X
  • 2015
  • PG
  • Sundance Selects
  • 1 h 24 m
  • 2015
  • PG
  • Sundance Selects
  • 1 h 24 m

Summary Meet Seymour Bernstein: a virtuoso pianist, veteran New Yorker, and true original who gave up a successful concert career to teach music. In this wonderfully warm, witty, and intimate tribute from his friend, Ethan Hawke, Seymour shares unforgettable stories from his remarkable life and eye-opening words of wisdom, as well as insightful ...

Directed By: Ethan Hawke

  • 2015
  • PG
  • Sundance Selects
  • 1 h 24 m
  • 2015
  • PG
  • Sundance Selects
  • 1 h 24 m

Seymour: An Introduction

Metascore Universal Acclaim Based on 27 Critic Reviews
must-see
83
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 12 User Ratings
4.8
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Meet Seymour Bernstein: a virtuoso pianist, veteran New Yorker, and true original who gave up a successful concert career to teach music. In this wonderfully warm, witty, and intimate tribute from his friend, Ethan Hawke, Seymour shares unforgettable stories from his remarkable life and eye-opening words of wisdom, as well as insightful ...

Directed By: Ethan Hawke

Where to Watch

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 27 Critic Reviews
83
96% Positive
26 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 27 Critic Reviews
83
96% Positive
26 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Mar 26, 2015
Seymour: An Introduction gives viewers a soaring, sublime and enduringly meaningful glimpse of a man who is undoubtedly the real thing.
By Ann Hornaday FULL REVIEW
91
Feb 9, 2015
On the whole, by ceding control to his subject, Hawke makes a persuasive case for Bernstein's guru-like outlook on the value of finding personal gratification in art above all else.
By Eric Kohn FULL REVIEW
88
Mar 19, 2015
As for Hawke’s own filmmaking skills, it’s hard to find much wrong with this film, itself a meditation on art and the practice of craft. His touch is delicate, and let’s not worry too much if the tone is occasionally fawning.
FULL REVIEW
80
Mar 16, 2015
Seymour unfolds like a Jewish Jiro Dreams of Sushi—Bernstein may look like your average NYC grandpa, but he lives like a monk and talks like a guru.
By David Ehrlich FULL REVIEW
80
Feb 9, 2015
This first documentary directed by Ethan Hawke happily sidesteps any vanity-project pitfalls, granting full expression to Bernstein’s wise and witty commentary on a craft that he’s spent decades honing — as well as the proper application of that craft when the demands of art are often outweighed by the pressures of commerce.
By Justin Chang FULL REVIEW
75
Mar 9, 2015
Ethan Hawke's concentration on Seymour Bernstein isn't a betrayal of his own ego massaging, but rather an attempt to have a genuine soul-bearing conversation.
By Carson Lund FULL REVIEW
60
Mar 12, 2015
Intimate and intellectual, the film — with a title taken from J.D. Salinger — focuses on the type of person you pass on the street, see in a coffee shop or sit next to on the subway who makes you wonder what life he’s led. One full of melody and muse, it turns out.
By Joe Neumaier FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 12 User Ratings
4.8
50% Positive
6 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
50% Negative
6 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 12 User Ratings
4.8
50% Positive
6 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
50% Negative
6 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

 View All
Production Company Room 5 Films, Under the Influence Productions
Release Date Mar 13, 2015
Duration 1 h 24 m
Rating PG
Genres
Website http://www.uplink.co.jp/seymour/
View All Details

Awards

Heartland Film
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Toronto International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

98
Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

96
Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

96
Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

95
Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

95
Universal Acclaim

Collective

95
Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

94
Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

94
Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

94
Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

94
Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

93
Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

93
Universal Acclaim

Our Body

93
Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

93
Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

93
Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

93
Universal Acclaim

Crumb

93
Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

92
Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

92
Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

92
Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

92
Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

92
Universal Acclaim

Related News

2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore.

  • movie
Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

  • movie
April Movie Preview (2024)

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith Kimbell

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie