GLENN GOULD: The acclaimed Canadian pianist was a mass of contradictions

Great geniuses can be terribly boring, and compelling individuals can be devoid of any gifts save charm. Glenn Gould, however, who lived his life on the balance point between genius and madness, was a virtuoso who couldn't have been more fascinating.

One of the most significant pianists ever, the Canadian-born Gould, who died in 1982 at age 50, has already been the subject of a sublime fictional treatment, Francois Girard's "Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould."

Now filmmakers Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, who worked together on the excellent "Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire," have joined forces again for "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould," a thoughtful, confident, completely engrossing documentary about a cultural figure every bit as iconic as Jim Morrison or James Dean.