The Bolero main poster

The Bolero

Visit website

6.2/10 • 10

1973-10-010h 26m

DocumentaryMusic

The first part of this Academy Award-winning short consists of a behind-the-scenes look at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as it prepares to perform Ravel's "Bolero." Individual musicians offer their thoughts as workers set up chairs and music stands; there are also comments by conductor Zubin Mehta and scenes of Mehta and the orchestra rehearsing. The rest of the film features a complete performance of "Bolero" with striking images of the orchestra as the music relentlessly approaches its climax.

Directors
Allan Miller, William Fertik

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Zubin Mehta

    Zubin Mehta

    self

Reviews1

View Reviews
CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Feb 2, 2025

7/10

Now I can't really blame this documentary for this, but as Rubin Mehta himself says in the preamble, he never wants to hear this piece of music again - and neither did I. His reason is days of practice for this performance, mine is less worthy and more to do with Torvill and Dean's Free Ice Dance routines in 1984. Anyway, to begin with we spend a little time with some of the soloists as they explain the difficulties of playing this piece and of synchronising it within the larger arrangement that Mehta himself is putting together. The flautist, bassoonist and conductor himself give us some interesting insight into just how this piece gently but firmly accumulates to an orchestral crescendo fit to accompany one of the most visceral of Spanish dances. Put in that context and using some intimately crafted direction here, I found myself realising that though I still find this a repetitive piece, I was aware of just how complex the production of such a beautifully rich sound is, and with the conductor lit to look more akin to Rasputin than a musician, I found myself ever so slightly captivated. It's played in it's entirety here and is well worth just letting wash over you for twenty minutes.

Media

    Recommendations

    • The Sting main backdrop

      The Sting

      8.0

    • Minority Report main backdrop

      Minority Report

      7.4

    • Platoon main backdrop

      Platoon

      7.7

    • A Nightmare on Elm Street main backdrop

      A Nightmare on Elm Street

      7.3

    • Pulp Fiction main backdrop

      Pulp Fiction

      8.5

    • Interstellar main backdrop

      Interstellar

      8.5

    • Nightcrawler main backdrop

      Nightcrawler

      7.7

    • Star Wars main backdrop

      Star Wars

      8.2

    • Inglourious Basterds main backdrop

      Inglourious Basterds

      8.2

    • First Blood main backdrop

      First Blood

      7.5

    • Fight Club main backdrop

      Fight Club

      8.4

    • It Follows main backdrop

      It Follows

      6.6

    • Metropolis main backdrop

      Metropolis

      8.1

    • Vertigo main backdrop

      Vertigo

      8.2

    • Mad Max: Fury Road main backdrop

      Mad Max: Fury Road

      7.6

    • The Departed main backdrop

      The Departed

      8.2

    • Gladiator main backdrop

      Gladiator

      8.2

    • La La Land main backdrop

      La La Land

      7.9

    • The Shining main backdrop

      The Shining

      8.2

    • Inception main backdrop

      Inception

      8.4

    Status
    Released
    Original Language
    English
    Budget
    --
    Revenue
    --
    Keywords
    classical musicconductororchestraorchestra conductorbolero