The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

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Editorial Reviews

THE PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES is the breathtakingly beautiful and long-awaited second feature film from the Quay Brothers. On the eve of her wedding, the beautiful opera singer Malvina (Amira Casar, ANATOMY OF HELL) is mysteriously "killed" and abducted by the malevolent Dr. Droz (Gottfried John, THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN). Felisberto (Cesar Sarachu, INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA), an innocent piano tuner, is summoned to Droz’s secluded villa to service his strange musical automatons. Little by little Felisberto learns of the doctor’s plans to stage a "diabolical opera" -- and of Malvina’s fate. He secretly conspires to rescue her, only to become trapped himself in the web of Droz’s perverse universe.

Customer Reviews

Just buy it

Reviewed by Joe G. Flores, 2010-01-20

A movie that requires more than one viewing, always something new to find. Avery inspiring film for any artist.

Eye Candy- Tasty but Unfulfilling

Reviewed by vitajex, 2009-12-15

A bizarre and artsy film that unfortunately lacks an emotional punch to back up the interesting visuals. The Brothers Quay are primarily animators and designers. I do not regard them as filmmakers, per se. Their films are fairly unique and surreal, drawing from the works of Jan Svankmajer and Guy Maddin, German expressionism and stop-motion animation, but the stories seem overly cerebral and nonsensical- weirdness for weirdness' sake. I think their early film "Instituta Benjamenta" was slightly more coherent, but this is a much more visually striking film.

Excellent film, but avoid the Zeitgeist release...

Reviewed by Alexander Mills, 2008-04-29

Along with the majority of reviewers here, I found The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes to be an immensely enjoyable film. Combining all the signature elements that we've come to expect (and love) from the Quays, with an almost Greenaway-esque sense of narrative. Anyone with an interest in the surreal, lyrical or poetic would do well to track this film down.

Seeing as many other reviews have gone into great depth with the film's content, I'll skip right to the point. This film has received two major DVD releases; one in the States via Zeitgeist (featured here), and one in the UK via Artificial Eye. Given the special features on the two DVDs are relatively similar, one would think that the prints would be sourced from the same materials.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but the Zeitgeist print is noticeably darker and murkier than the Artificial Eye release. Not just a little bit, either. Scenes that shine with light and detail in the UK edition are barely visible in the US release - some scenes are a struggle to make out at all. I'm genuinely surprised that no one else has raised this issue in their reviews here. Granted many may not have had the chance to compare prints, but it was the sheer dullness of the Zeitgeist print that moved me to seek out the UK version.. And I'm very glad I did.

If you've already purchased the Zeitgeist release and are happy with it, there's probably no need to ditch it for the Artificial Eye copy. But if you haven't bought a copy yet, or have been thinking similar things to me with regard to the quality of the print, seek out the UK edition. I think you'll be surprised by the difference.

NOTE: The UK release also contains a 5.1 track and a deleted scene, neither of which are available on the release featured here.

An Alternative Tuning

Reviewed by Thomas J. Mullin, 2007-12-21

The Quay brothers are probably best known for their work in pop music videos, and it is a bit ironic that their contribution to Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer is simultaneously their most-viewed endeavor and the one they themselves are least satisfied with. "The Piano Player of Earthquakes" is an avant-gard film of great sensitivity, creativity and innovation. Despite their mastery of computer and model-generated animation, they remain emotive artists fully-cognitive of the history of cinema, which expresses itself in everything from the props, the lighting, the stylized dialogue, the costumes, and the wonderful animation. The Quay brothers remain brilliant and at the top of their form.

A word of warning: this is NOT a "Hollywood" film and the plot is not linear; at times the visual operates independent of the dialogue. I found this intriguing and engaged me to actively follow along using all of my senses. I turned off the little voice in my head that asked, "Why did he say that? Where is this going?" and enjoyed watching this film. If you always watch the bloated Hollywood type film you might not enjoy this work but then again, why not see something different? Why not expand your idea of what makes for brilliant cinema and see something which is unique? In "Piano Tuner of Earthquakes" there is a delicate balance between visual art, (excellent) acting, poetic dialogue and haunting, evocative music.

The interview with the Quay brothers is a great bonus on this DVD. I learned a lot about the problems they faced and overcame in making this film, as well as insight into their individual contributions, which has puzzled me because they are of course identical twins and know each other so well -- completing each other's sentences. They are great artists who have fearlessly continued to make engaging filmic art. "The Piano Player of Earthquakes."

Baffling pageant

Reviewed by wiredweird, 2007-12-16

This movie demands to be seen more than once. Its surrealism, its involuted logic, and the play between the scenes and the action set in them all hold details that don't reveal themselves fully in the first viewing.

It starts with a piano tuner being called, but not to tune a piano. Instead, Felisberto is to make the final adjustments to Dr. Droz's automata, like dioramas that act out scenes with inaccessible meanings. The distinction between manufactured images and human vitality quickly breaks down, given the robot-like gardners and the mysterious thoughts implanted into his dreams and perhaps his waking mind. The two women at this isolated villa are equally mysterious. Seductive Assumpta seems to be at his elbow at every moment, but Malvina creates a deeper question. Felisberto always sees her silent, passive, and veiled, with some sense that she's covered the way a piece of furniture might be when not in use - which leaves unanswered what her use is to be.

Color, except for one sanguine spot, is so subdued that it borders on monochrome. The startling artifacts of the Brothers Quay, including a boat rowed by disembodied hands, add to this movie's mysterious air. If you're one who demands easy meanings (or any meanings) from a movie, this might leave you cold. Once you settle into its pace and accept that much remains hidden, you might share in its deliciously eerie chill. I recommend this movie to anyone who delights in visual symbols without necessarily needing to know what is symbolized.

-- wiredweird