Since today’s North American movie landscape is filled mostly with popcorn fodder and super men in tights, it’s almost a certainty that most mainstream moviegoers don’t know the names Francois Girard and Don McKellar. There is, however, a better chance that many have heard of, or have even seen, The Red Violin, about the three century journey of one of the world’s oldest violins, from an auction house in Montreal, Quebec through time all the way to its creation in the 17th Century and back again. Although The Red Violin was released on DVD in 1999 sans features, the folks at Lionsgate have taken the film under their wing to give it the care and red carpet treatment it deserves as a premiere title in the new Meridian Collection.

Within the North American film landscape, director Francois Girard and writer Don McKellar are two of Canada’s most lauded filmmakers. In 1993, Girard and McKellar teamed up make the critically acclaimed and award winning film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, about the life of Canadian born Glenn Gould, one of the 20th Century’s greatest, most technically proficient classic pianists. It’s a film that embodies the art and eccentricities of Glenn Gould’s life, but it also beautifully combines the expression, passion, and spirit of music with the art of cinema. So when Girard and McKellar re-teamed five years later to make The Red Violin, it was a foregone conclusion that the film would be as much an expression of art and style as it would be elegantly cinematic and epically gorgeous.

When the film opens, a beautiful, hand crafted antique violin is about to be auctioned off in Montreal. Appraiser Charles Morritz (Samuel L. Jackson) begins to explore the instrument’s lineage, which opens up the film’s structure and gives way to four vignette style stories. Beginning in the 17th Century in Italy where the violin was made, the instrument becomes the focal point of its creator Bussoti (Carlo Cecchi), whose passion gives way to tragedy after making the perfect instrument for his child. Out of the tragedy in Bussoti’s life, the violin is painted red in an act that will forever trace the instrument back to his family.

The red violin eventually makes its way to 18th Century Vienna and into the hands of musical phenomenon Kaspar Weiss (Christoph Koncz) who’s under the tutelage of the narcissistic genius Georges Poussin (Jean-Luc Bideau). As time marches forward into 19th Century Victorian England, self-absorbed violinist Frederick Pope (Jason Flemyng) gets his hands on the violin and writes the best, most passionate music of his career before the violin is nearly destroyed in a lover’s quarrel with his love (Greta Scacchi). Years pass and the violin winds up in Shanghai, China during the country’s Cultural Revolution under the government of Mao Tse Tung where it’s pawned and later purchased for Xiang Pei (Sylvia Chang), who struggles to protect the instrument from being destroyed by the upheaval and disorder in her oppressive country. As time passes, the violin is sent to Montreal for auction where appraiser Charles Morritz realizes it true value and the life of the red violin’s creator, Bussoti, comes full circle.

There are two distinct camps with regard to The Red Violin: Those who see the finer details within the instrument’s journey, and those who look at the entire life of the violin at large. While the violin is the vehicle that opens up the interwoven narratives, it also serves as the entry point into the each character. Not only do we care about the violin, but we also get entangled and invested in the lives it passes through. Structurally, a modern artistic comparison can be made to Todd Haynes Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There in that some of the interlocking stories are flawed and work better than others, but it’s what you take away from the movie and music at large that matters most. Incorporating an Oscar Winning score by composer John Corigliano, The Red Violin is a cinematic symphony that balances its flaws of substance with classical style.

As a DVD in Lionsgate’s Meridian Collection, The Red Violin has been digitally remastered to enhance the film’s stunning visual presentation. The film already looked great on DVD in its bare bones form, but the new revamp beautifully brings the movie into the digital age. Given the technological advances of the format, the Dolby Digital track serves the film well on all levels, especially Corigliano’s moving score and the many compositions strewn throughout the story. It’s a film that’s even more technically stunning than it was a decade ago. As for special features, the disc features a great commentary track with filmmakers Francois Girard and Don McKellar, who provide two unique points of view as their distinct personalities become as much a part of the track as their reflections. Much like the classic style over substance debate, Girard’s frank artistic thoughts as a filmmaker are counterbalanced by McKellar’s humble nature and his humorous reflections.

The only two extras aside from the commentary come in the form of two artistically entertaining featuretttes. The first, "The Oscar Winning Chaconne" explores John Corigliano’s Academy Award winning score, his intent and approach, and how he composed and put together the film’s beautiful music, while "The Auction Block" showcases the world of rare instruments at the famed Christie’s Auction House and the journey of the Red Mendelssohn Stradivari violin, which served as the inspiration for the film. Both offer unique and entertaining expanded insight into the film and its creation (much like the journey of the violin) and will definitely appeal to the arthouse crowd that loved the move. For those who have yet to pick up this violin, this is the best place to learn its rich history.

As the premiere disc in Lionsgate’s new Meridian Collection, The Red Violin is a beautiful and technically savvy DVD that’s equally and masterfully filled with both style and substance.