The Legend of 1900
Encyclopedia
The Legend of 1900 is a 1998 film
directed by the Italian
filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore
, starring Tim Roth
. This is Tornatore's first English-language film. The film is inspired by a theater monologue
, Novecento, by Alessandro Baricco
. The film was nominated for a variety of awards worldwide, winning several for its soundtrack
.
as a series of flashback
s. Max Tooney, a musician, enters a secondhand music shop just before closing time, broke and badly in need of money. He has only a Conn trumpet
, which he sells for less than he had hoped. Clearly torn at parting from his prized possession, he asks to play it one last time. The shopkeeper agrees, and as the musician plays, the shopkeeper immediately recognizes the song from a broken record matrix he found inside a recently acquired secondhand piano
. He asks who the piece is by, and Max tells him the story of 1900.
1900 was found abandoned on the four stacker
SS Virginian, a mere baby in a hand basket, and likely the son of poor immigrants from steerage. Danny, a coal-man from the boiler room, is determined to raise the boy as his own. He names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900 (a combination of his own name, the year, and an advertisement found in the basket) and hides him from the ship's officers. During the early years of his life, 1900 comes across an advertisement for a man with the initials of T.D; however, on seeing the advertisement and possibly 1900's biological father, Danny decides not to tell 1900 the truth. Sadly, a few years later, Danny is killed in a workplace accident, and 1900 is forced to survive aboard the Virginian as an orphan. For many years, he travels back and forth across the Atlantic
, keeping a low profile and apparently learning the languages spoken by the immigrants in Third Class.
The boy shows a particular gift for music and eventually grows up and joins the ship's orchestra. He befriends Max in 1926, but never leaves the vessel. Apparently, the outside world is too "big" for his imagination at this point. But he stays current with outside musical trends as passengers explain to him a new music trend or style, and he immediately picks it up and starts playing it for them.
His reputation as a pianist is so renowned that Jelly Roll Morton
, of New Orleans jazz
fame, on hearing of 1900's skill comes aboard to challenge him to a piano duel. After hearing Jelly Roll Morton's first tune 1900 plays a piece so simple and well known ("Silent Night") that the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz feels mocked. As Morton becomes more determined to display his talent, he plays an impressive improvised tune ("The Crave") that brings tears to 1900's eyes. 1900 calmly sits down at the piano and plays from memory the entire tune that Morton had just improvised. 1900's playing fails to impress the crowd until he plays an original piece of such virtuosity that the metal piano strings become hot enough for 1900 to light a cigarette. He hands it to Morton, who has lost the duel.
A record producer, having heard of 1900's prowess, brings a primitive recording apparatus aboard and cuts a demo record of a 1900 original composition. The recorded music is created by 1900 as he gazes at a woman (The Girl) who has just boarded and whom he finds attractive. When 1900 hears the recording, he takes the master, offended at the prospect of anyone hearing the music without his having performed it. He then tries to give the master to The Girl who inspired it, but ends up smashing it when he fails.
The story flashes back to the mid-1940s periodically, as we see Max (who leaves the ship's orchestra in 1933) trying to lure 1900 out of the now-deserted hulk of the ship. Having served as a hospital ship and transport in World War II
, she is scheduled to be scuttled and sunk far offshore. Max manages to get aboard the ship with the recording 1900 made long ago and plays it, hoping to attract 1900's attention. When it does, Max attempts to convince 1900 to leave the ship. But he is simply too daunted by the size of the world. And feeling that his fate is tied to the ship, 1900 cannot bring himself to leave the only home he has known. In the end, the Virginian blows up and sinks, presumably with 1900 still aboard.
The shopkeeper asks Max how the record got into the secondhand piano. Max says that he put it in there. Then, as Max is leaving the store, the shopkeeper gives him the trumpet and says, "A good story is worth more than an old trumpet," and Max walks out into the rain.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
directed by the Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore
Giuseppe Tornatore
-Life and career:Born in Bagheria near Palermo, Tornatore developed an interest in acting and the theatre from at least the age of 16 and put on works by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo.He worked initially as a freelance photographer...
, starring Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
. This is Tornatore's first English-language film. The film is inspired by a theater monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
, Novecento, by Alessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
. The film was nominated for a variety of awards worldwide, winning several for its soundtrack
The Legend of 1900 (soundtrack)
The Legend of 1900 is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. All of the tracks except for two are by Ennio Morricone. The other songs are "Lost Boys Calling" by Roger Waters and Morricone and Magic Waltz, that has been written by Amedeo Tommasi. There have been two versions of the album...
