Tony Palmer has made some of the finest music documentaries of the past quarter-century (including Tony Palmer's Film About Margot [VL-9/06] on ballerina Margot Fonteyn, and Tony Palmer's Film About the Salzburg Festival [VL-9/06]), and this 1979 portrait of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) ranks as one of his best. Britten was a composer of exceptional ability, penning brilliant pieces in virtually all musical forms, but he excelled in vocal music, particularly opera. As a gay pacifist (living in an era when homosexuality was still labeled as criminal) who fled from England to America during World War II, Britten acutely experienced the pain of being an outsider, which he expressed to remarkable effect in works such as Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, and Death in Venice, portions of which are presented here among a wide selection of musical excerpts. In addition, the film includes scenes of Britten rehearsing performances of such pieces as the children's opera Noye's Fludde (Britten grew into an expert conductor, and was also an accomplished pianist), and also segments on the building of the Maltings concert hall near Britten's home and his fostering of the Aldeburgh Festival. Interviews with colleagues such as Leonard Bernstein are also featured, while the less public side of Britten's life is presented through archival footage and interviews with family members, patrons, and even his longtime housekeeper, as well as extended reminiscences from Peter Pears, his companion for decades, for whom he wrote most of the great tenor parts in his works. A remarkably revealing and poignant portrait of one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Tony Palmer's Film About Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was…
(1979) 103 min. DVD: $29.99. Kultur International Films. ISBN: 0-7697-8418-6. Volume 22, Issue 2
Tony Palmer's Film About Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was…
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