Subgenre Sampler
Classical Music: 137 Films to Buy & Rent
Wagner (1983)
- Dir. Tony Palmer
Feat. Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud…
- Epic tele–production with Richard Burton as the manic German composer. Includes the Tony Palmer documentaries "In From the Cold? A Portrait of…
Diva (1982)
- Dir. Jean-Jacques Beineix
Feat. Frederic Andrei, Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, Richard Bohringer…
- Stylish romantic thriller in which an opera–intoxicated youth bootlegs a concert of an unrecorded opera star which leads to trouble with shady…
Once, at a Border - Tony Palmer's film about Stravinsky (1982)
- Dir. Tony Palmer
- Another exceptional documentary from Tony Palmer, this time about Igor Stravinsky, the "most important and influential composer of the 20th century".…
Yes, Giorgio (1982)
- Dir. Franklin J. Schaffner
Feat. Luciano Pavarotti, Kathryn Harrold
- Enjoyable romance has Pavarotti as an Opera singer (what else?) who loses his voice but finds love with throat specialist Harrold.
Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould (1981)
- Dir. Bruno Monsaingeon
- Carefully prepared filming of Glenn Gould's second version of Bach's 'Goldberg Variations', pieced together over 5 years.
From Mao to Mozart (1980)
- Dir. Murray Lerner
- Deserving winner of the Best Documentary Oscar follows violinist Isaac Stern on his concert and tutorial tour of China in 1979. A film as moving as…
Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was (1979)
- Dir. Tony Palmer
- Revered British composer Benjamin Britten’s life and times is given the royal Tony Palmer treatment in this comprehensive, loving portrait of…
Orchestra Rehearsal, The (1978)
- Dir. Federico Fellini
Feat. Baldwin Baas, Clara Colosimo, Elizabeth Labi
- A comedy of the absurd about a group of orchestra musicians who stage a revolt against the conductor after the building collapses. Allegory may be…
Bolshoi Ballet - Ivan the Terrible (1976)
- The Bolshoi Ballet present their version of Sergei Prokofiev's 'Ivan the Terrible', choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich. Stars Yuri Vladimirov, Natalya…
Mahler (1974)
- Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Robert Powell, Lee Montague, Georgina Hale…
- Ken Russell's biopic on the life of the Jewish composer. As one critic observed – 'Whether the title of the opus is Mahler, Strauss or Elgar,…