The Best Movies You’ve (Probably) Never Seen: the Legend of 1900
And now, for my very first review, I proudly present to you: the Legend of 1900, or La Leggenda del pianista sull’oceano if you’re Spanish, in which case you’ll likely be disappointed, as the rest of this review is not in Spanish.
The Legend of 1900 features Tim Roth as a piano virtuoso who has spent his entire life aboard a steamship, having been abandoned by his parents onboard said steamship. (And where do you think he was abandoned? That’s right. On top of the piano. Ooooh. Foreshadowing!) Found by one of the stokers aboard the steamship (who christens the unfortunate boy “Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred” setting up for scenes of “Lemon” getting righteously melvined by the rest of the ship’s inhabitants that sadly must have ended up on the cutting room floor), 1900 is raised in the bowels of the ship, learning to be idealistic and British, so that he can grow up to be Tim Roth.
The story really begins when, having lost his father in a tragic gigantic-flying-hook-of-death accident (and if you really didn’t see it coming, even after all the “look at the father-and-son bonding, yes, that man sure is all that boy has in the world and it would surely crush him emotionally and psychologically to lose that man” scenes, then I do sincerely apologize), 1900 ventures above deck and discovers... wait for it... no, it’s not an iceburg. It’s... a piano! He then uses all the knowledge he apparently osmosed, having been abandoned on the piano so many years ago as you’ll recall, to spontaneously become the most fabulous piano player on land and sea!
If you can stomach the slight aftertaste of fromage, this movie is undeniably cute. With scenes like the one in which 1900 and his best friend Max (played admirably by Pruitt Taylor Vince) spin around the ship’s ballroom on a wheeled piano which 1900, of course, plays, you either learn to suspend your disbelief early and appreciate the movie for what it is; a light-hearted musical drama, or you turn the film off. (Though I do encourage you to at least watch the “piano duel” scene between 1900 and Jelly Roll Morton (played by Clarence Williams III) which is very likely the best scene in the entire film.)
The central theme of the movie, the struggle for identity and individuality, is hinted at throughout the movie (Max often reflects in his voice over, that since 1900 was born aboard a ship, he never officially existed anyway), but is all but spelled out in 1900’s monologue to Max near the end of the film, explaining to him why he never left the ship despite trying once before, despite the ship falling into disrepair, and despite that the ship is now going to be destroyed (and you thought this movie wouldn’t have explosions).
Without making analogies about our personal voyages on the ship of life and it’s many meetings with the pirates of misfortune, and the cannibals of discontent, and, of course, the scurvy, the Legend of 1900 resonates because we’ve all been faced with ports of call too large for us. And so despite moments that often require some indulgence on the part of the viewer, the Legend of 1900 rewards our investment, and proves to be deeper than the fluff it first presents itself to be.
Having said all this, the only thing really wrong with the film is the wispy twelve-year-old French girl Tim Roth spontaneously (and inevitably) falls in love with. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go practice looking wispy, and twelve.
---------------
Bonus (ie, I’m trying to trick you into posting a comment! YAY!)
Who’s Line is it Anyway (or, Please Don’t Sue Me, I’m Just Not Very Original)
ROUND ONE!
Here’s the deal. I give you a quote. You give me the movie it was from, and the name of the character and the actor who said it. Whoever wins gets... a prize*!
* Prize may or may not be a kick in the teeth.
I’m just kidding. I’m actually looking into the possibility of giving a small prize to the person or persons with the highest score once this finishes in December. Now I’m not just tricking you into posting a comment, I’m bribing you! I should be in marketing. :)
So, here’s the first quote (worth 3 points):
Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb.
(For an extra 10 points, tell me how AWESOME my review was!)
...
...
...
Oh right. Totally kidding. Yeah.
The Legend of 1900 features Tim Roth as a piano virtuoso who has spent his entire life aboard a steamship, having been abandoned by his parents onboard said steamship. (And where do you think he was abandoned? That’s right. On top of the piano. Ooooh. Foreshadowing!) Found by one of the stokers aboard the steamship (who christens the unfortunate boy “Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred” setting up for scenes of “Lemon” getting righteously melvined by the rest of the ship’s inhabitants that sadly must have ended up on the cutting room floor), 1900 is raised in the bowels of the ship, learning to be idealistic and British, so that he can grow up to be Tim Roth.
The story really begins when, having lost his father in a tragic gigantic-flying-hook-of-death accident (and if you really didn’t see it coming, even after all the “look at the father-and-son bonding, yes, that man sure is all that boy has in the world and it would surely crush him emotionally and psychologically to lose that man” scenes, then I do sincerely apologize), 1900 ventures above deck and discovers... wait for it... no, it’s not an iceburg. It’s... a piano! He then uses all the knowledge he apparently osmosed, having been abandoned on the piano so many years ago as you’ll recall, to spontaneously become the most fabulous piano player on land and sea!
