The Devil's Violinist

R

Released Jan 30, 2015

2 hr. 2 min.

Drama

History

Biography

List

31%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1830 London, famous Italian violinist, composer and womanizer Niccolò Paganini (David Garrett) woos his host's daughter, thereby angering the man (Jared Harris) who succeeded in bringing him to England.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Watch The Devil's Violinist with a subscription on Prime Video.

D W

If you are watching for the virtuoso playing of David Garrett. You will be entertained. If you are expecting a well executed movie... You will be disappointed. Garrett's acting is rough, but the story telling and directing are the real letdowns. There isn't any real development of the characters. There's no transparency of why he suddenly falls for the chambermaid. Its a shame that there wasn't more of an attempt to track Paganini's life rather than just capture his final few years.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ludicrous enough to regret it's a movie, and therefore is "performed" on the screens: Better just listen to the amazing music scores! Above all is better Mr. Garret gets back to the theatres' stages to play his violins...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Message: classical artists were just like rock stars. Only Amadeus made this point with more intrigue, curiosity and complexity than this movie could even imagine. The devil motif is somehow both too veiled and too blunt, wasting an unmotivated Jared Harris, who all but twirls his own mustache. The musical performances are quite cool, but far too rare; if you're gonna hire a real violinist, maybe ask him to do more playing and less dramatic emoting.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

spellbinding, very charismatic David Garrett played the part of Paganini from his soul.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Itâ(TM)s painful to watch almost 2 hours of such poor acting skills from the main actor... David Garret should focus on his musical career and let the acting to the ones who can actually do it. It's obvious that he cared more for his â?Â?physical appearence than the characterâ(TM)s psychological struggles... It's a pity, Paganiniâ(TM)s story is so interesting, but the whole film failed to portray a serious picture of him.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The music is obviously great... It's David Garrett playing Paganini. However, the acting may bring up your most recent meal.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Bernard Rose

Director

David Garrett

Niccolò Paganini

Jared Harris

Urbani

Joely Richardson

Ethel Langham

Christian McKay

John Watson

Veronica Ferres

Elizabeth Wells

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

97%

56%

Mr. Turner

11%

53%

Papa: Hemingway in Cuba

TRAILER

for Papa: Hemingway in Cuba

68%

68%

The Railway Man

95%

90%

12 Years a Slave

TRAILER

for 12 Years a Slave

19%

37%

I Saw the Light

TRAILER

for I Saw the Light

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

Beautiful and thoughtful.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 30, 2015

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Los Angeles Times

Though his dramatic performance is somewhat too mild, classical-pop violinist David Garrett brings an electrifying musical authenticity to the lead role in "The Devil's Violinist."

Jan 29, 2015

Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Even if, like me, you're a sucker for men with tossable hair and precision eyeliner, you can't help noticing that "The Devil's Violinist" is hysterical - and possibly historical - hooey.

Jan 29, 2015

Full Review

Joe Bendel

Epoch Times

Violin prodigy and classical crossover artist David Garrett can certainly play. Acting is a little iffier.

Rated: 3/5

May 22, 2016

Full Review

John Noonan

FILMINK (Australia)

Potentially there is a portrait of the artist in crisis buried beneath all the histrionics and parables. As it is, The Devil's Violinist is simply tone deaf.

May 22, 2015

Full Review

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

Florid, hysterical (though far from historical) pseudo-biographical movie about the famous violinist [Paganini].

Rated: D+

Feb 8, 2015

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

In 1830 London, famous Italian violinist, composer and womanizer Niccolò Paganini (David Garrett) woos his host's daughter, thereby angering the man (Jared Harris) who succeeded in bringing him to England.

Director: Bernard Rose
Executive Producer: Dominic Berger, David Garrett, Craig Blake-Jones, Marc Hansell
Screenwriter: Bernard Rose
Distributor: Freestyle Releasing
Production Co: Summerstorm Entertainment, Construction Film, Dor Film Produktionsgesellschaft GmbH
Rating: R (Drug Use|Some Strong Sexuality/Nudity)
Genre: Drama, History, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 30, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 26, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.0K

Most Popular at Home Now