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Bach Movies: Bach's Life & Documentaries: Index by Title | Index by Year
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Bach Movies

F-0206

Title:

Before Sunrise

Category:

S

Produced:

1995

Country:

USA / Austria / Switzerland

Released:

Film: Jan 1995 (USA)
DVD: Nov 1999; Nov 2004 (2-DVD)
VHS: Jan 1996; Jan 1998; Aug 2000
Soundtrack: Jul 2004 (CD); 2006 (MP3 Download)

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer:

Richard Linklater; Kim Krizan

Actors:

Ethan Hawke ( Jesse); Julie Delpy (Celine); Andrea Eckert (Wife on Train); Hanno Pöschl (Husband on Train); Karl Bruckschwaiger (Guy on Bridge); Tex Rubinowitz (Guy on Bridge); Erni Mangold (Palm Reader); Dominik Castell (Street Poet); Haymon Maria Buttinger (Bartender); Harold Waiglein (Guitarist in Club); Bilge Jeschim (Belly Dancer); Kurti (Percussionist); Hans Weingartner (Cafe Patron); Liese Lyon (Cafe Patron); Peter Ily Huemer (Cafe Patron)

Description:

A French grad student named Celine (Julie Delpy) meets an American boy named Jesse (Ethan Hawke) on the Budapest-Vienna train. They get off the train in Vienna and hang out for a while. (Anonymous)

Before Sunrise is a passionate and intelligent romance between a young American (Jesse) and a French student (Celine). A chance encounter on the train incites intrigue, and Jesse provocatively suggests that Celine postpones her return to France and embarks instead on a spontaneous expedition to Vienna. In the course of their 14-hour relationship, the two share in their love for the unrehearsed and their appreciation for the unexpected as they explore in a powerful meeting of hearts and minds. Dawn breaks. Sad in silence, they make their way to the station. As they bid each other farewell, Jesse is seized by another impulse - another encounter ? - Richard Linklater's third feature -- set, like his other works, over the course of one 24-hour period -- Before Sunrise is a sweet, intelligent romantic comedy filmed primarily in Austria. It stars Ethan Hawke as Jesse, a young American travelling through Europe. On a train he meets Celine, a French student portrayed by Julie Delpy. Together they leave the train to begin exploring the city of Vienna, walking and talking into the wee hours of the night and slowly falling in love as the minutes before Jesse's return to the U.S. tick away. [Hong Kong Arts Centre & Amazon.com]

This romantic, witty, and ultimately poignant glimpse at two strangers (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who share thoughts, affections, and past experiences during one 14-hour tryst in Vienna somehow remains writer/director Richard Linklater's (Dazed and Confused, Slacker) most overlooked gem. Delpy, a stunning, low-key Parisian, meets the stammering American Hawke, as the two share a Eurorail seat--she's starting school in Paris, he's finishing a vacation. Their mutual attraction leads to an awkward meeting (beautifully played by each performer), and Hawke suggests that Delpy spend his remaining 14 hours in Vienna with him.
Typically, this skeleton is as much plot as Linklater provides; as usual, he's more interested in concentrating his talents on observing the casual, playful conversations between his leads. His tight time frame allows the characters to say anything to one another, and topics ranging from politics to past romances to fears of the future flow with subtle finesse. The short time frame is also cruel, however, because beneath this love affair lies the painful reality that the two most likely will never see each other again and will be left only with memories--an idea Linklater drives home with an effective snapshot conclusion.
Hardly the trite Gen-X bitch session that many '90s films using this approach become, the film feels more like a Bresson or Rohmer piece, containing sharp perceptions--and flawed humans rather than stereotypes. The protagonists' frank revelations and heated exchanges flow in a stream-of-consciousness style, and its no accident that Linklater set the film in Vienna, where Freud invented and practiced psychotherapy. (Dave McCoy, Amazon.com)

The hip ennui that Richard Linklater conjured up in "Slacker" and "Dazed and Confused" seemed rooted in Texas, but it transplants beautifully to Vienna, where his third film is set. The movie is provocatively plotless: Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) meet on a train, decide to get off together, and have themselves a fine, sleepless time before parting the next day. That's it: various threats loom up and fade away, and the only suspense comes from wondering whether the two characters (who are pretty much the only characters) will stop talking long enough to have sex. The extended takes and lazy conversations bring the movie within inches of boring, but there is real audacity in the casual bookishness of the script (by Linklater and Kim Krizan) and in the shrugging rhythms of the direction. The charm-the midsummer enchantment-never feels forced; it steals up and wins you. A true romance. (Anthony Lane, Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker)

Language:

English, German, French

TT:

105 min / 101 min (DVD, VHS) / 97 min (DVD PAL) / 181 min (2-DVD)

J.S. Bach's Music:

Goldberg Variations BWV 988: Variation 25
Wolfgang Glüxam (Harpsichord)

Andante (Mvt. 3) from Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 1 in G major, BWV 1027
Yo-Yo Ma (Cello); Kenneth Cooper (Harpsichord)
From: Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord (CBS Matewrworks; courtesy of Sony Music Licensing) [H-2]

Format:

Film: Color (Technicolor), Dolby
DVD: (Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby,Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC, Region 1) | (PAL, Widescreen, Region 2)
2-DVD: (Color, Widescreen, NTSC, Region 1) | (NTSC, Unknown Region)
VHS: (Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC) | (Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC) | (Color, Dolby, NTSC, Spanish) | (Color, NTSC) | (PAL)
Soundtrack: CD

Company:

Film: Castle Rock Entertainment (a Turner Company); Detour Filmproduction; Filmhaus Wien Universa Filmpro; Sunrise Production; Columbia Pictures Corporation
DVD: Turner Home Ent; Warner
2-DVD: Warner Home Video
VHS: Sony Pictures; Turner Home Ent; Tai Seng Video
Soundtrack: Milan Records [CD]; Leftroom [MP3 Download]

Comments:

2-DVD Set includes: Before Sunrise/Before Sunset

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.com [Region 2]
2-DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.com [Unknown Region]
VHS: Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com [Spanish] | Amazon.com | Amazon.com [PAL] | Amazon.com
Soundtrack: Amazon.com [CD] | Amazon.com [MP3 Download]



Source/Links: IMDB
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)


Bach Movies: Bach's Life & Documentaries: Index by Title | Index by Year
Filmed Performances: Index by Work | Index by Main Performer
Bach's Music in Soundtracks: Index by Title | Index by Year
General: Index by Number | Discussions of Movies on Bach




 

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Last update: Wednesday, May 31, 2017 09:58