Product Description

The stranger-than-fiction true story of the father of electronic music is captivatingly told in this highly acclaimed and endlessly surprising documentary (Leonard Maltin) that garnered the prestigious Filmmakers Trophy at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. Set against the backdrop of the instrument's ethereal sound, Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey is nothing short of sensational! In the 1920s and 30s, Russian émigré Leonard Thereminthe inventor of the world's first electronic musical instrumenthad it all. His self-named theremins were in high demand from filmmakers and musicians around the globe; he was married to a beautiful American dancer; he lived among New York's socialelite. And then, in 1938, he mysteriously vanished, not to be seen again for over 50 years!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31767 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-07-24
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 82 minutes

Amazon.com
Leon Theremin was the secret link between sci-fi films, the Beach Boys, and Carnegie Hall. His self-named electronic musical instrument--the first of its kind--took the world by storm in the 1920s and '30s. Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey, winner of Sundance's Filmmakers Trophy, explores the inventor's strange life and times, including his mysterious 50-year disappearance beginning in the 1940s. Interviews with theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, and Theremin's contemporaries, as well as clips from movies such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, featuring the unworldly sounds of his creation, show an eccentric genius working toward success until his sudden vanishing in the Soviet Union. Footage of Theremin at 94 years old, finally rediscovered and rewarded for his achievements, brings a celebratory ending to what could be a grim or at least uncertain story, but instead is a fascinating documentary. --Rob Lightner

From The New Yorker
Steven M. Martin's documentary, about the inventor of the first electronic musical instrument, is a strange and moving piece of work. Professor Theremin's creation (played by hand movements in the air surrounding it) was put to popular use in the soundtracks of science-fiction films of the fifties; it also shows up on "Good Vibrations," the Beach Boys hit. The professor's life was full of mystery and intrigue, and the filmmakers unearth some bizarre turns of events. Much of the movie belongs to his protégée, Clara Rockmore, a theremin virtuoso; her recollections give the film its emotional weight, while theremin music enhances its spooky, somewhat hypnotic feel. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

A bitter triumph
I've not viewed this for awhile but what comes to mind is the account of Russian musical inventor Leonard Theremin's abduction from his NYC studio and brought to the USSR by Stalinist agents, in the 1920's, to be impressed into service to various projects against him his will and restricted freedom for a very large portion of his life and Friends could not get the US government to take any action whatsoever in securing his release or even to protest outrage.
He did get to return in time to receive some accolades and honors for his work and know it influenced people who were the age his grandchildren would have been.

It all came off as quite heartbreaking sad and tragic.

theremin-an electronic odyssey
i had seen this at the movies (3 times) had found vcr's and had given them to my son (a musician in "trout fishing in america") and other friends. i decided it had to be in my permanent collection of dvd's and i have already loaned it, but am keeping track. it is marvelous. nidlet

Music and politics
A fascinating documentary about the developer of the forerunner of the Moog synthesiser Dr Theremin, a Russian physicist who moved to the U.S. in the 1920s.

Not only do you get to hear and see the Theremin being played (it is actually not touched), which is fascinating in itself, but you get the story of Dr Theremin's vanishing from the U.S. and his return to Russia in 1938.

He is subsequently discovered in Russia and he returns briefly to the U.S. in the 90s, prior to his subsequent death back in Russia in 1994.

There are interviews with Brian Wilson and others about their use of the Theremin.

This won an award at Sundance in 1994