Anyone saw this movie back in 1986 ?
Just saw it one time in the cinema .
A spherish story about a french admirer of saxophonist Dale Turner ( Dexter Gordon ) , who tries to have Dale performing in France and Paris .
It succeeds and Dale has a nice time "sur la Seine" .
There is an intensive part where Dale tells about the hard time , during the 60's , with slow-motion parts of the projects during that era .
Worth to buy or rent on dvd .
A little co-apppearance by Martin Scorsese , who plays a hard New Yorkan Jazz-manager .





http://youtube.com/watch?v=BGz7LugZLHQ

In the Existentialist '50s, bebop jazz expanded beyond Manhattan and became all the rage in Paris. French intellectuals such as Sartre (in his pro-American hotdogs-and-bourbon phase) applied their knowledge to the music of poorly-educated African-Americans and discovered that this too, like the cinema of Jerry Lewis, was something they could like about America.

Director/scenarist Bertrand Tavernier, a veteran of the St. Germain des Pres scene, crafted "Round Midnight" as a nostalgic tribute to a now-vanished European musical scene. (The Blue Note Club is a studio set, the original having been pulled down). Melding the life stories of pianist Bud Powell and sax man Lester Young into a memorable character called Dale Turner, Tavernier benefited from the fortunate casting of real-life musician Dexter Gordon to play this role.

Gordon spent much of his working life in Copenhagen and in 1963 made a record with Powell in Paris. The two were part of a large group of black American jazzmen who gigged across Western Europe as the 52nd Street scene back home began to wane. Essentially, Gordon played himself, for which he deservedly received an Oscar nomination on his first try.

Musicians are not necessarily actors, but "Round Midnight" is bolstered by strong performances from a number of U.S. and French jazz players paying tribute to their own. As pleasant as the film's musical score is, "Round Midnight" succeeds because the cast of music professionals shows what they can do away from the bandstand.

(from imdb.com)




[Edited 9/14/06 15:01pm]

my dad took me to see it, he wanted to show me what 'real' music was about.....the movie is very depressing though!

abierman said:

I also went with my dad

I was about to write that eventually in the initial post that there was indeed a lota sadness during the movie , which can depress , but somehow i went with the flow .
Before i saw the movie , i had read some quotes in jazzbooks from my dad's collection and recognised that sadness in the film .

100MPH said:

I would love to see it again, I was only 15 back then.....

Love the song. Dug the flick. Haven't seen it in a while.

Dexter Gordon was perfect for the Dale Turner character.
And all those whose only knowledge of Bobby McFerrin is Don't Worry, pay attention to his sensitive interpretation of the title tune's melody.

The music is top notch (just look at the players).


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431