Shine

Play trailer

1:33

Shine

PG-13,

1996,

1h 45m,

Biography/

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Shine: Trailer 1

Now Playing

View more videos

Stream Now

Watchlist

91%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

As a child piano prodigy, David Helfgott's musical ambitions generate friction with his overbearing father, Peter. When Helfgott travels to London on a musical scholarship, his career as a pianist blossoms. However, the pressures of his newfound fame, coupled with the echoes of his tumultuous childhood, conspire to bring Helfgott's latent schizophrenia boiling to the surface, and he spends years in and out of various mental institutions.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Stream

Rent Shine on Fandango, or buy it on Fandango.

Critics Consensus

Featuring a strong performance from Geoffrey Rush, Shine succeeds in telling a compelling, inspirational story without resorting to cheap sentimentality.

Read Critics Reviews

David Ansen

Newsweek

Feb 26, 2018

As befits the subject, with his taste for the romantic repertoire, Shine' is not afraid of stirring up big emotions. It earns them honorably.

Go to Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Sep 7, 2011

B+

Shine beams with warmth, sensitivity, and fine taste, but some of that illumination is the work of our own reflector lamps.

Go to Full Review

David Stratton

Variety

Oct 18, 2008

[Helfgott's] extraordinary life is intelligently charted here, and the three actors who play him at different stages are all exceptional.

Go to Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Oct 28, 2015

B-

Inspired by the true story of the Australian classical pianist prodigy David Helfgott.

Go to Full Review

Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

Feb 1, 2011

4/5

Intense, gripping mental-illness music drama.

Go to Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Dec 25, 2007

A-

With the exception of a few overwrought scenes, Hicks' Australian biopic of pianist David Helfgott, which caused a bidding war at the 1996 Sundance Fest, is fresh and emotionally stirring without being sentimental or cliched.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Anakin M

Mar 8, 2019

Great movie. Soundtrack is just as good.

Finn L

Dec 17, 2018

Excellent performances by all concerned. I loved the movie then and I love it now!

Anakin G

Oct 13, 2018

Wonderful perfomances making it very difficult not to be moved by David Helfgott's story.

Finn R

Feb 24, 2018

1001 movies to see before you die.

Draco L

Jan 26, 2018

Decent bit of entertainment. There are some problems. The dad is irredeemably useless. They didn't do a good job of showing what happened to David. Suddenly he was getting electro-shock treatment and I'm not sure why. But I'm always a sucker for music stuff so I appreciated how that kept shining through. 6.3 out of 10

See more

Ron R

Oct 28, 2017

I felt the first half is plagued by cliches, contrived dialogue, and terribly unconvincing performances. Of course Geoffrey Rush saves this film. A better second half almost makes up for a fairly dull first half.

See more

Read all reviews

Scott Hicks

Director

Geoffrey Rush

David as an Adult

Justin Braine

Tony

Sonia Todd

Sylvia

Armin Mueller-Stahl

Peter

Noah Taylor

David as an Adolescent

Paris, Texas

95%

93%

Paris, Texas

Watchlist

The Hustler

94%

93%

The Hustler

Watchlist

Rebel Without a Cause

91%

88%

Rebel Without a Cause

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Rebel Without a Cause

Network

90%

93%

Network

Watchlist

Ordinary People

90%

88%

Ordinary People

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Ordinary People

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

10 Rockin’ Music Biopics

"Xanadu" Roller Skates Again Off-Broadway

Spielberg Settles On "Munich"

Shine: Trailer 1

1:33

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

As a child piano prodigy, David Helfgott's musical ambitions generate friction with his overbearing father, Peter. When Helfgott travels to London on a musical scholarship, his career as a pianist blossoms. However, the pressures of his newfound fame, coupled with the echoes of his tumultuous childhood, conspire to bring Helfgott's latent schizophrenia boiling to the surface, and he spends years in and out of various mental institutions.

Director: Scott Hicks
Producer: Jane Scott
Screenwriter: Scott Hicks, Jan Sardi
Distributor: Fine Line Features
Production Co: Film Victoria
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 21, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 10, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $35.9M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Surround

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings