So, my wife comes home from the movie place with a classical DVD she got for me to watch ... isn't that sweet???

The movie is called Impromptu and is based on George Sand's life. I'm sure it was not the intention of the filmmakers, but I laughed myself sick at this funny, mildly raunchy, hysterically inaccurate portrayal of some of our favorite composers. Hugh Grant (can you imagine??) gets to play the sickly effeminate Chopin, who's best line is: after Sand hints that he's yet a virgin due to his refusal to succumb to her feminine wiles, "nay, I was baptised in the brothels of Paris". hehe

Julian Sands gets to play my Liszt; his portrayal is fine I suppose -- he did get the hair and nose perfectly! The film was obviously pro-Chopin and anti-Liszt. (my wife got quite a kick out of tweaking my sensibilities everytime Liszt was put down as an inferior composer!) This, in spite of the fact, that there was almost as much of Liszt's music in the film score as Chopin's!!! The best musical moment for me was during a farcical duel between Chopin and one of Sand's former lovers ... music from Liszt's Dante Sonata was roaring away as they counted off the paces! Best inaccurate Liszt moment??: when he cries to Marie D'Gout (sp?) "you've suffocated my spirit for years. Imagine the composer I might have been!" and then proceeds to attack Marie and strangle her!!!! hahahahahahaha Poor Marie came out as quite the shrew in this production. (played by Bernadette Peters, who I love)

Emma Thompson has really the best role as bored country noblewoman who longs for the culture and "geniuses" of Paris. Boy does she get more than she bargained for! Mandy Patinkin (My name ees Carlos Montoya. You keeled my fadder. Prepare to die!) also stars as a fantastically funny bitter ex-lover of Sand's.

Anyway, it was a fun hour and a half even if wildly inaccurate.

I may get a lashing for this, but I liked that movie! I remember watching it for the first time when my kids were just babies. I didn't have time in those days to play much piano (or do anything else, for that matter), and this movie was exactly the kind of movie I liked. I think Hugh Grant made a good Chopin and I agree that Julian Sands was a good Liszt. Bernadette Peters was good and so was Emma Thompson - so actually they all were - guess you can tell that I still do like this movie (I bought the VHS ). I know there are some inaccuracies and so forth, but oh well...it's a nice way for me to escape things. And it's better than the other two Chopin movies I have: "A Song to Remember," and "Desire for Love."

Heehehe that was a good movie.