Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I own most of the major videos celebrating major pianists - from the 1940's Katherine Hepburn portrayal of Clara Schumann to this 2002 Polish production. There are two that I frequently rewatch (at least my favorite scenes/music) and they are Amadeus and Chopin: Desire for Love. I lent this Chopin movie to my piano teacher from the Peabody Institute (America's oldest world-class music conservatory), a concert pianist on three continents. She was a major student of Laires who studied under Philip who studied under Mathias who was Chopin's most famous student. She missed the credits then asked me, "Who played the music for that movie? Those were excellent performances played the way I was taught Chopin wanted them played." Most of the piano music is played by a prize winner of the great Warsaw International Chopin Competition and other instruments are played by world class artists including cellist Yo Yo Ma. There is a lot of Chopin music in the film, sometimes as background music or sometimes as the focus of a scene. There are several interspective moments where two or three minutes of beautiful music play continuously - including a scene where Franz Liszt plays Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude". The Chopin: Desire for Love storyline has weak moments but flows well and is relatively historically accurate (I read Chopin biographies/letters extensively and play Chopin on the piano) and the acting is excellent. The characters are refreshingly believable and not simply the lineup of gorgeous models Hollywood seems to believe are required for leading roles these days. The costumes and scenery are top notch.