Customer Reviews

Rubinstein Remembered (With Audio CD)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Terribly frustrating.
In fairness, this documentary was originally aired on public television for an audience the producers apparently felt was more interested in Rubinstein's celebrity than in his music. But who if not music lovers will buy this DVD, and they will find only brief snippets of Rubinstein's playing.
As for biography, the great raconteur does not get a word in to tell his own story until almost nine minutes into the program. Instead we are treated to a self-indulgent display of his son John's narration, analysis -- even his conducting!
The many photographs of Arthur Rubinstein are marvelous (though other people in the photos are never identified), and a few moments with Daniel Barenboim provide desperately needed reflection.
But -- tell me, someone - is there no better DVD providing a musical and biographical profile of Rubinstein? He deserves one.

I agree wholeheartedly with the other comments: the balance between content featuring John and content with Artur playing or speaking is off kilter. Artur's full-length performances and personal interviews on camera are what we really want to help us celebrate and remember Artur Rubinstein's marvelous music and artistry. For all those legions of Artur Rubinstein fans, what we really want to see and purchase on DVD is an art film that hit the silver screen in 1969 entitled "Arthur Rubinstein - The Love of Life", directed by Gerard Patris and Francois Reichenbach (also entitled "L'Amour de la vie"). It was produced by Bernard Chevry. Please John Rubinstein, can we get this film released on DVD as well? The market for it would be huge!

I agree with another review that implores a dvd from the film titled "Love of Life", a documentary/interview with the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein. Here in Brazil the film was received, at that time, like a piano concerto: people applauded at the end of the exhibition! Please, the world deserves this gift.

I too have been hoping for a video or DVD of this film. I saw it twice at the Royal Festival Hall, London when it was first released, but have not been able to see it anywhere else. It has not been on TV in the UK as far as I know. Please will someone bring out a DVD soon.
Fay Davies

If you check out eBay right now (Oct 7, 2009) you'll see that there's a 16 mm print of "Arthur Rubinstein: Love of Life" for sale right now. This movie still hasn't been released on DVD and no one seems to know when exactly that might happen, mostly because no one really knows who owns the rights!

Yes, this documentary is valuable to Rubinstein lovers, but not even close to the movie I saw in 1970: "Love of Life." It is unforgettable, and a must have for anyone who is a devotee of the man and artist.

A tribute fashioned for the centennial of the birth of the great pianist Artur Rubinstein, hosted by his actor son John, this endeavour showcases the gusto of the artist while permitting the viewer to appreciate his vast technical power, with a large emphasis being placed upon Rubinstein's love for his native Poland, in particular Lodz, his birthplace. Interviews with Rubinstein and with members of his family comprise a large portion of this work, and these combined with home movies and too seldom shown concert footage allow us to understand how this keyboard master approaches his art, as well as historical background of his ardour for Chopin, of whom he is the preeminent latter day interpreter. Rubinstein's well-deserved reputation as a raconteur is highlighted, with examples, while his wife Eva and his children draw our attention to his rarely flagging delight in living, maintained even under the circumstances of nearly total blindness which ended his performing career years before his death in 1982, at age 95. Director/producer Peter Rosen emphasizes the obligation that Rubinstein felt to communicate with his audiences, no matter how small or private, and we are gratified at seeing and hearing the virtuoso perform portions of Chopin's second concerto, with both the Warsaw and Lodz Philharmonic Orchestras, in addition to solo performances of such as Falla, Schumann and Poulenc. Easily the best moments of the film are comprised of archival footage of Rubinstein in performance, taken from L'AMOUR DE LA VIE-ARTUR RUBINSTEIN, a 1969 work devised by the outstanding French director and cinematographer Francois Reichenbach, including segments from six of the pianist's favourite Chopin pieces, the Mazurkas; somewhat ironically, to experience the Gallic auteur's camera and lighting skills as we watch Rubinstein play these jewels causes the film at hand, with its many family-related digressions, to be somewhat pallid in feeling.

I just received the Feb 2012 Member Calendar from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. They will be showing "Love of Life" twice in February. I'm in Los Angeles and if I didn't already have commitments on both dates I'd fly there to see it! I saw it back when it was produced and have been trying to see it again ever since.
I went online again to see if it was available and found all these other people who feel the same way as I do.

Rubenstein is my favorite pianist precisely because that love is at the 'heart' of his playing! I would love to have this film as I remember it captured that so well.

I saw "The Love of Life" some three decades ago and it left an indelible mark on my memory. Great personal footage of Rubinstein, frank interviews, and footage of his concerts around the world make this movie a must see. Please release this movie on DVD.

I join the many people here that really would like to see the Reichenbach film about Arthur Rubinstein on DVD.

This one is nice but too short and somehow not really thrilling. Whenever Rubinstein appears there is a glimpse of his fascinating personality. I'm not sure if it was a good idea to celebrate his father with a second class performance of Chopin's second concerto. Somehow this film turns out more as a film about a son-of-a-famous-father trauma than about the artist Arthur Rubinstein.