Product Description

Tony Palmer's in-depth portrait of one of the greatest English composers of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten. The English Chamber Orchestra perform extracts from Britten's works, including 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra', 'Peter Grimes', 'Death in Venice' and 'Billy Budd', and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114965 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-27
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 16:9 - 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Review
A captivating and insightful documentary about the tortured soul of Benjamin Britten... essential viewing. --* * * * * Classic FM

An alluring portrait. --* * * * BBC Music Magazine

[This film] creates a picture of the whole man, from precocious childhood in Lowestoft to death, and the whole artist alongside. Even if (like me), your knowledge of classical music as a whole is sparse at best, Britten's remarkable life story, and the struggles and ideas within it, are of interest on their own. Palmer shows you how to hear all the different stages in his life, from radical young 20-something to illness-ravaged old man, in the accompanying works. You begin to see beneath the beauty of the music to the conflicts underneath. --* * * * - Stool Pigeon

About the Actor
Director Tony Palmer's vast filmography of over 100 films ranges from early works with The Beatles, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa (200 Motels), to his famous classical portraits which include profiles of Maria Callas, Margot Fonteyn, John Osborne, Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten. His film on Wagner, starring Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier and Vanessa Redgrave, was described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the most beautiful films ever made". Among over 40 international prizes for his work are 12 Gold Medals from the New York Film Festival as well as numerous BAFTAs and EMMYs. Tony Palmer is the only person to have won the Prix Italia twice. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in England, and honorary citizen of both New Orleans and Athens.

About the Director
Director Tony Palmer's vast filmography of over 100 films ranges from early works with The Beatles, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa (200 Motels), to his famous classical portraits which include profiles of Maria Callas, Margot Fonteyn, John Osborne, Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten. His film on Wagner, starring Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier and Vanessa Redgrave, was described by the Los Angeles Times as ''one of the most beautiful films ever made''. Among over 40 international prizes for his work are 12 Gold Medals from the New York Film Festival as well as numerous BAFTAs and EMMYs. Tony Palmer is the only person to have won the Prix Italia twice. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in England, and honorary citizen of both New Orleans and Athens.