The Legend of 1900

Also known as Legend of 1900, La Légende du pianiste sur l'océan

1998 film by Giuseppe Tornatore

Film · TMDB

8.2

Musician Max Tooney goes to sell his prized Conn trumpet to a music shop, where he plays the instrument one last time. The shopkeeper recognises the song as one on a record matrix he found and asks who the piece is by. Tooney tells the story of an infant found abandoned in the first class dining room of the four-stacker ocean-liner SS Virginian on 1 January 1900. Danny Boodman, a coal-man from the boiler room, names the boy Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900, after himself, the fruit crate the boy was found in, and the year, and raises him as his own.

Released: 1998-10-28170 minDir: Giuseppe TornatoreDrama, MusicBudget: $9.0MBox office: $21.1M

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Cast

Tim Roth as Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred '1900'
Pruitt Taylor Vince as Max Tooney
Mélanie Thierry as The Girl
Bill Nunn as Danny Boodmann
Gabriele Lavia as Farmer
Clarence Williams III as Jelly Roll Morton

~6 min read

Article

The Legend of 1900 (Italian: La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, lit. 'The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean') is a 1998 English-language Italian musical historical drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, and starring Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Mélanie Thierry. Based on Alessandro Baricco's monologue Novecento, the film follows a foundling aboard an ocean liner in the first years of the 20th century, who grows up to be a musical prodigy without ever setting foot on land. The score was composed by Ennio Morricone.

The film was Tornatore's first English-language production. It premiered in Italy on 28 October 1998. It received several national and international awards, including six David di Donatello Awards and six Nastro d'Argento Awards. Morricone's soundtrack received multiple accolades, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.