at the Film Forum this summer). Previous winners of Prix Arte award include: last year's Helena Trestikova's Rene (read here) and 2007 the prize went to Rithy Panh's Paper cannot Wrap up Embers. The winner will be announced on the 12th of December. The Beaches Of Agnes - Agnès Varda, France Below Sea Level - Gianfranco Rosi,...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
Cologne, Germany -- Political issues have pride of place among this year's nominees for the Prix Arte, the European Film Academy's documentary award.
Andres Ostergaard's "Burma VJ," on the 2007 protest by thousands of Burmese monks; German directors Leon Geller and Marcus Vetter's "The Heart of Jenin," an investigation into the Israeli army's shooting of Palestinian boy Ahmed Khatib; and Jawad Rhalib's "The Damned of the Sea," which looks at the plight of Moroccan fisherman, all made this year's short list.
Political undercurrents are also clearly visible in other nominees, including Gianfranco Rosi's portrait of anarchists living in a makeshift "slab city" in the California desert and "Defamation," a critical look at anti-Semitism from Israeli director Yoav Shamir.
But the scope of the 2009 Prix Arte nominees ranges from Agnes Varda's autobiographical essay "The Beaches of Agnes" to portraits of extraordinary people in Lilian Franck & Robert Cibis'...
Andres Ostergaard's "Burma VJ," on the 2007 protest by thousands of Burmese monks; German directors Leon Geller and Marcus Vetter's "The Heart of Jenin," an investigation into the Israeli army's shooting of Palestinian boy Ahmed Khatib; and Jawad Rhalib's "The Damned of the Sea," which looks at the plight of Moroccan fisherman, all made this year's short list.
Political undercurrents are also clearly visible in other nominees, including Gianfranco Rosi's portrait of anarchists living in a makeshift "slab city" in the California desert and "Defamation," a critical look at anti-Semitism from Israeli director Yoav Shamir.
But the scope of the 2009 Prix Arte nominees ranges from Agnes Varda's autobiographical essay "The Beaches of Agnes" to portraits of extraordinary people in Lilian Franck & Robert Cibis'...
- 10/8/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.