My review was written in August 1989 after watching the film at a Times Square screening room.
"High Fidelity" is a painless, entertaining intro to classical music and its practitioners, focusing on the longest-running act in the string quartet business. Specialized theatrical chances loom for this well-made documentary.
Filmmakers eschew a canned performance approach to spotlight what makes these guys tick: a trio of chums who met at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and teamed up with an eminent cellist with classical and tv pit orchestra experience to form the Guarneri Quartet in 1964.
What makes this film interesting is how, in a natural, undramatic way, it brings out the dynamics of a group -how they frequently argue, yet manage to produce precise and challenging music. There are plenty of excerpts from performances and rehearsals to satisfy the classical music fan, but director Allan Miller's personal approach makes the pic just as accessible as if he were spotlighting the Modern Jazz Quartet or the Beatles instead.
From the group's charismatic violinist Arnold Steinhardt, to its droll cellist, David Soyer, these fellows emerge as ordinary people with simple lifestyles but extraordinary talent. It's refreshing to get to know superstars in a given showbiz niche who have no time for airs but in perfectionist fashion want to give their best to an audience, then go home to their families.
Dyanna Taylor's flexible camera tracks them on tour around the world (their manager Harry Beall complains that they don't expand their schedule enough to meet demand, however) as well as in quiet moments at home. The arguments during rehearsals are revealing -individuals always express their unvarnished opinion, but with civility. Notable is a scene of Steinhardt pumping for the inclusion of a Kreisler quartet in their next season's repertoire, but getting thumbs down from the other three for the umpteenth time.
