Ed The theremin is one of the first electronic musical instruments invented and I can't say I was ever crazy about it. I always thought of it as something used to add an eerie quality to certain psychological films like Hitchcock's "Spellbound" or science-fiction films such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still".As it turned out, the theremin had an enormous influence on the later history of electronic music.Named after its creator Léon Theramin (Lev Sergievich Terman), it was treated by others as a serious musical instrument especially when played by its greatest exponent, Clara Rockmore, She, as a matter of fact, happened to be the sister of my last piano teacher, Nadia Reisenberg, who often accompanied her but I knew nothing about this during my piano studies.One of the problems with this documentary would have been very simple to remedy: it is usually impossible to know who is being shown without a caption though that could usually be worked out by the context. In the case of Clara Rockmore, there was a family resemblance and Nicolas Slonimsky had a familiar face. But another problem has been mentioned often enough: the aged Theremin's speech in the English language is incomprehensible and should have been subtitled (Only when he spoke Russian were subtitles included.). In fact, an English subtitles option would have been very welcome throughout.I also think, in view of various questions which have come up, that the "abduction" of Theremin from the United States in 1938 seems too much of a whitewash. In view of his invention of a bugging device which was used for espionage against the United States, one wonders where the real allegiance of the inventor lay.It was thought, for many years, that Theremin had been executed by the Soviet government but in a real "believe it or not" story, he turned up late in life and eventually went back to the U.S. for a time. His unexpected reunion with Rockmore made for a very touching ending for the documentary.Another not very user-friendly DVD and, I would hope if it is ever reissued, that these problems could be remedied.

greglatraille I found this to be a wonderful film, and the touching ending, where the film makers brought Clara Rockmore and Leon Theremin together again after so many years moved me to tears. (Sentimental? Yes, but it was real!) It was also fascinating to learn of Theremin's other inventions and his kidnapping by the KGB. Other portions of this film reveal his influence on serious electronic music as well as pop music, and of course the use of the Theremin in SciFi films. Highly recommended.One correction to an earlier review: the theme music for the original Star Trek show did not use a Theremin at first. It was in fact a soprano voice.

Wednes It's odd that this documentary has so much cool information, yes is at times almost painfully depressing to watch. We learn not only of the life and many amazing inventions of Lean Theremin, but also of the remarkable Clara Rockmore, the worlds only theremin virtuoso. Even though the pacing is slow in parts, and the reunion of rockmore and Theremin as oldsters is thoroughly depressing, this is a solid documentary and one that every music fan should see. Also of note are the wonderful interviews with such greats as Todd Rungren, Moog and an almost incoherent Brian Wilson. In fact, it is because of his profanity laden interview that the film receives an R rating. Who knew synthesizers inspired so many swears?

funkyfry A film about Professor (Theo?) Theramin, inventor of the Theramin. Includes a very bizarre interview with "Founder of the Beach Boys" Brian Wilson, who rants for six or seven solid minutes about how people liked his song "Good Vibrations" and also about a lot of things that don't make much sense......"Teenagers..... the children of God" (?!?) Also features some pretty good music, but not a great documentary for non-music fans.