Gordon’s performance conveys something else that’s all too rare in movies of musicians—namely, joy. It’s a serene and lofty joy, with an element of wry detachment and even self-deprecation built in, but it’s vitally present nonetheless.

| Feb 16, 2024

The beacon of ’Round Midnight is Dexter Gordon’s performance.

| May 20, 2022

A wonderfully detailed performance by a real jazz musician, Dexter Gordon.

| Oct 27, 2021

Watching Dale and Francis grow close is a subdued experience that evolves in quiet ways.

| Dec 12, 2018

Round Midnight is a superbly crafted music world drama in which Gallic director Bertrand Tavernier pays a moving dramatic tribute to the great black musicians who lived and performed in Paris in the late 1950s.

| Apr 8, 2008

The director's perenially heavy mood seems especially well suited to this indigo-shaded story of a black American saxman (Dexter Gordon) living and performing in Paris in the late 50s.

| Apr 8, 2008

Dale Turner, as played by Dexter Gordon, seems to be an amalgam of Bud Powell and Lester Young, but the private, rueful dignity that he brings to bear is all his own.

| Jun 24, 2006

No actor could do what the great jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon does in 'Round Midnight.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 20, 2003

A lovingly gentle yet vibrant tribute to jazz, friendship and film itself, made by a director of consummate taste and precise imagination.

| Jan 1, 2000

You do not need to know a lot about jazz to appreciate what is going on because, in a certain sense, this movie teaches you everything about jazz that you really need to know.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Gordon goes the limit as Turner, dedicating his performance to all the cats who've gone before.

| Jan 1, 2000