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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 7578
Released: March 19, 2002 |
| Our Price: $8.46 |
| Used Price: $4.74 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Historical farce about the romance between George Sand and Frederic Chopin.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 7-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD
Description of Impromptu:
Still more Victorian country-house shenanigans: novelist George Sand (Judy Davis, affected but pretty darn charming) has eyes for Franz Liszt's young protégé Chopin (Hugh Grant, solid as always, but burdened by a silly Polish accent and a script that never lets him stretch out), but various lovers, jealous rivals, and Chopin's own overdeveloped sense of propriety conspire to confound her. Impromptu is witty but overlong--probably 20 minutes of hijinks and repartee, not to mention several completely gratuitous and redundant characters, could have been sliced from the film. Davis plays Sand as an impetuous, overgrown tomboy, outraging her genteel hosts by wearing pants, chomping cigars, and falling off horses; her coterie of artist-friends assure us, in a series of naked plot devices, that she nonetheless has a heart of gold. It's all good silly fun, and about as feminist as your average Def Leppard video--the other two developed female characters are ugly stereotypes: a featherbrained, feckless social climber (Emma Thompson, who once again proves she's up for anything) and a spiteful, back-stabbing shrew (the ever-capable Bernadette Peters). Director James Lapine clearly belongs to the Dr. Quinn school of historical accuracy, so don't expect to learn anything about the period or the artists themselves. Impromptu is far more Melrose Place than Mrs. Dalloway, or perhaps best described as an episode of Entertainment Tonight set in the 19th century. --Miles Bethany
Impromptu Reviews:
Not readable in Europe !!! 
2009-12-18 - Like happened with other prodcuts, I had the unpleasant surprise that, in spite of having a last generation DVD recorder able to read PAL, SECAM, and NTSC, I could not display these movies due to incompatibility with the common systems in Europe. And no warning is indicated in the box, nor a reference to its region !
Amazon should be so kind to introduce in their catalogue an automatic alarm of warning for European customers when they are ordering products that can only be used in America.
Like the majority of European sellers do when an American order is received !
A Wonderful Look at Chopin and his Circle 
2009-09-18 - James Lepine's "Impromptu" (1991) retells the story of Chopin (Hugh Grant) and George Sand (a terrific, intense Judy Davis) and how they met. Filmed on location in France, it seems more realistic--and believable--than the 1945 "A Song to Remember."
There is not one wrong note in the acting. The surprise is Hugh Grant, who is a dandy Chopin.
Great Romance of a Life Time
2009-06-02 - The romantic pursuit for the heart of composer Frederick Chopin by authoress George Sand. His feelings in his music must have spoke to her like her feelings in her novels. She pursued him like a man pursues a woman. It must be true that there is someone for everyone if they are open to the possibilities. I truly enjoyed this movie.
Delightful!
2009-05-10 - Impromptu is one of my favourite films because it has an excellent cast, beautiful period costumes, great cinematography, and I can't leave out the exceptionally beautiful soundtrack! Chopin and Liszt music flow throughout the scenes and Hugh Grant pulls off a believable Chopin. If you enjoy period dramas, history, historical fiction and romantic classical music - this is a must-see film!
Chopin meets George Sand 
2009-02-03 - A movie that does a good job of encapsulating the characters and fashion of Fredrik Chopin's time in 1800's Paris. The dialog is witty and the pace of the movie is quick. Hugh Grant plays Chopin, the Polish piano phenomenon,who is swept of his feet by the femme fatale novelist, George Sand{Judy Davis). The movie is funny, the costumes lush and the music, of course heavenly.
