Rating: 
Summary: Eccentric novelist pursues composer in romantic comedy
Review: "Impromptu" is a delightful historical romance about the long, tumultuous love affair between composer Frederick Chopin and novelist George Sand. It is not a biography, for the movie's script takes great license beyond the basic dates and places. The affair might have happened this way, but most probably did not. None of this much matters, though, because the movie doesn't pretend to be strictly accurate historically and because it does a good job of capturing the spirit of the times and of its characters. Judy Davis is marvelous as George Sand, a brilliant, eccentric woman who eschewed the social mores of her time. Already tired of her current lover, she is more determined than ever to dump him after she meets and falls in love with Chopin, nicely played by Hugh Grant. Chopin is portrayed as being a rather shy, morally upright [and uptight!] man who is taken aback by Sand's assertive nature and odd habits, which include dressing like a man most of the time. Undeterred by his thwarting of her advances, she pursues him relentlessly, almost getting him killed in a duel in the process. Playing an active part in all these goings on - sometimes for Sand's quest, sometimes against it - are Chopin's great friend Franz Liszt [Julian Sand] and his lover, Marie [Bernadette Peters]. Both Sand and Peters have substantial supporting roles, as do Emma Thompson and Mandy Patinkin. The cast alone makes "Impromptu" worth seeing. Also enjoyable is the soundtrack, almost all of which is taken from Chopin's works. As history, this movie is dubious. As entertainment, it's first rate. It reminds me somewhat of "Emma", in that it is more comedy than drama.
Rating: 
Summary: a delightful, delicious film
Review: "Impromptu" is truly one of the great little-known films. It is set in 18th century Paris, and stars Hugh Grant as Chopin and Judy Davis as George Sand. Others in the cast are Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, and a then unknown Emma Thompson. The story revolves around a week-end in the country at the home of a silly, bored woman (Miss Thompson), who wants to have some zest in her life, so she invites the literati of Paris to her home. They include Franz Liszt and his mistress (Miss Peters), Eugene Delacroix, and a poet or two. The week-end is the beginning of the famous Sand-Chopin romance. It is more fantasy than fact, but it is hilariousy funny, wonderfully romantic, and beautifully filmed. Directed by James Lapine with the gorgeous music of Chopin and Liszt. Mr. Grant is perfection as Chopin, and Miss Davis matches him all the way. Miss Peters is at her zany best. This film is truly a treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this romantic very entertaining comedy!
Review: "Impromptu": What a dry sounding name for such a lively movie! When this film was in theaters in 1991, I gave it little notice (even if Siskel and Ebert loved it). Then several years later the whole Jane Austen craze hit, and I was seduced into giving period pieces a view. Not to mention Hugh Grant had become all the rage in "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Period piece + Hugh Grant = giving it a view. I LOVED IT. First of all, if you are expecting a calm, quiet, "polite" film, you will be surprised. This film is based on the real life of Madame George Sand, the scandalous 19th Century French novelist, played brilliantly by Judy Davis. Sand is no Jane Austen creation: She uses the f-word (though not to excess), has sex with whom she chooses, and is more likely to wear pants (which required permission by the French government at the time) than dresses. She is also charming, romantic, and intelligent. Her friends are the famous artists of the time: painter Eugene Delacroix and composer Franz Litz (amongst others, including Litz's conniving lover, played by Bernadette Peters). As a result, this film is far more of an unrepentant romp than anything you would expect for the time and place (though this film is far from ribald-- I believe it earned its overly cautious MPAA rating of PG-13 for the aforementioned, infrequent use of the f-word). Emma Thompson gives a positively hilarious performance as a provincial society "title tart." Mandy Patinkin, does equally as well as the ex-lover (and novelist Malfie) of Sand. Hugh Grant plays the composer Fredric Chopin. He is the polar opposite of Sand. Chopin is a man who is as delicate and refined as any French court ladies of the day. This, of course, appeals to the tougher-than-nails Sand, who finds Chopin's music to be the "voice of God." Chopin is rather troubled by the romantic attentions of such a woman, and a comedy of errors ensues. This movie is especially appealing because it has all the romance of the best Jane Austen film adaptations, while having such a wonderfully (dare I say) feminist character as Sand. Not that anyone will read any "message" in this film; you will be too busy being entertained. This film was out of print for some time, and I paid $100.00 for my copy as a result. Don't make the same mistake I made. Buy "Impromptu" now while you can. It is a film worthy of many repeated viewings.
