Original subtitles

What is the matter with that door?

Uncle Martin, what is going on around here?

Can't you hear it?

Well, I'll admit that it's rough on the eardrums, but... Tim, it just isn't the

eardrums. It's...

You

know, for a minute there, I thought... That you could see right through.

Hey, it's Mrs. Brown's violin.

When she plays that one abominable note... My normal three -dimensional

short -circuits with my non -dimensional self.

Result? I alternate between the two so rapidly I appear transparent.

Do you mean that this happens every time a Martian hears a horrible violinist?

It's not the violinist. It's the violin.

And I haven't heard one that deplorable in 300 years.

I'll never forget that violin maker, Antonio Stradivari. He made the worst...

Stradivarius? Stradivari.

Stradivarius is the violin he made.

It was the worst.

Oh, come on now, Uncle Martin Everyone knows that he made the greatest violins

that the world has ever heard Of course he did After I showed him It was self

-preservation

losing fight, Tim.

If we can't discourage Mrs. Brown's interest in the violin, I'm afraid I'm

to have to find another place to live. Oh, come on, Uncle Martin. You can

wear earplugs. It has nothing to do with hearing. It's my entire nervous system.

A violin has a very strong, penetrating sound.

It's been known to shatter glass.

Oh,

dear.

Did I do that?

It's all right, Mrs. Brown.

I got another pair of glasses.

Now this time, you play not so loud, eh? You see that P there?

That means pianissimo.

Soft. It's soft.

Piano.

Piano.

Piano.

Piano.

Dear, did I do that?

No, no, no, no, no. That's my boy Giovanni.

Piano.

Piano.

Piano.

Ah,

Giovanni. Your sight must be sore eyes.

Johnny, Pop.

When are you going to call me Johnny? Ah, what kind of name is that for a

maker? You...

Giovanni Amalfi. Oh, Pop, when are you going to give it up?

You know if they accept me for that job in New York with Consolidated General

Music, I'm going to take it.

Giovanni, who's going to make Amalfi Violins after me?

Pop, face it.

Somewhere along the line, we lost the touch.

Amalfi Violins haven't got it anymore.

You're lucky you can give them as loaners to your students. And what kind

success are we running when you have to give lessons to stay in business?

I can't build a future on that.

But Giovanni, sooner or later, has got to come out a great violin.

I think we're closer to a great secret weapon.

Piano.

Oh, hello, boys.

My, what a nice surprise.

I hope we're not interrupting.

Oh, no.

If you don't mind listening while I practice, I'm trying to learn to play

Piano? Yes, and it's not easy on the violin.

Oh, I think everyone should find a way to express himself.

I found mine. This is the real me.

Yes, so we've heard.

Well, of course, I'm just beginning, and I know it's going to take practice,

practice, and more practice.

Well, then, since we're going to have a virtuoso in our midst, we'll confess.

We actually came down so that we might hear you play.

We did.

Oh, yes, we did. Oh, well, I am just beginning.

Oh, in that case. Oh, but I do know this one piece.

Mrs. Brown, it's just the strings.

Well, can it be fixed?

Well, Tim used to play, didn't you, Tim?

And I believe that we have some violin strings upstairs, don't we, Tim?

Violin strings?

Violin? Oh, yes, yes.

Yes, I have a whole ball of them upstairs in the kitchen drawer.

If you'll permit me, I know a little something about violins. I'll have this

back for you tomorrow.

Good as new.

Maybe better.

Oh, thank you.

Oh, yeah.

Oh. Oh, my.

Your uncle is such a comfort to have around. Yes, he's a solid citizen.

I hope we'll be able to keep it that way.

All that to fix violin strings?

That was a ruse, Tim. I'm rebuilding the entire instrument so that it can no

longer produce that transparency harmonic.

I knew instantly that we couldn't get her to change her mind about playing.

Oh? Well, what made you so sure?

Her mind told me there's an opening for a lady violinist in the Lonely Heart's

Little Symphony.

Mrs. Brown wants to play in an orchestra?

Very badly.

Yeah, she'll do that all right.

There we are.

Now, it's ready to be returned.

Well, doesn't the glue take time to dry?

Earth glue takes time to dry.

Not bad.

