Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ken Russell's First, 27 May 2003
This is a classic documentary, the first of Ken Russell’s BBC films about composers. The scene in the cornfield with the music of Salut d’Amour has stayed with me ever since the original TV transmission forty years ago. Again and again Russell matches image and music to stunning effect, and his love of the music is infectious. As so often with him, scenes of exquisite sensitivity and taste are succeeded by others of plonking over-emphasis, and the constraints of 1962 TV make the film seem dated in places (actors in documentaries were not allowed to speak, let alone romp naked in sex scenes). It should also be noted that a lot has been discovered about Elgar since this was shot – so we don’t hear anything about ‘Windflower’ for example.A huge bonus is the delightfully impromptu commentary in which Russell is interviewed by Michael Kennedy. The opening scene shows young Elgar riding a white pony over the Malvern Hills. When Kennedy points out that Elgar never rode, Russell says ‘Well, somebody rides a white horse in most of my films…’ He remembers Huw Weldon warning ‘not too many crucifixes now, Russell’. And we hear of his plans for a Wagner musical: ‘no singing, just the orchestra and people dancing… on motorcycles’. I could go on quoting… Russell is just as interesting a character as Elgar – someone should make a documentary about him. The extra features include silent film of the Three Choirs Festival showing Elgar and Vaughan Williams, other luminaries of the English music scene and even George Bernard Shaw. The stills gallery has some excellent and evocative shots of the filming, including the whole film crew crammed in the back of a 60s estate car filming the white horse sequence. The whole package is very worthwhile.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic, 26 Mar 2003
This is a classic documentary. The scene in the cornfield with the music of Salut d’Amour has stayed with me ever since the original TV transmission forty years ago. Again and again Russell matches image and music to stunning effect, and his love of the music is infectious. As so often with him, scenes of exquisite sensitivity and taste are succeeded by others of plonking over-emphasis, and the constraints of the TV of the time make the film seem dated in places, but these are small faults. It should also be noted that a lot has been discovered about Elgar since this was shot – so we don’t hear anything about ‘Windflower’ for example.A huge bonus is the delightfully impromptu commentary in which Russell is interviewed by Michael Kennedy. The opening scene shows young Elgar riding a white pony over the Malvern Hills. When Kennedy points out that Elgar never rode, Russell says ‘Well, somebody rides a white horse in most of my films…’ He remembers Huw Weldon warning ‘not too many crucifixes now, Russell’. And we hear of his plans for a Wagner musical: ‘no singing, just the orchestra and people dancing… on motorcycles’. I could go on quoting… Russell is just as interesting a character as Elgar – someone should make a documentary about him. The extra features include silent film of the Three Choirs Festival showing Elgar and Vaughan Williams, other luminaries of the English music scene and even George Bernard Shaw. The stills gallery has some excellent and evocative shots of the filming, including the whole film crew crammed in the back of a 60s estate car filming the white horse sequence. The whole package is very worthwhile.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Early Russell - and good Elgar, 30 Jan 2003
I'm not ashamed to say that this piece (made for BBC's 'Monitor' programs of the early '60s) got me interested in Elgar. The composer is always just off-camera, so that we see his feet, or the back of his head, or suchlike. The life story is told in narration - but don't get the idea that the item (it's not really a 'film') is dull. It's quite engaging - the best word for it. Elgar is seen tobogganing down a hill to a piece from the Enigma variations; Elgar playing practical jokes on his friends. Unlike Disney's 'Fantasia's, Russell always seems to have a genuine interest in the musical subject. It's predictable at times, and watchers must remember that Russell is still learning his craft here; there are no shocking images, no juxtapositions, no dancing nazis (as in Mahler). This can be watched with the nearest maiden aunt without a qualm. The show has an Edwardian feel for it. In short, worthwhile for interested Russell fans, and for music fans. Only strongly recommended for Elgar fans.
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