Rating:
Summary: a delightful, delicious film
Review: "Impromptu" is truly one of the great little-known films. It is set in 18th century Paris, and stars Hugh Grant as Chopin and Judy Davis as George Sand. Others in the cast are Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, and a then unknown Emma Thompson. The story revolves around a week-end in the country at the home of a silly, bored woman (Miss Thompson), who wants to have some zest in her life, so she invites the literati of Paris to her home. They include Franz Liszt and his mistress (Miss Peters), Eugene Delacroix, and a poet or two. The week-end is the beginning of the famous Sand-Chopin romance. It is more fantasy than fact, but it is hilariousy funny, wonderfully romantic, and beautifully filmed. Directed by James Lapine with the gorgeous music of Chopin and Liszt. Mr. Grant is perfection as Chopin, and Miss Davis matches him all the way. Miss Peters is at her zany best. This film is truly a treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this romantic very entertaining comedy!
Review: "Impromptu": What a dry sounding name for such a lively movie! When this film was in theaters in 1991, I gave it little notice (even if Siskel and Ebert loved it). Then several years later the whole Jane Austen craze hit, and I was seduced into giving period pieces a view. Not to mention Hugh Grant had become all the rage in "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Period piece + Hugh Grant = giving it a view. I LOVED IT. First of all, if you are expecting a calm, quiet, "polite" film, you will be surprised. This film is based on the real life of Madame George Sand, the scandalous 19th Century French novelist, played brilliantly by Judy Davis. Sand is no Jane Austen creation: She uses the f-word (though not to excess), has sex with whom she chooses, and is more likely to wear pants (which required permission by the French government at the time) than dresses. She is also charming, romantic, and intelligent. Her friends are the famous artists of the time: painter Eugene Delacroix and composer Franz Litz (amongst others, including Litz's conniving lover, played by Bernadette Peters). As a result, this film is far more of an unrepentant romp than anything you would expect for the time and place (though this film is far from ribald-- I believe it earned its overly cautious MPAA rating of PG-13 for the aforementioned, infrequent use of the f-word). Emma Thompson gives a positively hilarious performance as a provincial society "title tart." Mandy Patinkin, does equally as well as the ex-lover (and novelist Malfie) of Sand. Hugh Grant plays the composer Fredric Chopin. He is the polar opposite of Sand. Chopin is a man who is as delicate and refined as any French court ladies of the day. This, of course, appeals to the tougher-than-nails Sand, who finds Chopin's music to be the "voice of God." Chopin is rather troubled by the romantic attentions of such a woman, and a comedy of errors ensues. This movie is especially appealing because it has all the romance of the best Jane Austen film adaptations, while having such a wonderfully (dare I say) feminist character as Sand. Not that anyone will read any "message" in this film; you will be too busy being entertained. This film was out of print for some time, and I paid $100.00 for my copy as a result. Don't make the same mistake I made. Buy "Impromptu" now while you can. It is a film worthy of many repeated viewings.
Rating: 
Summary: An invalid and a tramp
Review: (...) I haven't read much about Chopin or Sand, but this movie definitely doesn't inspire me to do so in the near future (or ever for that matter). I normally love Hugh Grant, but he played a strange, sickly character with a bad Polish accent. Sand is a tramp with very poor fashion sense. I mean, my goodness, even if you are going to dress like a man it seems like you could still comb your hair!! She seduces Chopin, a man who appears to be quite a bit younger than her and plagued with health issues. It is repulsive. I enjoyed the performances by Emma Thompson and Bernadette Peters more than those of the lead characters. It is probably not worth wasting your time watching this movie.
Rating:
Summary: If Mark Twain wrote a romance about Romantics . . .
Review: . . . This would be it. This movie is one of my top 10 favorites. It is funny, funny, funny, but in a crisp and understated way that makes each viewing funnier than the last. It shows the foibles of the characters with amusement, but without quite wandering into satire. The love scenes are squirm-in-your-seat awkward, just as in real life! This is not your typical period piece (not that I have anything against them--I love them). It's too funny for that. Soundtrack is a winner with music by Chopin and Liszt.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: A witty and charming account of 19th century romance.
Rating:
Summary: George Sand, De Musset, Delacroix, Liszt, and Chopin, oh my!
