Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Theatrical Release: 06/11/1999(USA)
Release Date: 06/03/2008
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1/DD2
Run Time: 130 Minutes
Flags: Nudity, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Lionsgate

Francois Girard directed this drama tracing the history of a musical instrument through five countries and three centuries. In 1681, to keep the spirit of his wife alive, an Italian paints the violin with a red varnish made from her blood. It is later found in the Austrian Alps when a prodigy gives a performance in the court of Vienna in 1792. Taken by gypsies, the instrument is acquired by a Dionysian composer. After a journey by boat to China in 1966, it is hidden during the Cultural Revolution. In contemporary Canada, it is spotted at an auction house by a violin expert (Samuel L. Jackson) who becomes obsessed with it. Scripted by Girard and Don McKellar. Filmed on a $10 million budget in Montreal, China, Italy, Austria, and Oxford.

~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
Samuel L. Jackson - Charles Morritz
Don McKellar - Evan Williams
Carlo Cecchi - Nicolo Bussotti
Irene Grazioli - Anna Bussotti
Jean-Luc Bideau - Georges Poussin
Christoph Koncz - Kaspar Weiss
Jason Flemyng - Frederick Pope
Greta Scacchi - Victoria Byrd
Sylvia Chang - Xiang Pei
Liu Zi Feng - Chou Yuan
Colm Feore - Auctioneer
Monique Mercure - Mme. Leroux

Production:
François Girard - Director
Niv Fichman - Producer
Daniel Iron Giannandrea Pecorelli - Co Producer
John Corigliano - Composer
Gaetan Huot - Editor
Don McKellar François Girard - Screen Writer
Deirdre Bowen - Casting
Alain Dostie - Cinematographer
Renee April - Costume Designer
David J.Webb - First Assistant Director
Jennifer Jonas - First Assistant Director
Barbara Shrier - Line Producer
François Séguin - Production Designer
Antoine Morin - Sound Editor
Carole Gagnon - Sound Editor
Guy Pelletier - Sound Editor
Jérôme Décarie - Sound Editor
Bernard Gariepy Strobl - Sound/Sound Designer
Claude La Haye - Sound/Sound Designer
Hans Peter Strobl - Sound/Sound Designer
Jocelyn Caron - Sound/Sound Designer
Marcel Pothier - Sound/Sound Designer
Jacques Plante - Sound Editor

Amadeus [Repackaged]
    F. Murray Abraham / PG / 1984
Tous Les Matins du Monde [2 Discs]
    Jean-Pierre Marielle / 1991
The Yellow Rolls-Royce
    Rex Harrison / 1964
La Ronde [Criterion Collection]
    Anton Walbrook / 1950
Twenty Bucks
    Linda Hunt / R / 1993
Brush With Fate
    Glenn Close / NR / 2003
Immortal Beloved
    Gary Oldman / R / 1994
Les Uns et Les Autres (Bolero)
    Robert Hossein / NR / 1981
Winchester '73
    James Stewart / NR / 1950

1999 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie

1998 Genie Awards

1998 Toronto Film Critics Association

1999 Golden Globe