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The Movie:
A fascinating subject is brought to life in an almost equally interesting way in director Francois Girard's "32 Short Films About Glenn Gould". Although the film remains a rather short offering about Gould at 93 minutes, the performances are excellent and the interesting way of presenting the famed classical performers life actually works quite well.
Colm Feore does an excellent job portraying the composer, a man who seemed rather talkative at times as we hear from those who knew him - and also, someone who was content to also absorb the world around him. And yes, there are 32 short films about the musician here, ranging from a little under a minute to several minutes. Impressively, these actually begin to come together for an organized, compelling portrait of who the man really was. Still, the filmmakers give the viewer a little less than just enough, seemingly inviting the viewer to come to their own conclusion.
The film is so unforced in the way that it introduces information that I found myself consistently becoming more involved. Feore plays the composer as a quiet, likable person who greatly enjoys the art of creating music. Alain Dostie's cinematography does a remarkable job helping the film as well, such as one sequence where four musicians are playing in a room - the camera almost floats around them with an enjoyable grace and elegance. But again, what a wonderful way of presenting a story. Writer Don McKellar (who also directed the intelligent "Last Night") and director François Girard have really made a beautiful picture with "32 Short Films", a movie that deserved a wider audience than it recieved.
The DVD
VIDEO: Tristar has done a very fine job presenting "Glenn Gould", with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that is very pleasantly clear and crisp, with good sharpness and detail. Although sharpness was not completely consistent as softness crept into a couple of scenes, at its best, the picture looked suprisingly good, even offering nice depth to the image.
For a film that's now about eight years old, the print looked cleaner than I'd expected. In fact, I really didn't notice anything in the way of print flaws or other such flaws, making for a very clean and enjoyable viewing experience. Shimmering is absent as well, and I didn't notice anything in the way of pixelation. Black level is solid and flesh tones remain accurate and natural.
Colors remain somewhat subdued, but generally natural and pleasant, without any noticable flaws to speak of. In fact, aside from a little bit of softness here and there, this is an especially fine transfer that fans of the film should be extremely pleased with. A full-frame presentation is included on the flip side.
SOUND: Although it's unfortunate that this film is only presented in Dolby 2.0 instead of Dolby Digital 5.1, the sound presentation still manages to capture the wonderfully played music that unfolds throughout the movie. The music has an enjoyably warm and full feeling to it here, and certainly never sounds sharp or thin. Dialogue sounds clear and natural as well. Although it's somewhat unfortunate that this was given a limited audio presentation, it reaches its potential for the material.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus with film-themed images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Trailers for "32 Short Films", "Bossa Nova" and "The Tango Lesson". Talent files.
Final Thoughts:
Positive: An excellent, often fascinating movie recieves good audio/video quality.
Negative: As with any feature that takes a look at the life of a person, it would have been nice to have further information included about Glenn Gould, or more extras in general included.
Film Grade
The Film *** 1/2
DVD Grades
Video 92/A = (368/400 possible points)
Audio: 85/B = (340/400 possible points)
Extras: 70/C = (210/300 possible points)
Menus: 70/C = (140/200 possible points)
Value: 83/B = (249/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1307/1600
DVD GRADE:B/81%
FILM GRADE: *** 1/2
DVD GRADE: B
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