Round Midnight
From Warner Brothers
Tags: performing arts great soundtrack a chance to get inside the life of a musician jazz dvd dexter gordon drama jazz
Average Rating 
Round MidnightLike the music it celebrates, Round Midnight is long on atmosphere, short on formal structure, alert and open to improvisation, making this 1986 drama the most authentic glimpse of jazz yet filmed. Its subject, Dale Turner (played by Dexter Gordon), is a composite of brilliant but bruised jazz warriors who left America behind for self-imposed European exile, finding a more tolerant and appreciative audience while never completely eluding their private demons. Drugs and drink have battered the tall, laconic saxophonist, whose diffident, somewhat distracted manner only partly conceals a deeper exhaustion as he plays a 1959 engagement in a Parisian club and tries to stay sober. His burnished solos drift behind the tempo with a languor that can’t be fully explained as a point of style. But when an ardent, impoverished French fan (François Cluzet) intercepts his idol and then offers him simple acts of kindness, the gesture inspires a brief but glowing second wind in the aging musician, reflected in his playing. Even as the film contemplates Turner’s return to his homeland as a portent of his own death, his moments on the Parisian bandstand suggest a glimpse of redemption.
If Turner’s frail character echoes real-life ex-pats like Bud Powell and Lester Young, director Bertrand Tavernier’s insistence upon casting the role with veteran tenor player Dexter Gordon breathes startling authenticity into the figure. Gordon’s own drug arrests and an extended idyll abroad give him direct access to Turner’s isolation, and Tavernier elicits a natural but compelling performance that earned Gordon (who died in 1990) an Academy Award nomination. Likewise, the director cast his cinematic band with world-class musicians, including Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Ron Carter, and shot these sequences as live performances. Hancock’s score deservedly won both British and American Academy Awards, as well as a French César. –Sam Sutherland
Round MidnightLike the music it celebrates, Round Midnight is long on atmosphere, short on formal structure, alert and open to improvisation, making this 1986 drama the most authentic glimpse of jazz yet filmed. Its subject, Dale Turner (played by Dexter Gordon), is a composite of brilliant but bruised jazz warriors who left America behind for self-imposed European exile, finding a more tolerant and appreciative audience while never completely eluding their private demons. Drugs and drink have battered the tall, laconic saxophonist, whose diffident, somewhat distracted manner only partly conceals a deeper exhaustion as he plays a 1959 engagement in a Parisian club and tries to stay sober. His burnished solos drift behind the tempo with a languor that can’t be fully explained as a point of style. But when an ardent, impoverished French fan (François Cluzet) intercepts his idol and then offers him simple acts of kindness, the gesture inspires a brief but glowing second wind in the aging musician, reflected in his playing. Even as the film contemplates Turner’s return to his homeland as a portent of his own death, his moments on the Parisian bandstand suggest a glimpse of redemption.
If Turner’s frail character echoes real-life ex-pats like Bud Powell and Lester Young, director Bertrand Tavernier’s insistence upon casting the role with veteran tenor player Dexter Gordon breathes startling authenticity into the figure. Gordon’s own drug arrests and an extended idyll abroad give him direct access to Turner’s isolation, and Tavernier elicits a natural but compelling performance that earned Gordon (who died in 1990) an Academy Award nomination. Likewise, the director cast his cinematic band with world-class musicians, including Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Ron Carter, and shot these sequences as live performances. Hancock’s score deservedly won both British and American Academy Awards, as well as a French César. –Sam SutherlandBertrand Tavernier’s loving ode to jazz and its creators. Dexter Gordon captured an Academy Award (R) nomination as an expatriate musician in 1959 Paris. Herbie Hancock’s superb music score won an Oscar(R).Running Time: 132 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085391160328
- amazon.com Sales Rank: #28670 in DVD
- Warner Brothers ABIS_DVD
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A pretty good movie that suffers from lack of impact. by Eric C. Sedensky 
This movie has a lot going for it. Dexter Gordon, a real (and real good) jazz-musician-turned-actor stars as Dale Turner, an alcoholic saxophone player who moves to Paris and rediscovers his music and life. His world-weary voice and vibrant music talent help him to carry the role, deemed good enough to have been nominated for an Academy Award. Herbie Hancock wrote the music, obtaining a sound track that is sprinkled with Hancockian licks and solid jazz classics, apparently performed by a number of famous jazz musicians, such as Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson and Pierre Michelot. With their support and the convenience of having a number of hit tunes to use in the sound track, it’s no wonder Herbie won the Academy Award for best score for this movie. It’s wonderful. Where the movie disappoints, though, is in the story, which is convoluted and unconvincing. It is supposedly based on things that happened to Bud Powell and Lester Young, but because it is not a biopic of either one of those guys, it ends up being about nobody. The frenchman who befriends Dexter Gordon’s character is just not believable, especially when he says things like “Your music changed my life” to a fictional guy who doesn’t play an original tune in the entire movie. I can’t get wrapped up in somebody’s life when I don’t know who they are, and while some attempt is made to sway the audience to care about these forlorn characters, ultimately, the audience is left feeling detached and empty. For a peek into the world of 1960’s jazz, though, the movie is adequate, and the sound track is first rate and pretty much worth the price of admission. You won’t be overwhelmingly impressed by this movie, but you won’t feel like you completely wasted two hours, either.
Extraordinary film by Jordan 
“Round Midnight” is an exceptional piece of art in which the music acts almost as another main character. The lead performances are very good, and the all-star group of musicians make the soundtrack absolutely first-rate. However, I found the direction to be the strong point of the film. I know some people have suggested Scorsese had a heavy hand in directing even though he’s only officially credited as a cast member, and perhaps they’re right, but I thought it seemed uniquely distinct from just about anything I’ve ever seen, including Martin’s films. The film is not a typical, sign-posted Hollywood standard and the style of the script takes some getting used to, but like most fine art, the completed piece is far superior to any single element, and the rich layering lends itself to enjoyment on subsequent viewings. A+!
A Must Have by W. Bradley 
I have watched Round Midnight many times over the past 20 years including in a theatre when the movie first appeared. There is nothing I can say in this review that hasn’t been said by the other 50 reviewers other than 1) although brilliant in concept and reality, it is a boring film 2)if you are a jazz fan then you simply must have this film in your collection for no other reason than seeing the all-star jazz musicians play. I think Lonette McKee’s rendition of “How Long This Has Been Going On” is tremendous and I think Herbie Hancock’s composing, arranging and comping were truly awesome. Dexter Gordon’s portrayal of Dale Turner, while challenging to endure as a viewer sometimes, is probably as accurate as it could have been. I have been a fan of the tune “Chan’s Song” every since I first saw this film. I applaud the people who believed in this story enough to make this film.
One of the top films of the Eighties! by Hiram Gomez Pardo
Bertrand Tavernier is one of the most distinguished and finest French directors of the second half of the Century. and this film claimed by itself to be made, it deals with the story of a jazz musician struggling to create the bebop sound. Real-life tenor sax Dexter Gordon and Martin Scorsesse contributed to make this film a real winner, measure by measure.
One of the warmest tributes ever paid to jazz.
For the record……. by G. Whiz
Lester Young never lived in France. Lester’s last gig was in Paris but he never lived there.
Powell, on the other hand, spent years overseas playing.
Great movie, definitely based on the lives of Powell and Young. Gordon was brilliant in this movie.
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