.
Plot
The story is told in medias resIn medias res
In medias res or medias in res is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning In medias res or medias in res (into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase...
as a series of flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s. Max Tooney, a musician, enters a secondhand music shop just before closing time, broke and badly in need of money. He has only a Conn trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, which he sells for less than he had hoped. Clearly torn at parting from his prized possession, he asks to play it one last time. The shopkeeper agrees, and as the musician plays, the shopkeeper immediately recognizes the song from a broken record matrix he found inside a recently acquired secondhand piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He asks who the piece is by, and Max tells him the story of 1900.
1900 was found abandoned on the four stacker
Four funnel liner
A four funnel liner, four funnelled liner or four stacker is an ocean liner with four funnels. The SS Great Eastern, launched on January 31st 1858 , became the only ocean liner to ever sport five funnels. As one funnel was later removed, the Great Eastern, by default, became the first ocean liner...
SS Virginian, a mere baby in a hand basket, and likely the son of poor immigrants from steerage. Danny, a coal-man from the boiler room, is determined to raise the boy as his own. He names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900 (a combination of his own name, the year, and an advertisement found in the basket) and hides him from the ship's officers. During the early years of his life, 1900 comes across an advertisement for a man with the initials of T.D; however, on seeing the advertisement and possibly 1900's biological father, Danny decides not to tell 1900 the truth. Sadly, a few years later, Danny is killed in a workplace accident, and 1900 is forced to survive aboard the Virginian as an orphan. For many years, he travels back and forth across the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, keeping a low profile and apparently learning the languages spoken by the immigrants in Third Class.
The boy shows a particular gift for music and eventually grows up and joins the ship's orchestra. He befriends Max in 1926, but never leaves the vessel. Apparently, the outside world is too "big" for his imagination at this point. But he stays current with outside musical trends as passengers explain to him a new music trend or style, and he immediately picks it up and starts playing it for them.
His reputation as a pianist is so renowned that Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
, of New Orleans jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
fame, on hearing of 1900's skill comes aboard to challenge him to a piano duel. After hearing Jelly Roll Morton's first tune 1900 plays a piece so simple and well known ("Silent Night") that the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz feels mocked. As Morton becomes more determined to display his talent, he plays an impressive improvised tune ("The Crave") that brings tears to 1900's eyes. 1900 calmly sits down at the piano and plays from memory the entire tune that Morton had just improvised. 1900's playing fails to impress the crowd until he plays an original piece of such virtuosity that the metal piano strings become hot enough for 1900 to light a cigarette. He hands it to Morton, who has lost the duel.
A record producer, having heard of 1900's prowess, brings a primitive recording apparatus aboard and cuts a demo record of a 1900 original composition. The recorded music is created by 1900 as he gazes at a woman (The Girl) who has just boarded and whom he finds attractive. When 1900 hears the recording, he takes the master, offended at the prospect of anyone hearing the music without his having performed it. He then tries to give the master to The Girl who inspired it, but ends up smashing it when he fails.
The story flashes back to the mid-1940s periodically, as we see Max (who leaves the ship's orchestra in 1933) trying to lure 1900 out of the now-deserted hulk of the ship. Having served as a hospital ship and transport in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she is scheduled to be scuttled and sunk far offshore. Max manages to get aboard the ship with the recording 1900 made long ago and plays it, hoping to attract 1900's attention. When it does, Max attempts to convince 1900 to leave the ship. But he is simply too daunted by the size of the world. And feeling that his fate is tied to the ship, 1900 cannot bring himself to leave the only home he has known. In the end, the Virginian blows up and sinks, presumably with 1900 still aboard.
The shopkeeper asks Max how the record got into the secondhand piano. Max says that he put it in there. Then, as Max is leaving the store, the shopkeeper gives him the trumpet and says, "A good story is worth more than an old trumpet," and Max walks out into the rain.
