mdblist.com logo The Best Leonard Bernstein Movies. Go to The Best Shows


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poster
Apple TV
77
7.4
/928/
72
/112/
67
/25/
3.7
/1901/
98
/53/
79
/8/
80
/13/
cc age 15+

Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues (2022)
Never-before-heard personal recordings and archival footage tell the story of Louis Armstrong's life from his perspective. From musical phenom to civil rights activist to world-renowned artist, this illuminating film shows sides of Armstrong few have seen.
poster
Disney Plus
76
66
7.2
/2993/
74
/297/
65
/42/
3.7
/16922/
95
/58/
80
/16/
78
/11/
cc age 13+

Beatles '64 (2024)
Featuring never-before-seen footage of the band and the legions of young fans who helped fuel their ascendance, follow McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Starr as they land in New York City in February 1964 and solidify their status as the biggest band in the world.
poster
Netflix
65
54
6.6
/3037/
67
/178/
66
/52/
3.2
/19886/
cc age 8+

The Only Girl in the Orchestra (2023)
Trailblazing double bassist Orin O'Brien never wanted the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philarmonic, it was inevitable that she would become the focus of much interest and fascination. Now 87 years old and recently retired, Orin looks back on her remarkable life and career, insisting that a fuss should not be made, much preferring to play a supporting role to the family, students, friends, and colleagues that surround her.
poster
Kanopy
74
37
7.4
/468/
76
/21/
68
/9/
3.6
/322/
84
/38/
78
/25/
72
/9/

Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (2009)
A documentary on the mysterious and influential pianist.
poster
Hoopla
76
19
8.2
/690/
70
/13/
71
/11/
3.9
/745/

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
A presentation of key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, MLK is followed through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King's stirring speeches, it is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by a wide range of celebrities, including Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman Charlton Heston, Ruby Dee, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Walter Matthau, Ben Gazzara, Clarence Williams III, Joanne Woodward, and James Earl Jones.
poster
?
70
/1/

Best of Bayreuth: Highlights from Three Decades (2013)
N/A
poster
?
7.5
/16/
60
/1/

Beethoven's Nine: Ode to Humanity (2024)
Can a work of art remain relevant 200 years after its creation? Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony proves it’s possible.
poster
?
10
/1/

Tanglewood: So you want to be a conductor (1985)
In 1985, cameras take a look inside the Berkshire Music Center, the most prominent pre-professional classical music academy in the US. Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Slatkin and others work with the next generation younger conducting talent.
poster
?
10
/1/

Tanglewood: A Place for Music (1985)
A look at the activities of the Tanglewood Music Center, America's renowned summer Academy for talented musicians, singers, composers and conductors.
poster
?
5.8
/7/
10
/1/

Man of Three Worlds: Luchino Visconti (1966)
BBC television program exploring Visconti’s mastery of cinema, theater, and opera direction.
poster
?
80
/1/

Leonard Bernstein: The Gift of Music
Leonard Bernstein narrated by legendary screen star Lauren Bacall. The movie also relies extensively on Bernstein's own words to provide the counterpoint to the abundant visual material. Highlights include excerpts of Bernstein conducting masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler, as well as of the maestro with the New York Philharmonic in Moscow in 1959 before an audience which included composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the dissident poet Boris Pasternak. It also contains never-before-seen footage, such as outtakes from televised concerts and interviews. Among these special treats: the dashing 28-year-old maestro representing the U.S. at the 1947 Prague Spring Festival – possibly the earliest extant film of Leonard Bernstein.
poster
?
9.2
/12/
10
/1/
90
/1/

The Creative Performer (1960)
Leornard Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, first with pianist Glenn Gould performing Bach's Keyboard Concerto #1 in D minor and then with soprano Eileen Farrell singing the "Suicidio!" aria from Amilcare Ponchielli 's opera "La Gioconda". Finally, composer Igor Stravinsky takes over the podium, conducting the last three scenes from his ballet "The Firebird". Bernstein also gives an opening talk on the vagaries of musical score notation and introduces each of the three guest performers. Originally aired on January 31, 1960 on CBS Television as part of its Ford Presents series.
poster
?
90
/1/

The Unanswered Question VI : The Poetry of Earth (1976)
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question. Bernstein drew analogies to other disciplines, such as poetry, aesthetics, and especially linguistics, hoping to make these lectures accessible to an audience with limited or no musical experience, while maintaining an intelligent level of discourse: This lecture takes its name from a line in John Keats' poem, "On the Grasshopper and Cricket". Bernstein does not discuss Keats' poem directly in this chapter, but he provides his own definition of the poetry of earth, which is tonality. Tonality is the poetry of earth because of the phonological universals discussed in lecture 1. This lecture discusses predominantly Stravinsky, whom Bernstein considers the poet of earth.
poster
?
6.4
/79/
50
/1/
75
/2/

