Rating: 
Summary: One of the greatest films ever to grace the screen
Review: How are you supposed to capture this film lore and beauty into words? I really don't think that it is possible. This film held me in thrall throughout the entire feature. The music alone is enough reason to love this film, the story just inhances it's seduction. It makes me very angry when I read about people who didn't enjoy this film for whatever reason. They either have no taste or no ear, and either way, they are missing out on a masterpiece. I'm writing this review also I try and encourage the younger generation to view this movie. I myself am only 15 years old, but fell in love with this film instantly as I think a lot a people will. We all need to spread the word that their is a new classic movie, and it's name is The Red Violin.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, charming, intelligent, brilliant
Review: A pregnant woman anxious about her labor; a fortune teller; a husband who makes violins. These three simple characters at the beginning of this film (who appear in brief scenes throughout to continually show the dependence of the present time on the past) introduce the tale of a compelling red violin that travels through centuries and around the world. The violin is the star of the film, as is its fascination for those who can appreciate its beauty. The violin is beloved, inspiring, even dangerous. Vignettes show the course of the violin through several owners' lives (and deaths) as well as the circumstances as it changes hands and locations, all done flawlessly and gracefully. Finally, the violin appears at Duval's, an auction house, where it is destined to be sold to a man who has fame and money but is shown to be one who has no appreciation for it. The film is brilliant -- each vignette is personalized and well-developed, whether it be in Vienna among kings or communist China, where it could be destroyed for cultural progress. The story is exciting, conveying the obsessions with the violin, finally revealing it's secrets (although you may have guessed them long before the film gets to this part). Samuel L. Jackson is superb as the often irate but compassionate perfectionist who falls in love with the violin when he first sees it. Throughout his section of the film, you are tensed, waiting to see if he'll do right by the violin or sacrifice his adoration to his ethics. A very intelligent, involving film. If you're into Julia-Roberts-type fluff or blockbuster violence, please stay away, but if you love classical music and enjoy a good story, do not miss this film. I'd say it was the best I'd seen in years.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 Stars? Impossible!
Review: While beautifully filmed, (and that's not difficult these days) most of the vignettes are extremely weak. As in many international coproductions, there seems to be a lowest common denominator factor at work. The link with Jackson is interesting but it just doesn't play true and the hoped for suspense falls flat. The Chinese section is a joke. It feels like it was filmed on a backlot in Hollywood with 4th generation Chinese Americans.
Rating: 
Summary: Travel with the "Red Violin"
Review: This delightful tale takes us through the 300-year "travels" of a Cremona-built violin famous for its red color (and how it got that way!). From Italy to Austria to England to China and finally to the auctioneer in Montreal, we're treated to the compelling intrigue of various owners and their stories. Meanwhile, the mystery of what will finally happen at the auction is coupled with flashbacks to a fortune-teller predicting to the violinmaker's pregnant wife the next stage of the journey. Some off-screen work by violin virtuoso Joshua Bell is masterful; composer John Corigliano's scores were written specifically for the film and earned him an Oscar for his superb efforts. While the individual stories might have had smoother segue ways, actor Samuel L. Jackson, playing a noted violin appraiser, delivers a twist at the end once his detective work as to the true identity of the violin is complete. An engrossing and entertaining two hours!
Rating: 
Summary: Just wasn't impressed
Review: I can't tell you the number of people who demanded I see this movie. Maybe my hopes were set too high, but the movie left me expecting more. While each little story has its merits the overall package seemed disconnected emotionally. I also found the ending, where the secret of the violin is revealed, to be a little silly because it was obvious from the first 15 minutes what the secret was. I felt the director was setting me up for a big surprise that I already knew. Maybe this wasn't his intention. At any rate a lot of people like this movie but I'm unlikely to watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: One of 1999's Best!
Review: After seeing this movie, I expected it to garner more Oscar nominations. I was moved by this ensemble cast that took us on a violin's voyage through time: from 17th Century Italy, 18th Century Austria, 19th Century Oxford, China during the Cultural Revolution, and the Montreal of today. This movie was visually impressive, brilliant performances by the ensemble cast, and the story itself is just plain enchanting. Kudos to the Academy for rightly recognizing the masterful musical score of John Corigliano (performed by the great violinist, Joshua Bell).
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully done!
Review: Without question, this is one of the better films of 1999. The story line is quite original and engaging. The time shifts back and forth between the different life segments of the instrument are very well done. The individual stories are not necessarily linked to one another, except by the violin, which is logical, as each story is approximately 100 years after the previous. To say any more would give away too much of the plot. The DVD itself is quite good. The transfer is excellent, and the inclusion of both a DTS and DD 5.1 soundtrack on the same disc makes this well worth the price of admission. An excellent film, and a superb DVD!
Rating:
Summary: A really good flick that leaves you thinking...
Review: I watched this movie only because my daughter was watching it and we were having that mother/daughter bonding time. When I saw it was subtitled, I rolled my eyes up in my head and thought "Oh good grief, another critically acclaimed artsy (ie:boring) movie." Despite my initial hesitancy, I was quickly drawn into the plot. The tarot cards, the prophesy, the perfect violin, etc., it became a movie that I could not stop watching. The characters were great and the history was very interesting to me. It gave a real long view of life and the importance of staying focused in whatever it is we do with this life. I give it four stars instead of five because the movie did slow down a bit towards the end. I think it could have been sped up a bit and hit an easy five.
Rating:
Summary: The Red Violin
Review: Absolutely stunning! I expected boring old-person movie, but this was really good. It took a lot of effort to do the costumes for so many different time periods, and it was very unique. OVERALL a MUST-SEE!
Rating:
Summary: I'm not an art movie fan, BUT...
Review: I am a guy's movie guy, no doubt. Anyone who knows me can tell you that. My wife and I rented this movie on a night she got to pick and she talked me into it because Samuel L. Jackson is one of my favorite actors and the jacket made it sound like a different movie than it is. Having said that, I must now say that this is a phenomenal movie with a terrific story that I couldn't wait to get through. As I am not accustomed to this type of film, the style took a little geting used to, but the way that the story flows through time was extrordinary. I read other reviews that thought the flow was disjointed and forced, but I thought that the central point of the movie was reinforced by that style. I felt that there was just enough character development to make the viewer understand the people whom the violin touched without causing the movie to get mired down. Keep an open mind about this movie and don't judge it when you hear that it is an "art movie". It's tremendous, in both story and acting.
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