Review: Allow me to begin this review by stating that this film is absolutely superb. It portrays the greatest artists of 19th Century France (George Sand, De Musset, Chopin, Delacroix, and Liszt), yet it does not take itself too seriously (read: it is not pretentious, in spite of the great historical and artistic characters it depicts). It is light-hearted, charming, and positively delightful. Judy Davis is sensational in the role of George Sand, the great and wonderfully unusual literary heroine of 19th Century France; she captures all of Sand's eccentricities and quirks with outstanding candor and grace(why didn't she receive an oscar for her performance? Bah: Hollywood!). Hugh Grant is such a great actor when he adopts roles which are worthy of his talent (read: not the tepid and trivial roles which he plays in "Nine Months" or "Four Weddings and a Funeral"), and he displays his remarkable talent in portraying the fragile and finicky Chopin. All of the actors turn in outstanding performances, especially Julian Sands as Liszt, and Bernadette Peters, as his mistress and a close friend of Sand's, Marie d'Agoult, a tempestuous and difficult woman who ultimately betrays Sand. The film focuses on the romance between Sand and Chopin, two extremely different individuals (there is a scene in which Marie d'Agoult, unnerverved by the developing relationship between Sand and Chopin, on whom she has her own designs, says to Liszt: "But, darling, they couldn't be any more different!" Liszt replies, "Well, then they shall definitely fall in love. . ."). And fall in love they do, after a series of mishaps and fiascos (some of them quite humorous). . . George Sand was an extremely straightforward and impassioned woman in regard to love, and she actively pursued Chopin. This pursuit is depicted splendidly in "Impromptu." At first, Chopin is unnerved by Sand's unabashed romantic advances (for he is an individual of great delicacy and piety), but ultimately he comes to view Sand as the truly remarkable woman that she is. "Do you love me, Chopin?" she inquires of him in one scene, to which he responds, "God help me, I do. . . you are superb. . ." They are two true artistes who, though different as they are, complement one another perfectly. It is a love story, yes, but an extremely unique one. . . Chopin is frail, while Sand is fiery, and she is as much his nurse as she is his lover. . . George Sand had a penchant for taking care of those whom she loved, almost to the point of playing a maternal role, and this was especially the case in her liaison with Chopin, during which she sought to cure him of his many physical ailments with love, with care, with devotion. . . and while she was somewhat erratic in her affairs with men, she was utterly devoted to Chopin. He was the "greatest love of her life" (as biographies on Sand maintain, and indeed she says so in her own autobiography, "Story of My Life"), and she remained by his side until he succumbed to tuberculosis. "Impromptu" ends with their well-known trip to Majorca, with a memorable scene in which she opens the windows to the carriage that is carrying them away, in spite of his coughing ("Someone has to teach you how to breathe!" she says to him at an earlier point in the film). "Impromptu" is a gorgeous film, with breathtaking cinematography, and it pays remarkable homage (and again, without pretention) to the artists whose lives it portrays. It involves you so much into the realm of these 19th Century French geniuses, that you can almost imagine yourself sitting at table amongst them, enchanted by their witty repartee. . . "Impromptu" is not to be missed, especially if you have an interest in the artistic and literary realm of 19th Century France, and particularly in that rare and eccentric enigma who was George Sand. . . The artistry of this film more than gives justice to the artists it portrays. . . I hope that you will be as delighted by it as I am.
Rating:
Summary: An unusual and historical love affair!
Review: George Sand was the real pioneer of the feminism . Her anti- establishment attitudes and pattern behavior arose admiration and hate but never indifference .
The film turns around the crucial period in which Chopin is in Paris with his fellow friends : Franz Liszt and Marie Dágoult , Eugene Delacroix , and Alfred de Musset the ex fiancée of George Sand .
The camera is a real peeping Tom which allows the viewer to know the most intimate details in the social life ; the french aristocracy and their manners . Some reflections around the art and the process composing of Chopin . George Sand literally made the male role of Chopin seduction following the indications of Marie .
The double moral ; the little scandals , the sudden affairs , the charm and the exquisite vignettes make of this film a must for you to watch and preserve .
Jules Davis made an incredible performance as George Sand and Hugh Grant made a Chopin with certain peaks and lows . Grant seems extremely healthy to represent Chopin . Tim Roth, Daniel Auteil or Bruno Ganz were three better options in 1990 for that fundamental role .
Emma Thomsom gave to me her most powerful performance of her career and Bernardette Peters seems extremely cold in her role . I would rather Helena Bohnam Carter, for instance . Julian Sand is splendid as the handsome and outrageous hungarian musician.
Wonderful locations in France and excellent artistic direction.
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