The Unanswered Question V : The Twentieth Century Crisis (1976)
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question. Bernstein drew analogies to other disciplines, such as poetry, aesthetics, and especially linguistics, hoping to make these lectures accessible to an audience with limited or no musical experience, while maintaining an intelligent level of discourse: Lecture 5 picks up at the early twentieth century with an oncoming crisis in Western Music. As these lectures have traced the gradual increase and oversaturation of ambiguity, Bernstein now designates a point in history that took ambiguity too far.
poster
?
90
/1/

The Unanswered Question IV : The Delights and Dangers of Ambiguity (1976)
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question. Bernstein drew analogies to other disciplines, such as poetry, aesthetics, and especially linguistics, hoping to make these lectures accessible to an audience with limited or no musical experience, while maintaining an intelligent level of discourse: Bernstein provides two distinct meanings of the term ambiguity. The first is "doubtful or uncertain" and the second, "capable of being understood in two or more possible senses"
poster
?
90
/1/

The Unanswered Question III : Musical Semantics (1976)
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question. Bernstein drew analogies to other disciplines, such as poetry, aesthetics, and especially linguistics, hoping to make these lectures accessible to an audience with limited or no musical experience, while maintaining an intelligent level of discourse:Semantics is the study of meaning in language, and Bernstein's third lecture, "musical semantics", accordingly, is Bernstein's first attempt to explain meaning in music. Although Bernstein defines musical semantics as "meaning, both musical and extramusical" this lecture focuses exclusively on the "musical" version of meaning.
poster
?
90
/1/

The Unanswered Question II : Musical Syntax (1976)
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question. Bernstein drew analogies to other disciplines, such as poetry, aesthetics, and especially linguistics, hoping to make these lectures accessible to an audience with limited or no musical experience, while maintaining an intelligent level of discourse: Syntax refers to the study of the structural organization of a sentence, or as Bernstein summarizes, "the actual structures that arise from that phonological stuff."
poster
?
10
/1/

Joseph Haydn Mass: In Tempore belli (1984)
N/A
poster
?
20
/1/

Bernstein in Rehearsal & Performance: Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 (2008)
This program captures one of the most celebrated classical conductors of all time, Leonard Bernstein, in rehearsal and performance at the Academy of Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in 1988, in particular exploring the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. Bernstein's infectious passion and gift for teaching come shining through as he leads the student ensemble through the wonders of Shostakovich's evocative compositions.
poster
?
8.0
/23/
10
/1/

Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution (1967)
Documentary about young pop and rock musicians producing music as "a symptom and generator" of social unrest and generation gaps.
poster
?
8.5
/15/
10
/1/
80
/2/

The Little Drummer Boy: An Essay on Mahler by Leonard Bernstein (1985)
This television essay from 1985 was written by Leonard Bernstein to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Gustav Mahler's birth. Recorded in Israel, Vienna and later in London, it is punctuated by biographical interludes and illustrated by musical examples drawn from the cycle of Mahler's works recorded by Bernstein. Bernstein talks, plays and conducts various orchestras (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker) and soloists (Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Edith Mathis, Lucia Popp, Walton Groenroos) in performances spanning 17 years. Leonard Bernstein also examines the roots of Gustav Mahler's inspiration. The programme also features music from the nine symphonies, 'The Song of the Earth' and the 'Wunderhorn Cycle'.
poster
?
75
/2/

Bernstein | Beethoven Symphonies 3,4,5 (2008)
Leonard Bernstein conducts three symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 3 in E flat major, op 55 ('Eroica'), Symphony no. 4 in B flat major, op 60 and Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op 67, all performed by Wiener Philharmoniker in Vienna in 1977-8.
poster
?
7.5
/18/
20
/1/

Leonard Bernstein: Reflections (1978)
Leonard Bernstein discusses his Boston childhood, his musical growth at Harvard and the Curtis Institute and the influence of great masters like Reiner, Mitropoulos and Koussevitzky. He shares his feelings on the primacy of tonal music and speculates on the nature of the creative process. From Carnegie Hall, scene of his début, to the living room of his home and his private studio overlooking New York's Central Park, Reflections explores the artist's varied and colourful career.
poster
?
50
/1/
60
/1/

West Side Story, le hit de Leonard Bernstein (2018)
N/A
poster
?
60
/1/
98
/2/

Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided (2018)
One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.
poster
66
?
7.5
/126/
45
/2/
80
/4/

Night of 100 Stars II (1985)
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
poster
?
10
/1/

Das Lied von der Erde: A Personal Introduction (1972)
During a break in rehearsals with the Israel Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein sat down at the piano to film an introduction to the poetry and music of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.
poster
?
7.8
/31/
10
/2/
100
/12/

