Films about well known artists are a dime a dozen, but few are as unique as Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, a semi-documentary about the Canadian pianist Glenn Gouid, an iconoclastic genius. Regarded as a master of Bach, the film uses Gould’s interpretations of Bach’s Goldberg Variations to structure the film as 32 fragments. Often very brief, each segment reveals a different perspective on a specific part of his life. The film combines key scenes of his life played by actors (Colm Feore does an excellent job capturing his intellectual and talkative nature) and interviews with those who knew Gould. We also get short excerpts from his experimental radio broadcasts. Even with all of this, one thing is clear, no one is sure they ever really understood Glenn Gould.
Despite its unique construction, director François Girard (“The Red Violin”) manages to keep things moving in a linear fashion. Gould’s complex personality is unwrapped in the films thirty-two segments. We learn that Glenn’s musical mother was highly influential in his early career as a pianist. It’s at the family cottage on Lake Simcoe, where the child prodigy developed his talent under the tutelage of his mother. “Pills” is simply a narrated chain of close-ups of the alarming variety of medications the hypochondriacal Gould consumed at any given time. An admitted perfectionist, Glenn would give up touring at age thirty-two, uncomfortable performing in less-than-ideal conditions. Never a huge fan of classical music, I found myself fascinated by this iconoclastic musician who talks to himself while his fingers glide across the piano keys with apparent ease.
The winner of four 1994 Genie Awards (the Canadian “Oscar”), including Best Picture and Best Director, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is uniquely effective. Celebrity biopics are a dime a dozen, but I do wonder why more directors don’t look to this film as inspiration.
Cited as a “New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director François Girard,” the results are excellent. Alain Dostie’s cinematography is a standout. Effectively adapting to the diverse styles of thirty-two vignettes (dramatized reenactments, interviews, archival footage, etc.,) Sourced from the original 35mm negative, the transfer delivers impressive clarity and detail throughout. Colors are strong, from the muted, earthy tones to the saturated, vibrant colors. Black levels are deep and inky. Minimal softness during some of the archival footage is to be expected.
The 5.1 mix is the real star here, delivering Gould’s music with a resonance and power that satisfies. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout.
English SDH subtitles are included.
The following extras are included on the Blu-ray:
- New audio commentary featuring Girard and cowriter-actor Don McKellar
- New conversation between Girard and filmmaker Atom Egoyan (HD, 32:39)
- Glenn Gould: Off the Record and Glenn Gould: On the Record, companion programs from 1959 (HD, 29:33)
- Archival interviews with actor Colm Feore (HD, 18:04) and producer Niv Fichman (HD, 9:52)
- Booklet featuring an essay by author and film critic Michael Koresky