If you can stomach the slight aftertaste of fromage, this movie is undeniably cute. With scenes like the one in which 1900 and his best friend Max (played admirably by Pruitt Taylor Vince) spin around the ship’s ballroom on a wheeled piano which 1900, of course, plays, you either learn to suspend your disbelief early and appreciate the movie for what it is; a light-hearted musical drama, or you turn the film off. (Though I do encourage you to at least watch the “piano duel” scene between 1900 and Jelly Roll Morton (played by Clarence Williams III) which is very likely the best scene in the entire film.)
The central theme of the movie, the struggle for identity and individuality, is hinted at throughout the movie (Max often reflects in his voice over, that since 1900 was born aboard a ship, he never officially existed anyway), but is all but spelled out in 1900’s monologue to Max near the end of the film, explaining to him why he never left the ship despite trying once before, despite the ship falling into disrepair, and despite that the ship is now going to be destroyed (and you thought this movie wouldn’t have explosions).
All that city. You just couldn’t see an end to it. ...The end? ...Please? ...Will you please just show me where it ends? ...It was all very fine on that gangway. And I was grand too. In my overcoat. I cut quite a figure. And I was getting off. Guaranteed. That wasn’t the problem. ...It wasn’t what I saw that stopped me, Max. It was what I didn’t see. Can you understand that? It was what I didn’t see. In all that sprawling city there was everything except an end. ...There was no end. ...What I did not see was where the whole thing came to an end. ...The end of the world. Hmm. ...Take a piano, hm? Keys begin, keys end. You know there are 88 of them, nobody can tell you any differently. They are not infinite. You are infinite. And on those keys, the music that you can make is infinite. I know that. That I can live by. But you get me up on that gangway and you roll out in front of me a keyboard of millions of keys, millions and billions of keys that never end, and that’s the truth, Max, that they never end. That keyboard is infinite. And if that keyboard is infinite then on that keyboard there is no music that you can play. You’re sitting on the wrong bench. That’s God’s piano. ...Christ, did you see the streets, just the streets, there were thousands of them. I mean, how do you do it down there? How do you choose just one? One woman. One house. One piece of land to call you own, one landscape to look at. One way to die. ...All that world just weighing down on you, and you don’t even know where it comes to an end. And aren’t you ever just scared of breaking apart at the thought of it? At the enormity of living in it? ...I was born on this ship. And the world passed me by... but 2000 people at a time. And there were wishes here. But never more than fit between prow and stern. You played out your happiness, but on a piano that was not infinite. I learned to live that way. ...Land? Land is a ship too big for me. ...It’s a woman too beautiful, it’s a voyage too long, perfume too strong, it’s music I don’t know how to make. I can never get off this ship. At best? I can step off my life. After all, I don’t exist for anyone.
Without making analogies about our personal voyages on the ship of life and it’s many meetings with the pirates of misfortune, and the cannibals of discontent, and, of course, the scurvy, the Legend of 1900 resonates because we’ve all been faced with ports of call too large for us. And so despite moments that often require some indulgence on the part of the viewer, the Legend of 1900 rewards our investment, and proves to be deeper than the fluff it first presents itself to be.
Having said all this, the only thing really wrong with the film is the wispy twelve-year-old French girl Tim Roth spontaneously (and inevitably) falls in love with. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go practice looking wispy, and twelve.
---------------
Bonus (ie, I’m trying to trick you into posting a comment! YAY!)
Who’s Line is it Anyway (or, Please Don’t Sue Me, I’m Just Not Very Original)
ROUND ONE!
Here’s the deal. I give you a quote. You give me the movie it was from, and the name of the character and the actor who said it. Whoever wins gets... a prize*!
* Prize may or may not be a kick in the teeth.
I’m just kidding. I’m actually looking into the possibility of giving a small prize to the person or persons with the highest score once this finishes in December. Now I’m not just tricking you into posting a comment, I’m bribing you! I should be in marketing. :)
So, here’s the first quote (worth 3 points):
Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb.
(For an extra 10 points, tell me how AWESOME my review was!)
...
...
...
Oh right. Totally kidding. Yeah.
posted by some geek @ 8:46 p.m.
6 Comments:
At September 23, 2004 at 10:46 p.m.,
LFK said…
It's from the Batman movie, made back in the 60's with Adam West (is there any other Batman?)
As for the review, it's good. I'm giving a lot of leeway for the fact that this is for your Comms project, meaning you have actual requirements to meet. I just sit and talk until I get tired of talking.
-Lemon
At September 24, 2004 at 9:54 a.m.,
some geek said…
Where this movie can be found in Calgary. (If you're an advocate of Rogers, like I am. Blockbuster has this nasty habit of nailing us with phantom late charges. And so I shake my fist at them and advertise their competitor in my blog! HA HA!)
Also, if you end up liking the movie and would like to purchase it, try Amazon.ca, it's a much better deal than the $35 they want you to shell out at HMV.
You can get the Legend of 1900 for $29.02 if you buy it separately, or $17.41 if you buy it in a bundle with Bodies, Rest and Motion. This seems like a great idea until you actually watch Bodies, Rest and Motion and realize that they were just trying to pawn this movie off any way they could.