Bernstein's Wall (2021)
An enlightening, complex look at one of the greatest figures in 20th century classical music whose passion and creativity guided him well beyond the concert hall.
poster
?
8.8
/7/
10
/1/

Leonard Bernstein: The Rite of Spring in Rehearsal (1988)
"The Rite of Spring is all about sex and reproduction. This is a beastly music brought to the highest, most refined point."
poster
?
8.3
/28/
35
/2/
60
/1/

Satchmo the Great (1957)
In this 1957 biography film of the jazz-great Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, he and his band tour the world as American good-will ambassadors bring jazz at its best to the people of the world. Within the film, the life of Louis Armstrong is portrayed through the music. One of the outstanding scenes in this "biography/docudrama" shows blind songwriter W. C. Handy, with tears streaming down his face, as Armstrong, backed by Leonard Bernstein leading the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, play Handy's immortal "St. Louis Blues."
poster
?
10
/1/

Glenn Gould: Extasis (1993)
A collection of recollections and opinions of and about Glenn Gould, interspersed with excerpts of archive footage of the great Canadian pianist speaking and playing.
poster
?
8.5
/33/
67
/7/
80
/3/

West Side Stories: The Making of a Classic (2016)
As the world prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of West Side Story in 2017, dancer Bruno Tonioli and broadcaster Suzy Klein go in search of the true stories behind the inception of this classic show. For the first time on television, they hear first-hand from those involved in the show when it opened on Broadway in September 1957, including Sondheim himself, producer Hal Prince and original cast members from both show and movie, including Chita Rivera Carol Lawrence and Rita Moreno. With the BBC Symphony Orchestra and specially cast singers, we re-live some of the wonderful music and, in the company of Suzy and Bruno, we discover how West Side Story placed the 1950s phenomena of racial tension and teenage gangs centre stage to create a hit that changed musical theatre forever.
poster
?
10
/1/

Leonard Bernstein - Bernstein - Candide (1989)
This is the historic concert performance of the final operatic version of Bernstein's Candide. It was recorded on December 13, 1989 at the Barbican Centre, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with a stellar cast of operatic stars gracing the solo parts. The programme lasts a full 2hrs 27 mins. It marks the end of a long and tortured journey for the musical/operetta that spent much of its first 35 years as an orphan in the musical wilderness.
poster
?
70
/1/

Rostropovich Life & Art (2007)
Released as a memorial for the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who passed away on 27 April 2007, this DVD contains one bonafide cello concerto, the Schumann Cello Concerto in A minor, and two tone poems with prominent cello parts, Ernest Bloch's Schelomo and Richard Strauss' Don Quixote. Rostropovich mastered the Schumann in several famous recordings. Here, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, he provides a splendid performance. Featuring his trademark powerful technique, smooth legato and crisp vibrato, the Romantic roots of the concerto are never hidden for long, despite the relatively cool playing of the Orchestre National de France.
poster
?
10
/1/

Brahms The Piano Concertos (1984)
Between 1981 and 1984 Leonard Bernstein recorded nearly all of Brahmss orchestral works with the Wiener Philharmoniker to honor the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth in 1983. For the concertos, Bernstein enlisted the services of some of the finest Brahms interpreters of the time: the violoninst Gidon Kremer, the cellist Mischa Maisky and the pianist Krystian Zimerman. Leonard Bernstein, Krystian Zimerman, and the Wiener Philharmoniker, it's very hard to get a better group of musicians for these masterpieces. Mr. Zimerman and Mr. Wolfgang Herzer's piano cello duets in the third movement of Brahms' second is simply tearful.
poster
?
10
/1/

Bernstein Brahms Symphonies (1984)
Here is the most convincing presentation of Brahms' symphonies that I personally have ever experienced. There is no explaining a gift like Leonard Bernstein, a true legend and one of the truly great ones of the 20th century (and a great Brahms conductor!). I have followed his career and recordings both at the NY Philharmonic and at Vienna (other places too). His brilliance and incandescence are revelatory in these Brahms performances. His view of a thorough-going romantic Brahms expressing his passionate control of an inner rage in classical form is convincing. He and this great Vienna orchestra give a consistent statement of it. And, of course, Bernstein's introductory comments are without peer.
poster
?
10
/1/

Bernstein in Australia: Tchaikovsky (1992)
The New York Philharmonic takes the stage of the Sydney Opera House for their Australian debut, and acclaimed conductor Leonard Bernstein is there to guide them through Tchaikovsky's "Sixth Symphony" in this performance captured live on film in 1974 and directed for the screen by Noel Clark.
poster
?
10
/1/
100
/1/

Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3 (1973)
Beginning with the First Symphony, Bernstein reveals Mahler's position at the hinge of modernism, while emphasizing his emotional extremism. The uplifting Second "Resurrection" Symphony, with which Bernstein had an especially long and close association, is recorded here in a historic performance from 1973, set in the Romanesque splendor of Ely Cathedral. In the Third, Bernstein encompasses the symphony's spiritual panorama like no other conductor, with the Vienna Philharmonic players alive to every nuance.
poster
?
10
/1/

The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983)
In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 1983, the Metropolitan Opera hosts a four-hour performance uniting some of the world's most spellbinding opera singers and conductors. The event includes a ballet from Samson et Dalila and boasts incredible classical performances from Kathleen Battle, Plácido Domingo, Jose Carerras, Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Horne, Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti and many more.
poster
?
70
/1/

Bernstein Mahler Rehearsal (1976)
"Four Ways to Say Farewell" is a personal introduction to Mahler and his Ninth Symphony, during which Leonard Bernstein is seen and heard rehearsing the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Filmed in 1971, this rehearsal was directed by Humphrey Burton,
poster
?
100
/1/

Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 (1976)
For Mahlerites, his symphonies are much more than musical performances--they can be an emotional or spiritual journey through the struggles, fears, and triumphs of life. This Sixth Symphony is a 1976 performance in the Vienna Musikvereinssaal with PCM stereo and DTS 5.1. The 2 dvd set also includes the 4th and 5th symphonies, which are performed as magnificently as the Sixth.
poster
?
7.7
/38/
70
/1/

Leonard Bernstein: Larger Than Life (2016)
The document explores Leonard Bernstein's various facets as a conductor, a composer, a pianist and most of all a teacher and how he influenced so many people. It includes interviews of his children, former conductor students, orchestra members, collabrators and other acquintanses. - Pascal Kay
poster
?
9.4
/30/
45
/2/

Ode to Freedom (1989)
Conducted by Leonard Bernstein, this is an historic performance marking the fall of the Berlin Wall. Performed on Christmas Day 1989 in the former East Berlin, a concert that unites an cast former eastern and western Berlin musicians and vocalists, among with an international cast of musicians, for a moving performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
poster
?
8.8
/25/
100
/1/

Beethoven Fidelio (1978)
This production is a gala affair; the sets are traditional (evocative of 18th-19th century Spain); the lighting is bright, so colors are good and one can see all of the action. Singers are generally well chosen and perform admirably. However, at this point, slight reservations creep in; although Janowitz (Fidelio/Leonore) and Kollo (Florestan) look "good" and act well, the singing parts tax them a bit when pushed to the limit. Most of the time that doesn't matter, and an argument can be made that a little vocal strain is in character with their dire plight. Ideally, for me, Vickers as Florestan would have added extra vocal heft and more sensitive acting than Kollo.
poster
?
9.0
/10/

Haydn: The Creation (Bernstein) (2009)
Haydn’s Creation, the culmination of his life’s work, in a legendary 1986 performance conducted by Leonard Bernstein in the exquisite Baroque splendor of the Benedictine Abbey of Ottobeuren, Bavaria, now available on DVD for the first time. This spectacular performance also includes Bernstein’s spoken introduction to the performance —always an invaluable addition to any concert. This work, considered by many to be Haydn’s masterpiece, depicts the creation of the world as inspired by the texts of Genesis, the Book of Psalms and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Though deeply religious in conception, the oratorio gives a physical sense of the immensity of nature and the world’s creation. “The Creation gives us time to remember—and rejoice in— the purity and grace and fortitude of Nature, to restore our souls, to recover our moral strength, and to rediscover our power to praise”—Leonard Bernstein
poster
74
?
8.1
/215/
57
/8/
82
/6/
3.6
/228/
82
/2/

The Making Of West Side Story (1985)
A documentary which shows, in great detail, the making of the 1985 Bernstein-conducted recording of the entire score of "West Side Story", featuring operatic stars.
poster
?
100
/1/

Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 9 & 10 / Das Lied von der Erde (2005)
Filmed on tour at Berlin's Philharmonie, this account of the valedictory Ninth Symphony is an intense interpretation, expressing Bernstein's conviction that modern man had at last caught up with the message encoded in Mahler's last completed work. Having made his famous 1966 studio recording of "Das Lied von der Erde" in Vienna, Bernstein re-recorded this in Israel with the same searing subjectivity. René Kollo draws on the voice of a great Wagner tenor, while Christa Ludwig, the greatest exponent of the contralto songs at the time, is unbearably poignant in the final movement's fusion of elation and sadness.
poster
?
10
/1/
100
/1/

Bernstein In Vienna: Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major (1970)
In Vienna's Musikverein, Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic celebrates Ludwig Van Beethoven's 200th birthday with a joyful performance of his Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major. Maestro Bernstein conducts the orchestra from the keyboard in this historic concert.


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