Why so much hype?

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

"'Round Midnight" the song is a jazz standard by pianist Thelonious Monk. It is thought that Monk originally composed the song sometime between 1940 and 1941. However, Harry Colomby claims that Monk may have written an early version around 1936 (at the age of 19) with the appropriate title of "Grand Finale". "'Round Midnight" is the most-recorded jazz standard composed by a jazz musician. On the website allmusic.com it is listed on over 1000 separate albums.The FILM 'Round Midnight, was inspired by the lives of real-life jazzmen Bud Powell and Lester Young, combined into the character of tenor sax player Dale Turner, played by Dexter Gordon. The character of Francis Borler, a Parisian man obsessed with Turner's music who befriends him, is based on Francis Paudras who wrote Dance of the infidels: a portrait of Bud Powell about his friendship with Powell.It is director Bertrand Tavernier's audio-visual lament for the impending death of jazz.In 'Round Midnight, real-life jazz legend Dexter Gordon brilliantly portrays Dale Turner, a musician slowly losing the battle with alcoholism, estranged from his family, and hanging on by a thread in the 1950's New York jazz world. Turner gets an offer to play in Paris, where, like many other black American musicians at the time, he enjoys a respect for his humanity that is not based upon the color of his skin. There he meets an admirer who befriends him and tries to save Turner from himself. Although for Dale the damage is already done, his poignant relationship with the man and his young daughter re-kindles his spirit and his music as the end draws near.Considered one of the world's greatest tenor saxophonists, jazz legend Dexter Gordon (1923-1990) was once quoted as saying, "Jazz to me is a living music. It's a music that since its beginning has expressed the feelings, the dreams, hopes, of the people." Gordon Dexter's height was 6 feet 6 inches and his nickname was Long Tall Dexter and because he was so large, so was his sound. He was known for his tendency to play behind the beat. Growing up, his doctor-father introduced him to his patients Duke Ellington & Lionel Hampton. Dexter joined Lionel Hampton's band in 1940 and then went on to play for Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Billy Eckstine and Lester Young. During the late 1950s he spent time in and out of jail and in the early 1960s recorded some landmark albums for Blue Note Records before moving to Paris for 15 years. Gordon found Europe in the 1960s a much easier place to live, saying that he experienced less racism and greater respect for jazz musicians. Upon his return to the states in the 1970's he was rediscovered and claimed a genius. Near the end of his life he turned actor and made the film ROUND MIDNIGHT that captured some of the similarities of his life story. He was Oscar nominated for the role. Gordon died of kidney failure on April 25, 1990, at age 67. He was voted musician of the year by Down Beat magazine in 1978 and 1980, and in the latter year was inducted into Down Beat's Jazz Hall of Fame.Back in 1986 I managed a small art theater in Dayton, Ohio and we played this film, ROUND MIDNIGHT. That's when I first discovered this amazing slice of life film that took me to a world I had only heard of. And this too is what film preservation is about, sharing the past of others… So sit back and enjoy this tribute to a by gone music, film and musician… in ROUND MIDNIGHT!

