Elgar: Portrait of a Composer (Ken Russell) Part 4 / 4

[kogepanm]

thank you very much for uploading!

[LydiaBeddoe]

Thanks exenbay. Evocative memories of Malvern as it was and Worcester as it was. You made an old girl very happy

[xenbay]

@LydiaBeddoe you're very welcome Lydia, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Elgar's house and Malvern are not far from me so I plan to ride there to see where Elgar lived and take at look at those stunning views. I will film it and upload.

[JohanDeSilentio]

Oh, Nimrod! Oh, England! Oh, Elgar!

[TK42138]

Superb film - it has the immediacy of a home movie - slightly shaky shots and zooms but that's part of the appeal. It didn't need to be a big budget overblown production instead it's a touching tribute to one of Englands finest composers. RIP Ken - you were a true visionary.

[TK42138]

Shame he never got round to making a film on Ralph Vaughn Williams. I guess back in the sixties RVW's work wasn't as widely recognised as Elgars.

[MsPeperonata]

@TK42138 There was a very good ninety-minute programme on BBC4 in October 2010: "The Passions of Vaughan Williams". Well worth watching if it gets repeated.

[caley956]

Surely nobody could watch the last five minutes of this without a tear in their eye. I had forgotten, until Ken's death, what an enormous influence this film had. Russell (and Mr. Weldon, and the production team) went straight to the heart of Elgar - I guess it's for want of a better phrase, magic realism of the best sort. Hardyfh1 below said it all better than me.

[hardyfh1]

Ken always went beyond the facts to reach for a deeper truth. That he got to that truth as often as he did is testimony to the man's genius. You can get the facts in a book. Ken Russell gave us an experience. The world has been missing Ken for some time now and it has been a sorrier place for that. That's our fault for letting the familiar and the mediocre roll all over us. Work like this will endure and will, hopefully, continue to inspire.

[keesvangulik127]

Thank you for posting. I had a wonderful hour watching a summary of one of my favourite composers.

[bonpourvous]

The last few minutes when Nimrod is playing are very beautiful and moving,

thank you Ken and thank you xenbay for this upload.

[AlfieNoakes23]

RIP Ken Russell. The use of the Introduction and Allegro for Strings throughout this film was truly inspired. He may have played a bit fast and loose with the facts and the chronology but I would easily give all of the current BBC Imagine series for a minute of Russell's insight and commitment to his subject.

He managed to get access to all Elgar's homes to film, including Marl Bank (5 mins into this portion) which was pulled down a few years later.

[PaulHummerman]

Thanks for posting this wonderful old film: I remember almost every scene from when I saw it when it first broadcast. The combination of Russell, Weldon and Elgar is so powerful!