Film Forum

The legendary maestro Leonard Bernstein—celebrity conductor, composer, and political activist—is thrillingly captured in this archival documentary portrait by Douglas Tirola (DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD). With Bernstein’s 1989 Christmas Day concert in Berlin as a frame, Tirola crafts Bernstein’s remarkable career entirely from television interviews, news footage, home movies, audio clips, and personal letters. 

Presented with support from The Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Fund

2021     100 MIN.     USA

Reviews

“GALVANIZING. Captures how Leonard Bernstein became the superstar of American high culture... Bernstein, who when he was young resembled a dreamy-eyed Hebraic Rock Hudson, evolved, in his classical stardom, into a towering figure with the bearing of an eagle and the worldly thousand-yard sensual stare of someone posing for a place on Mount Rushmore... What the documentary captures, profoundly, is that Leonard Bernstein was a fierce hedonist who worked hard to live the life he wanted.”
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Works as both a broad overview of the famous conductor’s life, as well as a deep dive into his political activism... Tirola’s documentary allows Bernstein to create a political bildungsroman, as he talks through the entangled interests of artistic creation and social change... intertwining classical composition with radical reform. Demystifies Bernstein’s artistry with the type of clarity that the conductor often utilized to explain composition.”
– Christian Gallichio, The Playlist

“Fascinating. A densely packed look at specific aspects of Bernstein’s genius, and anyone interested in the role of the arts in mid-century American life will find much to savor in this stimulating overview.”
– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

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