I didn't know if there was even the slightest chance this was based on a true history so I searched for the name of Nicolo Bussotti and learned that the character in the movie was fictitious, although parts of the red violin's origins WAS based on the life of Antonio Stradivari who lived during the era that opened the story. I rather enjoyed this picture and the way it traced the violin's history through the centuries, along with the tarot card gimmick that introduced each of the major turning points in the instrument's history. Most of the narrative appeared to fit historically, although I did have to laugh when the Oxford violinist Pope (Jason Flemyng) declared his lustful desire for Lady Victoria (Greta Scacchi) by stating "I feel a composition coming on". That was just such a concession to modern dialog that it disrupted the continuity of the scene for me. I'm still chuckling about it.What I wasn't prepared for in the story was it's twist finale, given Charles Morritz's (Samuel L. Jackson) scholarly and professional approach to determining the violin's authenticity. As the instrument's restorer (Don McKellar) proclaims that "This is the single most perfect acoustic machine I have ever seen", there's still no indication that the pair would conspire to pull off the crime of the century. The film's ending with Morritz making a clean getaway rivaled the revelation made regarding another Samuel Jackson character, that of Elijah Price, in a movie that came out just a couple years after this one titled "Unbreakable". He was even a collector of sorts in that movie too.

I choke back tears of passion as the last notes are played...I find it hard to hold them back as I read the reviews and comments of others who were touched by the story. I saw this in 98 when it was first released on VHS, At the time I enjoyed Samuel Jackson's other works, so I figured I'd give it a try. If you love music, especially Classical or music that has a violin base, and you can discern the sound of what a beautiful violin sounds like; you'll be swept up in this epic tale. The story is profound in its beauty IMDb wasn't around when I watched it the first time. After just completing watching it I just wanted to add my two cents...:) Music is life!

A perfect red-colored violin inspires passion, making its way through three centuries over several owners and countries, eventually ending up at an auction where it may find a new owner.I know precious little about violins or about Stradivarius and why his violins are considered the best in the world. But this story is told in such a way where you need to know nothing in order to appreciate that history. Everything is laid out here and in a much grander story arc than any real violin likely ever went through.Perhaps best of all was the casting of Samuel L. Jackson. He is the only real "star" in the cast, and his character is among the most complex. Though we go through several centuries and multiple countries, Jsckson's story really ties it all together -- like the moment in "2001" where the bone becomes the satellite, Jackson is the modern day counterpart to the violin's entire history.

A Nicolo Bussotti violin, known as "the red violin," is auctioned off in Montreal. It was built in 1681 and Nicolo's last. The movie follows the violin from the story of its construction to the present. Nicolo's wife Anna Rudolfi is pregnant and her servant Cesca reads the tarot cards. When Anna dies in childbirth with her child, Nicolo mixes her blood with the vanish to paint on the violin giving it the unusual red color. The tarot cards foretells the future of the violin and not Anna.This is a difficult thing to make each section as compelling as possible. In the end, that is not achieved. Each section doesn't have enough time to tell its drama compellingly. Also the movie already shows that the violin doesn't get buried or burned. The music is beautiful as long as you love violin music. This is a beautiful sounding movie but the plot doesn't have much tension. There are some poetic moments but it meanders a bit.