Film Review - 'Round Midnight (1986)

It’s the Fifties in New York and Dale Turner (Dexter Gordon) is a seasoned jazz saxophonist and is a hidden talent. Every night he goes out on stage and pours his soul out through his instrument and enriches the lives of his audience just by hearing him play.

He’d also get off stage and pour another glass of whatever made him feel as good as the first, but despite his alcoholism, there was nobody who couldn’t say that he was a professional.

Then one night he gets an offer to play in Paris, so thinking that a change of pace would do him so good, he heads out for France. That’s where he meets Francis Borler (Francois Cluzet), a man obsessed with Turner’s music and can see big things ahead of him.

Although, it seems that while in Paris, whilst Turner’s life has changed, his addiction hasn’t. So, Francis finds himself dealing with a talent sent by God who has drunk the devil’s poison.

‘Round Midnight is an Oscar nominated semi biographical movie of a man whose demons wouldn’t leave him while his talent let him soar about all others. In his first lead role, renowned jazz musician, Dexter Gordon was nominated for best actor at the 1987 Oscars, which was to be a highlight in his acting career as he lost his life to cancer only three years later.

Director Bertrand Tavernier must have seen something in Gordon to convince him to take the lead role and luckily it was a role that he seemed to be born to play. Gordon fully immerses him into the role and he plays the part like a man who is constantly a few drinks away from sobriety, but just conscious enough to be fully aware of his surroundings. Also, Gordon makes quite a screen presence which is hard to pin down because despite his towering height and crippling addiction, Gordon gives the audience a character they can support because of his otherwise charming disposition.

However, ‘Round Midnight would be nothing if it weren’t for the music and having a professional jazz musician put front and centre shows the audience exactly how captivating jazz can be. ‘Round Midnight is not just a showcase for Gordon’s musical prowess, but as a way to open up an audience’s eyes to the possibilities of music. The Criterion Collection release of ‘Round Midnight is out on May 9th and is a forgotten treasure that is worth revisiting.

Music, Drama | USA, 1986 | 15 | Blu-Ray | 9th May 2022 (UK) | Criterion Collection /Sony Pictures | Dir. Bertrand Tavernier | Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
-New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack
-Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, supervised by composer Herbie Hancock and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
-New interview with jazz critic Gary Giddins
-New conversation with music producer Michael Cuscuna and author Maxine Gordon, widow of musician Dexter Gordon
-Behind-the-scenes documentary from 19TK[ck]
-Panel discussion from 2014 featuring director Bertrand Tavernier, Cuscuna, Maxine Gordon, and jazz scholar John Szwed, moderated by jazz critic and broadcaster Mark Ruffin
-Performance from 1969 of “Fried Bananas” by Dexter Gordon, directed by Teit Jørgensen[ck]
-Excerpt from the 1996 documentary Dexter Gordon: More Than You Know, by Don McGlynn ck]
-New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing