A rare film biography as boldly unconventional as its subject, writer-director François Girard’s visionary portrait of iconoclastic, world-renowned pianist Glenn Gould explodes the conventions of the form to illuminate the brilliant mind and innermost obsessions of a singular artist. Across thirty-two vignettes encompassing everything from dramatic sketches to documentary interviews to avant-garde animation, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould pieces together the story of Gould’s trajectory from child prodigy to celebrated concert pianist who turned his back on public performance to pursue his all-consuming fascination with recording technology. Led by a tour-de-force performance by Colm Feore and underscored by Gould’s landmark recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Girard’s film daringly deconstructs the enigma of genius.

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Video Quality

The Criterion Collection presents Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould with a fetching 2160p SDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 sourced from a 4K scan of a 35mm Interpositive that has never been released on Blu-Ray, so the jump straight to 4K UHD is an unexpected boost for fans of the film. While the lack of HDR/Dolby Vision could be considered disappointing, this release provides an exceptional presentation that we would find hard to top. Any potential print damage is nowhere to be found thanks to the careful restoration. This transfer preserves the natural film grain as it resolves effortlessly, allowing for subtle details to spring forth. Elements of the clothing and production design reveal subtle ridges. There are no signs of grain reduction or digital manipulation, as you get a consistent sheen that resolves evenly without swarming or clumping.

While there may not be HDR applied, there is still a deeper complexity to the color palette by virtue of the codec, and every unique space throughout each short appears to be properly brought to life. The icy opening landscape is quite striking, but the film also provides splashes of colors in elements such as the lighting and some of the outfits and background elements. The transfer has a confident handling of the contrast. Highlights are handled favorably without any blooming as whites radiate with ideal luminance. Moments of darkness and shadow maintain their depth and do not suffer from crush or noise. This transfer is a virtually flawless effort for fans of the film.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a remastered DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track which represents this story wonderfully. When dealing with a subject so closely associated with music, you want something that sounds lush, full and precise. The film is far from a concert film, but every instance of music sounds incredible. The diegetic music, the score, and other flourishes are used perfectly within the feature, and this track delivers every element without any stumbling blocks throughout the film. There is a small bit of low end texture, but this is not a particularly raucous story. Dialogue emanates clearly primarily from the center channel. Environmental sounds are deftly brought to life alongside everything else. There is no threat of them overshadowing vital information, and it maintains a proper balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. There does not appear to be any egregious instances of age-related wear and tear. The Criterion Collection has given this film a top-tier audio experience. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

The Criterion 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould includes a foldout pamphlet featuring the essay “The Idea of Gould” by author and film critic Michael Koresky which explores the titular artist, the act of bringing his life to film, and more that is very illuminating. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Audio Commentary: Director François Girard and cowriter-actor Don McKellar deliver a newly recorded commentary track in which they take you through the development of the structure, telling Gould’s story in a style fitting his personality, memories from the production, working with the performers, the aesthetic of the feature, and more.

François Girard and Atom Egoyan: A new 33-minute conversation between the two filmmakers in which they discuss the legendary presence of Glenn Gould, the Canadian film industry, the multiple voices of the artist, and much more.

Interviews: A pair of archival interviews is provided with the two artists, in which they discuss the titular figure, experiences with the music, the development of the film, translating his story into a narrative, and more.

- Colm Feore (2012) (18:04)

- Niv Fichman (2008) (9:52)

Glenn Gould: A pair of documentaries produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1959 is provided, as they look into the life of Glenn Gould on the domestic front and in the recording studio.

- Glenn Gould: Off The Record (29:33)

- Glenn Gould: On The Record (29:33)

Trailer (1:05)

Final Thoughts

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is a very unique biographical film in which filmmaker François Girard tackles a prolific artist through a litany of different lenses that come together to give you fascinating insight into who he is. It is true that you may not walk away knowing specific biographical details if you do not have a baseline knowledge ahead of time, but you do somewhat understand how his mind works. This will not be the most accessible film for your average movie fan, but those who are a fan of this label will understand and appreciate what is in store. The Criterion Collection has delivered a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray that offers a sterling A/V presentation and a valuable collection of special features. Recommended

The Criterion Collection edition of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould will be available to purchase on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray on June 24, 2025.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: The Criterion Collection has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.