Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

As a moviegoer with not much expertise on classical music, or interest in film without a coherent narrative, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is a bit of a challenge. Certainly I was aware of Gould's reputation; this film also incorporates animation by Norman McLaren, another Canadian legend.

A curious hybrid of fictionalized biography and documentary, the film is indeed slightly fractured, but not as much as the comically inept Leonard Maltin whined about. Its pieces come together to tell more of running story than you'd think. It's true someone thirsting for more action and events may come away disappointed, but there is drama and humour here. Above all, what links the story together is the passionate and energetic piano playing of Glenn Gould himself, enough to inspire even a person without much of an ear for classic music.

I have never really been taken in by classical music. When I first saw this film, I thought, oh! THAT'S why people like it. So I went and bought a few Gould CD's, listened to them a few times, and went back to jazz and punk shortly thereafter.

This film is an exceptional piece. The music is certainly the most important aspect of the film, but it so strongly highlights the character of Gould (who was one wacky Canuck), and the cinematography, that as a package, I found it a moving experience that superceded the music.

Basically a series of vignettes, with no coherent plot, but rather snippets of docu-drama, interviews, and a couple of animated sequences (one quite good, the other detracts entirely from the whole), this is a film meant probably not for fans of classical, but an introduction to the possibilities and drama of the virtuoso for media-children.

Although primarily another "crazy genius" film, it is truly a stunning piece overall. I strongly recommend this for any collection, no matter one's musical inclinations.

Although primarily another "crazy genious" film, it is truly a stunning piece overall. I strongly recommend this for any collection, no matter ones musical inclinations.

Glenn Gould may have been a weird bird but he was also a great pianist. These pieces reflect many aspects of his character form his joy of music ( dancing in the recording studio) to his daily pill regime. Colin Feore is convincing as the tormented Gould. I also like the fact that people who knew Gould were interviewed. Computer graphics make several pieces stimulating and the story of how he played the stock market to his advantage is fascinating. Rent it for the music and find a complex man who made Bach's music talk to me on a personal level.

the concept works. i like how the film is composed of individual films, yet the individual films do an excellent job of telling a singular, cohesive story. the best aspect is that we don't have to deal with the boring plot proceedings- we just fill in the blanks ourselves. learning about gould's personality through the dialogue kept my interest, but looking back, it was actually the strictly instrumental pieces that really kept my interest. fortunately gould's actual performances are mesmerizing enough on their own to really supplement the visuals. a couple of favorites off the top of my head are "man sitting in chair" and "a day's journal" (sorry, not the exact titles i think). colm feore, i've seen you in about a dozen pictures, but this is the one that made me really notice your name.

The eccentric behavior of rock and pop icons usually take center stage in the media, but here's a classical musician and virtuoso performer that literally steals the show, both in achievements and lifestyle.

Glenn Gould popped pills, gave up performing live concerts because not everyone in the audience could hear the music the same way, created radio documentaries that mirrored symphonies and played the stock market like an expert. Glenn Gould was a typical hermit who only called people to talk when he was bored, he wanted to visit the arctic in the dark of winter and he donated his estate to charity.

He died from a stroke at age 50, but recordings of his music have been sent into space. Glenn Gould lives on in the hearts of classical music fans and those who have seen 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould.