Oscar Peterson Movies

Filmmaker Luc Bourdon presents a loving portrait of the changing face of one of Canada's great cities in this documentary. Compiled entirely from archival footage collected by the National Film Board of Canada, The Memories of Angels is a visual history of Montreal from the early 1950s into the late 60s, as the city matured from a hub of Canada's Quebecois community to a center of international tourism as the Expo 67 world's fair brought the attention of the world to Montreal. While a number of celebrities pass through the city in this footage -- Queen Elizabeth on a visit to Canada, concert appearances by jazz legend Oscar Peterson and teen singing star Paul Anka -- the focus is on the people of Montreal and the city itself, as it grows from a working class town into one of the nation's largest and most beautiful metropolitan areas. Featuring material from over a hundred different National Film Board documentaries, The Memories of Angels received its American premiere at the 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jazz Shots from the East Coast, Vol. 1 offers a collection of musical performances by artists associated with the East Coast jazz scene. The release includes appearances by artists as diverse as Duke Ellington, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, and Roland Kirk. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

From Verve Records comes this live performance by renowned pianist Oscar Peterson. Backed by bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, guitarist Ulf Wakenius, and drummer Martin Drew, Peterson performs such songs as "Falling in Love With Love," "When Summer Comes," "Cakewalk," "The Backyard Blues," and "Sweet Georgia Brown." ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

The Canadian "sleeper" The Silent Partner stars Elliott Gould as a teller, Miles Cullen, who figures out psycho Harry Reikle's (Christopher Plummer) scheme to rob his bank, several days ahead of time. Cullen providently squirrels away 50,000 dollars in a safety-deposit box before Reikle strikes. After the robbery, the papers report the amount of the bank's loss. Reikle realizes that there's 50,000 extra bucks floating around that he hasn't gotten his hands on. The soft-spoken but sadistic Reikle puts the screws on Cullen to fork over the dough -- but Cullen has lost the deposit-box key. Be forewarned: this one gets extremely brutal and bloody at times, with sudden bursts of graphic violence. Also featured is Susannah York as the fluctuating-loyalty heroine, and a very young and hairy John Candy. Future L.A. Confidential scribe Curtis Hanson loosely adapted the Danish novel Think of a Number, by Anders Bodelsen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This long-unseen concert film depicts the meeting of two - jazz giants: Count Basie and Oscar Peterson - at the Prague Jazz Festival in November 1974. It features numerous selections performed by Basie's big band (with guest stars Curtis Fuller and Al Grey), Peterson (by himself and with accompaniment) and Danish bassist Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, plus various combinations of the said artists. Selections include "Just Friends," "I Love You," "Mack the Knife," and many more. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

This release contains sixteen songs performed by the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson with the assistance of some stellar sidemen. Culled from three different live appearances, the setlist includes "Reunion Blues," "But Not For Me," "It Ain't Necessarily So," "Soon," and "Yours Is My Heart Alone. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi