SummaryAn enigmatic musical poet — and the most documented classical musician of the last century — world-renowned pianist Glenn Gould continues to captivate international audiences twenty-six years after his untimely death. Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould humanizes the legend, weaving together an unprecedented array of unseen footage, priv... Read More
Directed By:Michèle Hozer, Peter Raymont
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Metascore
Generally Favorable
72
User score
Generally Favorable
7.4
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
72
78% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
22% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
91
It's an inescapable fact that Gould's singular musical insights – the way he brought out in Bach a mesmeric unity of sound – could only have arisen from a singular personality.
80
What is most involving about Gould is the extraordinary way he played.
75
Post-Dispatch classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller told me that Gould's music is as divisive today as it was 50 years ago, when the pianist publicly clashed with conductor Leonard Bernstein over the tempo of a performance.
70
Truly compelling, however, is the material about Gould's innovative studio recordings and radio documentaries.
70
A fine overview, with enough new material to please Gould buffs. But the film fails to demonstrate that conventional biography is the best path to its subject's inner life.
60
Gould is as much of a mystery at the end as at the beginning. You get the feeling that's the way he'd have wanted it.
50
The film, despite its promise to excavate an inner life, wilts into banality whenever Gould's thorny paranoia and control issues come up.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.4
67% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
25% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
8% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
May 30, 2011
9
For those who've been a little bit in love with the enigmatic Canadian ever since the movie "Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould," this is a nice addition. He speaks, he sings, he jokes, he poses, all the action taking place before the backdrop of his amazing musical performances. Most revealing are the interviews (including the "extras") with Cornelia Foss, the artist with whom he shared a passionate relationship for about five years. But the film skims over questions one has about his music -- WHY did he do the Goldberg variations so differently . . . and twice? Was he, or Leonard Bernstein, "right" in their musical dust-up? While appreciating the documentary approach, I sort of missed the whimsical tone of the earlier film. Somehow it expressed the heart of the man in such a lovely way, albeit with fewer facts & figures.
Production Company:
- White Pine Pictures
Release Date:Sep 10, 2010
Duration:1 h 46 m
Website:
Awards
Gemini Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Directors Guild of Canada
• 1 Nomination
International Documentary Association
• 1 Nomination
