Woo hoo: a Rachmaninoff biopic!

by Martha Fischer Mar 13th 2006 // 3:02PM

Filed under: Drama, Independent, Music & Musicals, Romance, Deals, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie

Aussie Bruce Beresford will direct a movie about the one person we're all really hankering to know better: Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. No, this is not a joke. Apparently Beresford is a big fan of classical music (his Bride of the Wind, while not about the composer, featured Gustav Mahler is a central role), and the Rachmaninoff pic - entitled Rhapsody - is doubly appealing because it's "a love story first and foremost, with political upheaval and a large canvas in the spirit of Doctor Zhivago." (Did you just say Doctor Zhivago? I'm so there.)

Talks are underway between American producers Prelude Features and an unnamed Russian film company with the goal of having the film in production (in Russia, of course) by the end of the year. Additional talks have taken place with EMI, which agreed to allow the composer's music to be used in Rhapsody, thus sparing us vaguely Rachmaninoff-esque themes.

I'm sorry, I sort of missed that last paragraph because I was still thinking about Omar Sharif. Hell - a sweeping, romantic epic, set in revolutionary Russia? Um, ok. Please. But I can't believe I'm actually excited about a Russian composer movie.

3 Comments

Tags: Bruce Beresford, BruceBeresford, cinematical, Doctor Zhivago, film, movie, Prelude Features, Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody, Sergei Rachmaninoff, SergeiRachmaninoff

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-13-2006 @ 4:27PM

ullic said...

i dont think EMI could have given them the rights to his music, 'cus all classical music is free use again 'couse after 50 years copyrights go out and i doo belive rachmaninof is a bit older, so i guess EMI just gave thme some of their own recordings of his music

3-13-2006 @ 6:48PM

ryan said...

Please, please, please, don't let Mr. wrong play the part....like R. Crowe ,but more like Guy Pierce or even a Ruskie, unknown of course... ciao yaaah69

3-14-2006 @ 1:45AM

Peter Nellhaus said...

I hope it's better than the last bio-pic I saw about a Russian composer, "The Music Lovers" by Ken Russell. So where's the film about my main man Prokofieff?

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