God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz
God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz Image
Metascore
48 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critics What's this?

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  • Summary: Not since Paganini had there been such a magician on the violin.
    In this revealing documentary about the legendary musician we see vintage filmed performance clips of Jascha Heifetz and learn that he was the first truly modern violin virtuoso, the man about whom Itzhak Perlman said, “When     n I spoke with him, I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m talking with God’.” This insightful film portrays an artist for whom only perfection would do, a musical wunderkind who went on to set the standards for nearly a century. We get to know Jascha Heifetz through home movies and personal family photos taken from 1903-1987, a prestigious concert artist so well known in popular culture, his name became shorthand for greatness, for everyone from Jack Benny to The Muppets to Woody Allen. This unique program includes interviews with the great violinists of his generation, and from many of his former students, telling how Heifetz was a legendary but mysterious figure whose story embodies the dual nature of artistic genius: the paradox of how a mortal man lives with immortal gifts - gifts he must honor, but which extract a life long price. (Kultur International Films)
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  • Director: Peter Rosen
  • Genre(s): Biography, History, Music, Musical, Documentary
  • Rating: Not Rated
  • Runtime: 88 min
  • More Details and Credits »

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: John DeFore
    Nov 10, 2011
    70
    An informative if uninvigorating look at the violinist Itzhak Perlman calls "the first true modern virtuoso player," Peter Rosen's God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz will draw only the most ardent classical fans to its niche theatrical run but should please a wider audience after making its way to educational TV.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    Nov 10, 2011
    60
    Once Heifetz becomes a household name, Rosen struggles mightily to milk drama not from his musical genius, but from his relatively unremarkable personal life.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Neil Genzlinger
    Nov 10, 2011
    50
    The film, though generous with doses of Heifetz in performance, isn't entirely successful at illuminating the man.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Rob Humanick
    Nov 11, 2011
    50
    If the film were in fact a pastry, it might look like the first effort of a blind baker, wildly uneven and inconsistent in ingredient distribution.

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