'Round Midnight (1986)

100% of critics liked it
(18 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(2,287 ratings)

A French music lover befriends a once-great American jazz artist and attempts to save him from self-destruction in this moody drama. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon portrays Dale Turner, a fictional musician inspired by a number of famed jazz figures, including Bud Powell and Lester Young. Largely… More A French music lover befriends a once-great American jazz artist and attempts to save him from self-destruction in this moody drama. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon portrays Dale Turner, a fictional musician inspired by a number of famed jazz figures, including Bud Powell and Lester Young. Largely forgotten in his home country, Turner has moved to Paris in search of a more appreciative audience. He finds it in the form of Francis Borler (Francois Cluzet), a bebop aficionado who befriends the expatriate player. Borler soon becomes familiar with Turner's darker side, including his struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction, and depression. Fearing for the musician's life, the fan becomes his caretaker, an arrangement that leads to a brief improvement in Turner's health and fortunes but places great emotional strain upon them both. Director Bertrand Tavernier pays great attention to the visual and aural details of the jazz world, with outstanding musical supervision provided by Herbie Hancock. 'Round Midnight's greatest asset, however, is Gordon's Academy Award-nominated performance, informed by his own life experiences. His naturally fascinating presence combines with the film's obvious love of the music and its milieu to provide what many have hailed as one of the more authentic and affectionate presentations of the jazz world on the silver screen. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 11 min.
Directed By: Bertrand Tavernier, Bertrand Travernier
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 12, 1986 Wide
On DVD: Jan 30, 2001
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Round Midnight is a superbly crafted music world drama in which Gallic director Bertrand Tavernier pays a moving dramatic tribute to the great black musicians who lived and performed in Paris in the late 1950s.
Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
The director's perenially heavy mood seems especially well suited to this indigo-shaded story of a black American saxman (Dexter Gordon) living and performing in Paris in the late 50s.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
No actor could do what the great jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon does in 'Round Midnight.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
You do not need to know a lot about jazz to appreciate what is going on because, in a certain sense, this movie teaches you everything about jazz that you really need to know.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Gordon goes the limit as Turner, dedicating his performance to all the cats who've gone before.
Paul Attanasio, Washington Post
A lovingly gentle yet vibrant tribute to jazz, friendship and film itself, made by a director of consummate taste and precise imagination.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Dexter Gordon received a Best Actor nomination and Herbie Hancock the Original Score Music Oscar for this moody jazz piece anout an alcoholic musician down on his luck.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
He's not just writing about a dying old man, he's writing about jazz.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Tavernier's striking widescreen frame established the rainy, neon-and-smoke filled world of the jazz film.
, Film4
One of the best jazz films ever made, this succeeds by melding French sensibilities about atmosphere with American sensibilities about the music.
, Time Out
Dale Turner, as played by Dexter Gordon, seems to be an amalgam of Bud Powell and Lester Young, but the private, rueful dignity that he brings to bear is all his own.
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
It's a brooding yet warm elegy, as plaintive as a slow, low-toned ballad in a minor key.
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
Sound is very important in Round Midnight, and the new Warner Brothers DVD takes its sound very seriously. With a remastered Dolby 5.1 soundtrack supervised by Hancock, the audio is powerful and flawless.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film's quality lies not just in its vivid portrayal of the bebop milieu, but also in its sensitive examination of the turbulent forces within an artist compelled to create on a nightly basis, despite personal consequences.
Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
Guided by the spirit of the art form it celebrates, Tavernier's film is a mesmerizing audio-visual lament for the impending death of jazz

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony V

Captures the essence of Jazz.

Cast

            Dexter Gordon as Dale Turner

            François Cluzet as Francis Borler

            Gabrielle Haker as Berangere

            Christine Pascal as Sylvie

            Sandra Reaves-Phillips as Buttercup

            Lonette McKee as Darcey Leigh

            John Berry as Ben

            Martin Scorsese as Goodley

            Herbie Hancock as Eddie Wayne

            Bobby Hutcherson as Ace

            Pierre Trabaud as Francis's Father

            Frédérique Meininger as Francis's Mother

            Ron Carter as Himself (Bass)

            Billy Higgins as Drums

            Freddie Hubbard as Trumpet

            Eric Le Lann as Trumpet

            Pierre Michelot as Bass

            Palle Mikkelborg as Trumpet

            Mads Vinding as Bass

            Wayne Shorter as Tenor Saxophone (Blue Note) Soprano Saxophone (Davou

            Cedar Walton as Piano

            Tony Williams as Drums

            Liliane Rovere as Madame Queen

            Ged Marlon as Beau

            Hart Leroy Bibbs as Hershell

            Benoit Regent as Psychiatrist

            Victoria Gabrielle Platt as Chan

            Arthur French as Booker

            Alain Sarde as Terzian

            Philippe Noiret as Redon

            Eddy Mitchell as A Drunk

            Guy Louret
            
            Patrick Massieu
            
            Jimmy Slyde
            
            Pascale Vignal
            
            Jacques Poitrenaud
            
            Charles Belonzi
            
            Arnaud Chevrier
            
            Cheikh Fall as Percussion

            Philippe Moreau
            
            Michel Perez as Guitar

            Luc Sarot
            
            Noel Simsolo
            
            Davout Studio
            
            Pascal Tedes
            
            Marpessa Djian
            
            John McLaughlin as Guitar
See full cast