Cast
- Tim RothTim RothSimon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
as 1900 (Danny Broodman T.D. Lemon 1900) - Pruitt Taylor VincePruitt Taylor VincePruitt Taylor Vince is an American award-winning character actor who has made many appearances in film and television.-Personal life:Vince was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana...
as Max Tooney - Mélanie ThierryMélanie ThierryMélanie Thierry, is a French actress best known to international audiences for her role as Aurora in the 2008 film Babylon A.D.-Biography:...
as The Girl - Bill NunnBill Nunn-Early life:Nunn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of William G. Nunn, Jr., a well-known journalist and editor at the Pittsburgh Courier, as well as an NFL scout. Nunn's paternal grandfather was the first African American football player at George Westinghouse High School.Nunn was a...
as Danny - Clarence Williams IIIClarence Williams IIIClarence Williams III is an American actor.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City. His grandfather was Clarence Williams, the jazz pianist and composer. He was raised by his grandmother.-Career:...
as Jelly Roll MortonJelly Roll MortonFerdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer.... - Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
as the Shopkeeper - Niall O'BrienNiall O'Brien (actor)Niall O'Brien was an Irish-born actor and member of the Abbey Theatre company. He was born in Dalkey village, Co. Dublin, and grew up in nearby Glasthule. He was educated at Presentation College at Westland Row, Dublin, before going on to join the Abbey School of acting.-Personal life:O'Brien...
as Harbor Master - Gabriele LaviaGabriele LaviaGabriele Lavia is an Italian actor, film director and theatre director.Lavia was born in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1970 he has had roles in nearly thirty films and television programs...
as Farmer
Awards
| Year | Governing body | Award | Nominee and category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 1999 in film The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep... |
Camerimage Camerimage The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE is a festival dedicated to cinematography and its creators cinematographers.The first seven events were held in Toruń, Poland. The next ten events were held in Łódź... |
Golden Frog | Lajos Koltai Lajos Koltai Lajos Koltai, ASC, HSC, is a Hungarian cinematographer and film director best known for his work with legendary Hungarian director Istvan Szabo, and Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore... for Best Cinematography Cinematography Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography... |
Lost to Elizabeth Elizabeth (film) Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough... |
| 1999 | David di Donatello David di Donatello David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The... |
David | Lajos Koltai for Best Cinematography | Won |
| Maurizio Millenotti Maurizio Millenotti Maurizio Millenotti is an Italian costume designer. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Costume Design: the first time for his work in Otello ; the second time for his work in Hamlet .- External links :... for Best Costume Design Costume design Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such... |
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| Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore -Life and career:Born in Bagheria near Palermo, Tornatore developed an interest in acting and the theatre from at least the age of 16 and put on works by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo.He worked initially as a freelance photographer... for Best Director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... |
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| Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces... for Best Music |
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| Francesco Frigeri for Best Production Design | ||||
| Best Film | Lost to Fuori Dal Mondo Fuori Dal Mondo Not of this World or Fuori Dal Mondo is an awarded Italian drama film directed by Giuseppe Piccioni. The translation for Fuori Dal Mondo is 'outside from the world'-Cast:*Margherita Buy: Sister Caterina*Silvio Orlando: Ernesto... |
|||
| Best Screenplay Screenplay A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated... |
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| Scholars Jury David | Giuseppe Tornatore | Won | ||
| 1999 | European Film Awards | European Film Award | Lajos Koltai for Best Cinematographer (also for Sunshine Sunshine (1999 film) Sunshine is a 1999 historical film written by Israel Horovitz and István Szabó, directed and produced by István Szabó. It follows three generations of a Jewish family during the changes in Hungary from the beginning of the 20th century to the... ) |
Won |
| 2000 2000 in film The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor .... |
Golden Globes | Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... |
Ennio Morricone for Best Original Score - Motion Picture | Won |
| 2000 | Guild of German Art House Cinemas | Guild Film Award - Silver | Giuseppe Tornatore for Foreign Film World cinema World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film... |
Won |
| 1999 | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Nastro d'Argento Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics... |
Maurizio Millenotti for Best Costume Design | Won |
| Giuseppe Tornatore for Best Director | ||||
| Best Producer Film producer A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The... |
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| Francesco Frigeri for Best Production Design | ||||
| Giuseppe Tornatore for Best Screenplay | ||||
| Nastro d'Argento Speciale | Ennio Morricone for the musical research for composing the movie's original score | |||
| 2000 | Satellite Awards Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama... |
Golden Satellite Award | Francesco Frigeri and Bruno Cesari for Best Art Direction Art director The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games.... , Production Design |
Lost to Sleepy Hollow Sleepy Hollow (film) Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 American period horror film directed by Tim Burton. It is a film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Marc Pickering, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones,... |
| Ennio Morricone for Best Original Score |