Basically, the Amalfi is a fine instrument, merely suffering from the

positioning of the bass bar and the sound post.

Not a touch of transparency.

Solid 3D me.

Motobain! Thank you.

You know, you sounded as good as Heifetz.

Actually, I sounded better.

But only because Heifetz has an inferior violin.

His is only a Stradivarius.

That's better?

While I was at it, I made a few minor adjustments.

Yeah, well, I believe you.

But look, do you think it's wise to actually make it sound that good?

With Mrs. Brown playing, who'll know the difference?

You listen to your papi. It's the future in Amalfi, Nathan.

Amalfi is a good violin.

All we need is to find the secret. And we're going to. I'm feel it. Pop, look.

This is a real job. It's the future. But Giovanni.

I'm sorry, Papa.

I gotta pick up my plane ticket.

I'll come back for you later, okay?

Never mind you come back for me.

No, Mr. Amalfi.

Spontaneo, Mrs. Brown.

Well, I'm all tuned up and ready for you.

I'm ready for you, too.

two and bambino meal.

One and two and maybe he's right.

Are you talking to me, Mr. Amalfi? Maybe Amalfi never make a good violin again.

Mr. Amalfi! Oh, Mrs.

Brown, that's fine, that's fine, but you forget to look at the music.

Something wrong?

It's my ears.

I'm hearing things.

Violins!

Notes like that don't ever come from a violin I'm a make.

Something is happening to him.

You don't think that I... You do something.

Oh, no.

Really, Mr. Amalfi.

Mrs. Brown, please.

Something you do to this violin, I got to know what it is. Please, you just got

to remember.

Oh, all right, I'll tell you. I'll tell you. What, what?

I broke the string.

You broke the string?

Well, I didn't mean to, honestly.

I didn't think that you'd notice.

I thought Mr. O 'Hara fixed it very nicely and it sounded as good as new.

Who's fixed it? Mr. O 'Hara. Who's this Mr.

O 'Hara? Mr.

O 'Hara, he lives upstairs.

Oh, he can fix anything.

Oh, genius.

Another Leonardo.

And you say he lives right upstairs?

Yes, over the garage.

Over the garage?

Look where he's got to live.

You have anything, Uncle Merton?

Tim, I cannot afford to be associated with that violin.

Obviously, there are certain questions it might be incriminating for me to

answer. Oh, yeah.

Like, uh, who taught Stradivari? Or, uh, where were you on the night of October

17th, 1684?

Exactly. So I shall now leave the premises.

And I would appreciate it if you would get Mr. Amalfi to do the same as quickly

as possible.

Who?

Mr. O 'Hara?

Yeah.

Mr. O 'Hara, what you've done.

And such a young man, too.

And you're not even Italian.

Oh, well, just a minute, Mr... Amalfi, of Amalfi and Son, since 1680.

Oh, Mr. O 'Hara, please, you've got to help me. Help you do what?

Fix the violins, like you do Mr. Brown's.

Oh, that!

Oh, well, that was my uncle.

Your uncle?

Oh, well, then your uncle, he's got to help me.

Oh, you see, he's not here right now. I don't even know when he's going to be

back. Oh, Mr. Hale, please.

The Murphy and Son is a great name.

Until it's my name.

Now, it's just another number in the telephone books.

Please don't think that I don't understand. It's how you understand.

Please.

If your uncle is telling me he's a great secret, you tell him.

I know God very much, but I will give him everything I own.

Well, all he did was replace the strings.

But who made the violin in the first place?

I'm a maker in my shop.

Uh -huh.

You trying to tell me that I'm a maker instrument and he's a maker of this

sound? Me?

It's not impossible.

Who say?

After all these years, I'm a trip over the secret.

It's what I've been working for.

Well, then that's it.

Well, how you like that?

I'm going to do it.

But I don't know what I'm going to do.

But hey, if I do it once, I can do it again.

Right. Think positively.

It certainly is, and I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself, Tim.

Oh, well, Uncle Martin, look, if he thinks he's great, maybe it'll give him

confidence. Maybe he'll become great.

He'll take that violin back to his shop and try to figure out what he did right.

He didn't do anything right.

It'll break his spirit completely.

Don't blame yourself, Uncle Martin.

We meant well.

Exactly what Frank James tried to tell me about Jesse.

No, he's my responsibility now, Tim.

I've got to do something for that man.

He now believes that he created that violin.

But we know he didn't and couldn't. You mean you can't turn a sow's ear into a

silk purse?

Of course you can, by merely rearranging the molecular structure.

But that has nothing to do with the problem.

Or has it?

Uncle Martin, you don't mean you're thinking of rearranging him.

I'm thinking of working with what he already has, which should be enough.

He's a good craftsman. But Uncle Martin, he's no genius.

That's right, Tim.

But we know who is.

Now all you mouth is you listen.

All this time I no can face you.

But now I'm gonna look right into your eyes and you gonna...

What's he saying? He's talking to himself.

No, no, no.

Not to himself.

To his ancestors.

But you're hard to starve.

You always look down your nose at me, eh?

But you ever make a violin sound like that, eh?

And you, great Grandpapa Giuseppe, you're proud of me now, eh? And you're

be proud of my boy Giovanni, too.

Amalfi and son is gonna be right on top again.

Like Amati and Guarnari.

Yes, and even Statovari.

I can figure out how I'm going to make him come out like this.

But I've got to do it.

I've got to think positive.

Just you watch me.

All right, now. You stay here and keep anyone, especially his son, from

intruding. That man needs a helping hand, and desperately.

Oh, the fine Italian hand of Martin O 'Hara?

See?

to move the right way.

the Los Angeles Sun, you see, and I'd like to do a feature story on you. On

Well, thanks, but what for? Well, it's not on you exactly, but, well, it's on

the Amalfi family, but from your angle. Well, you know, the last of Amalfi and

Sun, the world's great violin maker.

What is this, a rip?

Well, don't you want the publicity?

Publicity? You ever hear two cats fighting?

They've got more tone than one of our fiddles.

The Amalfi, the great Amalfi violin?

Great, huh? Yeah.

I hope you've got strong eardrums.

And the ghost of the greatest violin maker of them all.

Stradivari.

The ghost of Signor Stradivari? I have been walking the earth and searching

these 300 years.

At last I found you.

Me?

Why pick on me?

Because finally I have found a master who can create a violin as fine as mine.

Mr. Ghost, Signore Stradivari, I've got to tell you something just between you

and me and my family up there.

I don't know what I'm going to do different than when I'm going to make

thing that's screaming out there.

I know.

And that's why I have come.

To tell you the great secret you have won the right to know.

You're going to tell me?

Oh, Mr.

Signore Stradivari, you're a good man.

I mean, you're a good... Ghost, you save Amalfi and son.

No, I'm going to save the world from violins like that.

You've got to promise to rebuild every violin in the shop so it sounds like

this. Oh, that and not a promise.

That a pleasure.

You think I like to listen to that?

Good. Then here's all you have to do.

You don't seem to fully appreciate what might be... Mr. O 'Hara, I appreciate

what you're trying to do, but the answer is still no. And you must tell no one

where you got this secret. Is that clear?

Oh, you betcha.

Who's going to believe I'm a talker to a ghost?

I no believe in myself.

Then I will say farewell, Signora Amalfi, and good luck.

Amalfi and son is dead.

Let it be buried. Oh, yeah, but... But... But...

He's gone.

Who were you talking to, Pop?

Oh, just to myself.

That's how happy your Papa is.

Oh, Giovanni, I've got to tell you.

Amalfi is a great violin maker again.

We've got the secret. I told you it'd come back.

Pop, don't try and talk me or yourself into anything, huh? You do what you

And I'm no talking nobody into nothing. You just listen.

I'm going to show you something for your own ears.

Pop, will you listen to me for a second? You listen.

Chopped fully like this one.

And violins, they're going to be proud to play a violin made by Amalfi.

No, Pop, not Amalfi. What do you mean, no Amalfi?

Amalfi and son.

Giovanni.

Say,

Uncle Martin.

Guess what?

You just met Mrs. Brown, and because the Amalfi violins have gone up in value

and price, she has given up the violin completely.

Spoilsport. Well, anyway, you ought to feel good. With no more violins around,

you don't have to worry about people suddenly seeing through you.

And I'm also grateful that Mrs. Brown didn't dig up another horrible violin to

torture my nervous system.

Oh yes!