Quartett DVD 2012 Kvartett - a nagy négyes / Directed by Dustin Hoffman / Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon

UPC 5996471000098

REGION 2 PAL DVD

MADE IN EU

AUDIO: English 5.1, Hungarian 5.1

Subtitles: Hungarian

Total Runtime: 94 minutes

English Summary:

Quartet is a 2012 British comedy-drama film based on the play Quartet by Ronald Harwood, which ran in London's West End from September 1999 until January 2000. It was filmed late in 2011 at Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire. The film is actor Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut.

The plot takes place in Beecham House, a retirement home for former professional musicians, patterned after the real-life Casa di Riposo per Musicisti founded by Giuseppe Verdi. Reg, Wilf and Cissy are retired opera singers who often worked together in the past; among other residents are Cedric Livingstone, a former director, and diva Anne Langley. All the guests in the retirement home are suffering in varying degree the ailments old age can bring but continue to be engaged in their former professions in one way or another, including lecturing and introducing young people to music.

Finances threaten closure of the home, but proceeds from a yearly gala concert on Verdi's birthday hold hope for a continuation of the place. However, Cedric has become rather desperate because some of the most prominent singers have either died or decided not to participate at all. Reg, Wilf and Cissy were in the cast of a very highly rated recording of the opera Rigoletto, which includes a famous quartet for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone ("Bella figlia dell'amore"). This version is very prominent among opera buffs as THE Rigoletto of the post-war era.

Hungarian Summary:

Cecily, Reggie és Wilfred egy öregek otthona lakója. Az intézmény attól különleges, hogy itt elsősorban nyugdíjas operaénekesek élnek. A lakók minden év október 10-én koncertet adnak, hogy Verdi szülinapját ünnepeljék. Ezen a helyen minden békés, mindaddig, míg meg nem érkezik Jean, Reggie volt felesége. A nő dívaként viselkedik, beilleszkedni, azaz énekelni viszont nem akar.

Cast / Szereplők:

Many of the supporting and background cast in the film's "retirement home for former professional musicians" were portrayed by actual professional musicians, as illustrated by then-and-now photos during the closing credits: