The Concert

I bought this from Amazon and thought that the US Version only came Dubbed in English. I now have discovered that the US Version does indeed have the Original Version, Here's where you can find it:Go to Settings: then choose AUDIO Options; Choose French/Russian. Then resume movie. The key to this is the default is set to the Dubbed version.In the Original version you hear the Actors voices. The Film is subtle and quiet in creating these characters. It says so much that as you watch this film, you realize you are watching something very special, even magical. It is that powerful in its emotional impact. This is not only rare, but something we only see as an exception that is exceptional.The Dubbed version is poor at best and all the magic is drained out. Whoever did this took nothing from the original version. If you want to do a comparison, look at the way the main character and his wife interact together. In the Original it is real love in the quiet way they talk to each other. The Dubbed version never comes close.So in Closing this review, I owe an apology to the ARC Entertainment that put out this US Version, but to be honest, they did not say that the Original version is on the disc. Even Amazon had no idea and that's where I tried the European version. That DVD is set up correctly, but as Region 2, you need a DVD Player that plays all regions. So yes, this is a wonderful film and , no, you are not stuck with the Dubbed version, As I said before.....The Russian/French version is absolutely 5 stars.

I saw this movie in a flight from US to Japan. I saw it once and fell in love with this movie. I actually ordered a copy of its DVD recently and watched it 3 times already. I will watch it again. I rarely purchase DVDs considering that I can rent it for a couple of dollars. This one is worth paying the original price. It's a hilarious comedy and at the same time such an inspiring movie. You can tell those who made this movie really love music, especially that of Tchaikovsky. I do love music of Tchaikovsky myself.

This foreign movie is a great story about a past conductor of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, who now is a janitor, who sees an opportunity to bring his old comrades together for a performance in Paris, France. Though there is some humor in the movie, there is also tragedy, as it reminds you of the terrible days of communism and what it did to artists. I liked the movie so much that I gave it as a gift to a friend whose father used to be the conductor of the NY Philharmonic Orchestra. If you like to see something different and enjoy music than this is a movie I believe you will enjoy! I did!

I love this film so much I recently ordered an all region dvd player for no other reason than to enable me to watch the European region 2 version since the Weinstein Co. in its dubious wisdom seemed determined not to release this delicious film on dvd in the USA. Happily that is now an unnecessary purchase. This movie is not without its imperfections, but it is also uniquely satisfying as it swings with gusto from broad farce and roughneck socio/political silliness to its deeply moving finale. I defy anyone with the least shred of appreciation for music to watch the last 20 minutes without tears rolling down your cheeks. It is difficult to believe the director is the same man who made the remarkable Go, Live and Become (Va Vis et Deviens), which is one of the most serious and powerful films of the last decade.It is now Oct. 10, 2011 and I am adding the following paragraph to my original May 30 review. Elsewhere Simina Farcasiu complains about the cuts to this release. Having watched this region 1 dvd three or four times by now I became curious and since I already owned the all region dvd player mentioned at the beginning I purchased the region 2 disc and just began watching it. Simina is absolutely correct. After only 10 minutes I have counted about a dozen meaningless cuts, some only seconds in length, which serve no purpose but to mindlessly streamline a narrative which does not need streamlining. In fact they weaken the impact significantly. The film remains a delight but so much more so in the uncut European release. My suggestion for those who care about such things is to purchase a PIONEER 420 -K all region dvd player. It's only about $80 (! There will certainly be other occasions when owning it will be useful. Often there are films available in Europe that are totally unavailable here and with this machine they are all playable. For a serious cinephile it would seem a no brainer.

I liked the story line well enough, however, it is such a chore to watch when the English dubbing didn't match the mouths moving. Should've left it in original format as I do not mind reading my movies. I might've given it a four star but there's just some parts of the movie that's highly implausible. Couldn't have hoped for a better ending though. Will probably try it again in original format, language and all. I have watched other movies in different language like The Chorus (Les Choristes) and Vitus, and in spite of the foreign language, I enjoyed it just the same. Subtitles are really helpful and does not take away from the movie experience at all.

Andrei Filipov was a gifted conductor for the Bolshoi Orchestra. 30 years later he is working as a janitor at the Bolshoi. What happened? When he refused to fire Jewish members of the orchestra while conductor, he was ousted by the Communists. Now 30 years later he is out to reclaim his orchestra and his life. He intercepts a fax for the Bolshoi and decides to put together his own orchestra to play at a theater in Paris. This story is part comedy and part heart felt emotion as he looks up old musical buddies, finds musical instruments and a soloist to go to Paris passing his orchestra off as the official Bolshoi orchestra. There are many funny parts and some bittersweet moments as he tries to reclaim the glory of 30 years ago. Can he pull it off? Get the movie and find out. I loved the story and the music and think that you will too.