I don't know how anyone could rave about this film. I thought it was excruciatingly long, slow and very, very boring. I gave it two stars out of ten.I must say that Dexter Gordon is one of my least favorite players of his generation and what fame he was able to garner probably comes more to do with his having outlived the rest of his contemporaries than it does with his musical accomplishments, but to focus so much attention on him and to have to listen to him hoarsely whisper or mumble his lines for over two hours was torture. And here was yet another example of "Ray" or "Walk the Line" syndrome - a biopic about a one-time talent who had become a derelict begging for drinks. Why are we supposed to find this kind of behavior interesting or entertaining? I was not touched and found it impossible to care about what happened to his character.I thought the music was very disappointing, and mostly because of Dexter Gordon. It seemed like he was holding everyone else back. He was appearing alongside a bunch of other guys, all known hotshots, who all looked like they came to play and Gordon could barely squawk out a few notes. In general, all the music was too slow, it barely held together and it was pretty much lifeless and dull. I was so disappointed, especially after the build-up this film got. I don't see how anyone with even the most cursory and superficial interest in jazz can call the music in this film "great jazz".I don't know what kind of a fetish or obsession this director had with jazz, but I thought all of the discussion on screen about the music sounded completely sophomoric and pretentious. It also bugged me greatly to hear Dexter Gordon's character speaking of the evolution of advanced harmony and some of the players who helped usher it forward with new technical and theoretical innovations and placing himself in the time line alongside the likes of Basie, Charlie Parker, etc. Of course, this was not Dexter Gordon talking, but his character, but it was irksome for me to hear Gordon, who is a second class jazz man, talk like he was the Son of God or something.The story line was tedious, what little plot that there was. Why this Francis character would ever get so worked up over the Dale Turner character didn't wash for me. Okay, if this was about the real-life relations between Bud Powell and Francis Paudras, I could see why he'd basically give his life over to help the guy, but from what was shown in this film, it landed like a lead turkey. I fault the director and also the whomever it was that made the terrible casting decision to use Dexter Gordon who, at 63, was way too old for the part. Powell would have been 34, Lester Young would have been 50 in 1959. Gordon seemed too physically challenged and barely able to speak so that it was painful to have to sit through his performance. Watching Gordon was like watching an old dog trying to get up the stairs.In a perverse irony, seeing Martin Scorcese on screen as the oily manager of Dale Turner was strangely humorous.For a film that is supposed to be anthemic and give a definitive view into the jazz world, 'Round Midnight misses the beat.

This is not a film as much it is a paean to Jazz. Director Tavernier is worshiping at the temple of the mightiest that have ever played and his love of the craft, the milieu, the joy and presence of Jazz seeps through every aspect of this truly dreamy film that drifts along on a thin plot that is still surprisingly and rewardingly rich in characterization.Dexter Gordon does not act, but rather plays the alcoholic centerpiece Dale Turner without guile or any sort of oafish pretense that a "real" actor would bring to the character. He is merely there, playing himself. His raspy tenor (voice and sax, both) gifts us with a veracity that draws us to him and to the greatness of his art that is a difficult master off the stage.Dale's guardian angel throughout is Francis, a dedicated, deeply ardent fan who is desperate to steer Dale away from self-destruction, a common trait amount many musicians, especially at the time (Miles Davis, Stan Getz, John Coltrane, and of course Charlie Parker). Gordon himself suffered terribly from heroin addiction in the '50s. Francis in a way invites Dale into the perfunctory world of family, of some normalcy, and this centers Dale and brings him around again to his true love, Jazz.This is all rather a distraction from the music, which is simply extraordinary. Two CDs--a soundtrack and "music from the movie" which Dexter Gordon released separately--have been released through the years. Both are easy essentials to a Jazz lovers' collection. Indeed, if you do not love jazz I am afraid this movie will miss the mark completely for you.Many greats are also in this movie, including Herbie Hancock and Bobby Hutcherson, and a host of other jazz lights who are mostly window dressing, but they all contribute to the wonderful soundtrack.If you enjoy the art of jazz, this movie is absolutely essential to watch. Otherwise you will find yourself bored because truly all the movie is about is jazz.

I am not a great fan of jazz, particularly not the Herbie Hancock kind where it is all jerky or the kind where there is no discernible melody, but the jazz in this film is pretty good on the whole. The musical highlight for me was How Long has this been Going On?What I really liked about the film was the unhurried pace. There was not really a plot at all, the only story being that the lead character went to Paris, stayed there for a while and befriended a fan and his daughter, and then went home again. It is such a relief to see a film like this -- they are few and very far between-- where you can watch each scene without wondering what specific piece of information you are supposed to absorb before you move on to the next scene. And the absence of a plot does not mean that the film had nothing to say. On the contrary, it was a film about friendship, specifically the friendship between Dale and Francis, and it was outstanding in its observation of their relationship.It's a truly lovely, meandering, thought-provoking and ultimately very moving portrayal of a part of life.