Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Legend of 1900 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 17, 2011

Winner of six David di Donatello Awards, including Best Director, Best Music, and Best Cinematography, Giuseppe Tornatore's "La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano" a.k.a "The Legend of 1900" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Medusa. The supplemental features on the disc include trailers; documentary feature; video interviews with Giuseppe Tornatore and behind the scenes featurette; deleted scenes; and more. In English, with optional English, Italian, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The legendary hands

Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Legend of 1900 is set in the beginning of the 20th century and takes place almost entirely on a large ship, the Virginian, which transports immigrants from Europe to America. The story the film tells is about a man (Tim Roth, Reservoir Dogs, Rob Roy) who was abandoned on board of the Virginian and raised by one of its mechanics (Bill Nunn, Do the Right Thing). The man’s name was Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon 1900 - because the name of the mechanic who discovered him was Danny Boodmann, T.D. because at the time all successful men had abbreviations in their names, Lemon because he was found in a lemon box, and 1900 to mark the year he was found on the Virginian.

1900’s story, however, is told by his best friend, Max (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Constantine, Monster), a trumpet player. Early into the film he enters an antique shop and tries to sell his trumpet but discovers a record which 1900 recorded years ago. The record brings back memories, which Max shares with the owner of the shop (Peter Vaughan, Straw Dogs, The Remains of the Day).

As Max begins remembering the time he spent on the Virginian, the viewer learns about 1900 - an incredibly gifted pianist who has chosen to spend his entire life on the large ship. He feels at home there, knowing every little corner of it, understanding the people who work on it.

Max and 1900 meet after he joins the jazz band that entertains the wealthy passengers. While playing the piano, he begins teaching Max how to read their faces and expose their most intimate secrets. 1900’s music and lessons change his life.

Word about the great pianist on board of the Virginian soon reaches New Orleans, where the man (Clarence Williams III, TV's The Mod Squad) who supposedly invented jazz resides. Incredibly annoyed by 1900’s growing reputation, he challenges him to a duel.

After the duel, 1900 meets a beautiful Italian girl (Melanie Thierry, Chrysalis, The Princess of Montpensier) on her way to America. He immediately falls madly in love with her and composes a song that has Max and a local producer convinced that he is the greatest pianist to have ever lived. On the day she leaves, for the first time in his life 1900 feels compelled to set foot on land.

Tornartore’s The Legend of 1900 is a lavish contemporary fairy tale that has plenty of the same sentimental overtones that made his Cinema Paradiso such a special film. This time around, however, the main protagonist is in love with music, not cinema. He lives for it, he sees the world through it, and when eventually he meets The Girl, he conveys his feelings in beautiful pieces.

The Legend of 1900 was director Tornatore’s first English-language film. And it shows - the dialog is filled with clichéd lines that could have easily been avoided if the script was written in Italian. But the film is still incredibly poetic and it does not even come close to being a suffocatingly pretentious melodrama.

The production values are great. The massive decors and costumes are often as impressive as those seen in James Cameron’s Titanic. Hungarian cinematographer Lajos Koltai’s (Malena, Rokonok) lensing is also wonderful, especially the floating shots from inside the Virginian. (The scene where Roth and Vince circle the ballroom is truly special).

The Legend of 1900 is complimented by an outstanding soundtrack courtesy of legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West).

Note: In 1999, The Legend of 1900 won six David di Donatello Awards, including Best Director, Best Music, and Best Cinematography.

The Legend of 1900 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Giuseppe Tornatore's The Legend of 1900 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Medusa.

Note: Please note that the Medusa Blu-ray contains the fully uncut version of the film, which runs at approximately 170 min.

The Blu-ray release represents a strong upgrade in quality over the old R2 Italian SDVD release. Detail during the daylight scenes, for instance, is very good (see screencapture #4), while colors look far richer and better saturated. Clarity is also improved, though some of the footage with the light manipulations from inside the Virginian remains a bit soft. The macroblocking however, is effectively addressed, and even the early memory flashbacks look a lot crisper. Some noise corrections have been performed, but detail has not been compromised. In fact, because of the substantially better detail it is now a lot easier to recognize the various CGI effects used in the film (see screencapture #2). There are also a few scattered traces of mild sharpening, but they are either difficult to spot or extremely easy to tolerate in motion. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

The Legend of 1900 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Medusa have provided optional English, Italian, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

I've had the Italian SDVD of The Legend of 1900 for years. Having just seen the film again on Blu-ray, I can honestly say that I have been missing a lot -- the strong English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track gives Ennio Morricone's brilliant soundtrack the type of depth and fluidity that it rightfully deserves. I was particularly impressed by the intense performances during the duel. The dialog is crisp, clean, and easy to follow. (Please note that the English subtitles do not fully match the English dialog).

The Legend of 1900 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Il giornale di bordo - a long documentary focusing on the production history of The Legend of 1900. Directed by Giovanni Gebbia and Isabella Maria. In Italian, not subtitled. (50 min, PAL).

• Prima e dopo - director Giuseppe Tornatore discusses how Alessandro Baricco's monologue evolved into The Legend of 1900. Various storyboards and sketches are also included. In Italian, not subtitled.
  
  -- Storyboards (2 min, PAL).
  -- Modellino (3 min, PAL).
  -- Bozzetti di scenografia (2 min, PAL).
  -- Effetti visuali (5 min, PAL).

• Scene inedite - deleted scenes. In English, with imposed Italian subtitles. (4 min, PAL).

• Fotografie dal set - a collection of stills. (1080p).

• Materiale promozionale - promotional materials.
  
  -- Trailers - one American and two Italian trailers for The Legend of 1900. (6 min, PAL).
  -- Manifesti - poster art (1080p).
  -- Speciali televisivi - TV promo materials. In Italian, not subtitled. (8 min, PAL).

The Legend of 1900 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Image Entertainment released Giuseppe Tornatore's The Legend of 1900 on SDVD in the U.S. in 2002, the film was severely cut (the U.S. release runs at approximately 125 minutes). The only way to see the original director's cut was to import the Italian SDVD release, which had the full 170-minute version of the film. This wasn't surprising though, as very few of the Italian director's big films have been able to reach the U.S. uncut. Malena, for instance, was never released uncut, and early reports indicate that the upcoming Blu-ray release of Cinema Paradiso will also contain the shorter version of the film (don't sell your R1 Miramax SDVD yet). I mention all of the above because I believe that if you wish to own a copy of the uncut version of The Legend of 1900 on Blu-ray, it is best to act now. An uncut local release is highly unlikely to appear any time soon. RECOMMENDED.