-----
Also, just so I don't flood my blog with comments by me (because I always think that looks a little sad... talking to myself... I mean, I have my cardboard hobbits here for conversation if I really need them, don't I?), thanks much, Tink!! :D I still need to read that review. Maybe one of these days I'll write a review of Master and Commander (though what is there left to say after all the portly jokes have been worn out?), and you can post yours as well. :)
----
And, last but not least, while I appreciate the graciously bestowed leeway (HACK COUGH HACK!!!!), it really isn't necessary, Lemon. This is just the way I write. (Admittedly, I'm not sure I would have talked overly much about the themes, but it was a nice segue into that monologue, which I love, and would be looking for an excuse to post anyway.) So, no leeway necessary. If you don't like this, you're not going to like any of my writing -- longwinded and overly adjectivey as it is (yes, I roll in my flaws, damnit!) Thanks for the comment though!
Oh, one last thing. I'm afraid I can't award you any points for the bonus round, because you clearly cheated. And also you're mean. :) (Muahaha.)
At September 24, 2004 at 8:46 p.m.,
LFK said…
Oh, you're voice is fine, my comment was more directed to structure in the same way that you mentioned yourself. It's just a comment on human psychology. If no one's evaluating the product, there's no reason to not preface "I liked this in particular" and dump the monologue in. It's really not the best writing habit if you intend on actually doing something with the writing though. I do it because no one's evaluating my blog. Heck, no one's even looking at it. Really, in all actuality, it's the paragraph on the theme of the movie. It's incongruent with your written voice, even in terms of the rest of the review. The rest of it's fine, flows at a pace that you feel comfortable with and that's what makes it enjoyable. The break into "the central themes of this movie are..." brings wild flashbacks to bygone days in English 10 where we were told to make our essays as un-engaging as possible. Your admittance that it's not something you'd normally do indicates that it's a vocal form you're uncomfortable with. Hence the need for leeway. Heck, I need as much leeway as I can get: I don't even have the discipline to standardize my reviews. I jsut spout off without guidance until I get bored and stop. That's way worse.
At September 24, 2004 at 9:41 p.m.,
some geek said…
One moment, whilst Sara removes foot from mouth. (No, this does not mean you get your points back. No points for you!)
Now that I understand what, exactly, it is you mean, I do tend to agree. Even comments about scurvy (everyone's favourite pirate disease!) can't quite smooth out that speedbump in the narrative. And I admit that I'm not entirely sure how to make the transition from "this is what I think" to "this is what I think the writer/filmmaker was trying to say".
I think the reason that that part of the essay comes out a little strained is that I'm still rather uncomfortable with assuming I've any idea what the themes are. I'm still waiting for someone to pop up and say, "you daft bugger, this film's not about that! It's about this!" Which is likely the main reason I decided to write my blog on this particular topic, to exercise that muscle and think a little bit more deeply about my favourite films, and to explore a form of writing I'm not entirely comfortable with.
Not that any of this is particularly relevant to anyone but me, so I'll conclude the play-by-play of the soul searching and just summarize: your comments are very much appreciated, and I hope you'll continue to poke me every now and again and say, "look, it can get better than that." And do please excuse me if I get a bit snippy -- I've not quite gotten over that "my writing is my child, do not mock my child" mentality. (You really still don't get your points back, though. :))
At September 24, 2004 at 11:16 p.m.,
LFK said…
I agree with what you say about being nervous to say "this is what this means" as a large portion of communication studies revolves around the very idea that same things will have different meanings in different situations. Thinking back to my own writing (of a more personal creative nature) and realizing that my work has a wide variety of meanings, I try and keep it in mind that most creative people, and hopefully people being trusted to produce feature-length films, have a similar view on their work.
So, what works to convey that and still take a stand? The truth is all we've got I guess. Admit that you're only looking at one point that stood out the most to you. Just find your own words to say "a theme that I found particularly prevalent was..." and procede to prattle on.
As for my points, I didn't cheat, I had the browser open to the comments page, then went to dinner, did some reading, chatted online, and finally got around to posting a few hours later, without refreshing the page, and promptly realized that I wasn't the first person to answer like I thought. Of course I'm the only one who can verify that, so better luck next time I suppose.
At September 25, 2004 at 12:32 p.m.,
some geek said…
Well, that's the nature of any creative media though -- there are no hard and fast meanings. Every reader/viewer/what-have-you brings their past experiences, their biases, their expectations to a piece of media and create their own meaning.
Which is why you're exactly right. The only route to go is the "this is what I think the author was trying to say" rather than "this is what the author was trying to say". And indeed, continue to prattle on. :) It's just not really an ego boost when someone points out that you're clinging to English 10 methods. (Helpful, certainly, but my ego still needs a band-aid.)
And as far as your points are concerned, I was just teasing you. It's my juvenile defence mechanism -- haven't we all got one? The real point is that a blog is no way to hold this sort of trivia "contest", and besides that it's far too easy to cheat if you know anything about IMDB.com (and what self-respecting movie geek doesn't?), it's just my sneaky way of trying to get people to post, and have a little fun on the blog. :)
If it's any consolation, I completely agree. Adam West could take Michael Keaton any day. Until Michael Keaton dances, I will not acknowledge him as Batman.
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