Movies: Tony Palmer

A run-down hotel room, a piano, a maid and the guests who stay there. Life begins, life ends, and lives are changed forever in the piano room....

In 1976 the pianist, entertainer and one of the biggest stars of the day, published a coffee table book about his collection of homes, jewellery and costumes called The Things I Love. This DVD is nothing more-nor-less than precisely that, as told to ...

Tony Palmer tells the life story of Sergei Rachmaninoff through the use of home movies, concert footage, and interviews. John Gielgud reads from Rachmaninoff's diaries in a voiceover....

After disbanding the original Mothers of Invention in '69, Frank Zappa unleashed a second incarnation of the band by '70. This film focuses on the sophomore Mothers and this often-overlooked period in Zappa's career. Featuring rare footage, exclusive...

Though perhaps best known for his star turn in Broadway's "The Phantom of the Opera," Michael Crawford has more than 30 years' worth of credits to his name. He also has plenty of stories to tell, as Tony Palmer's witty documentary reveals. Clips from...

Gustav Von Aschenbach, a passionate composer, arrives in Venice as a result of wanderlust and there meets a young man by whose beauty he becomes obsessed....

Director Tony Palmer tells the incredible life story of Athol Fugard, the prolific playwright, novelist, and director who exposed the horrors of South Africa's apartheid system for the entire world to see. Interviews with Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela...

Richard Wagner's operatic retelling of the story of the search for the Holy Grail receives a lavish production in this video, which records performances held in Bayreuth, St. Petersburg, and Ravello, Italy. Internationally renowned tenor Placido Domi...

No musical group has had as profound an impact on pop music as The Beatles. Tony Palmer's groundbreaking documentary gives us an intimate look at one of the most influential groups in musical history....

A one-hour documentary on the making of Frank Zappa's bizarre 1971 comic musical. Vintage private footage from Frank's personal archives plus behind-the-scenes of the actual shooting and recording. With Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, Keith Moon and suc...

This 1973 documentary by the award-winning director Tony Palmer shone a light on the multi-millionaire Hugh Hefner and his Playboy empire. It gave Hefner the opportunity to tell his story and, of course, it offended the usual suspects - Mary Whitehou...

A biographical look at the career of the acclaimed Margot Fonteyn. As a little girl called Peggy Hookham growing up in Shanghai, she told her mother she would one day become the greatest dancer in the world. Still performing at the age of 67 despite ...

Documentary covering the famous Wigan Casino northern soul venue and the working class kids who spend all their money not on alcohol but on records and dancing all night....

War footage meets the Bee Gees, Elton John, Tina Turner, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry and others as they belt out new arrangements of Beatles songs. The result is a truly original anti-war musical....

Keep on Burning tells the fascinating story of the world's most enduring underground music movement: Northern Soul. Featuring key DJ's, journalists and promoters, including soul radio pioneer Tony Blackburn, Marc Almond and key DJ's, journalists and ...

Tony Palmer directs this documentary exploring the life and work of the celebrated English composer, conductor and pianist. Britten is particularly well known for his operas, which include 'Peter Grimes' and 'Death in Venice'. Palmer discusses the li...

This is Palmer's highly controversial portrait of Brahms - a film that exploded the familiar image of 'stodgy old bearded Brahms' - a man whose first musical experience had been playing an upright piano in the brothels of Hamburg where he had grow...

Shot over the course of a year, this intimate portrait of provocative composer John Adams presents scenes of the artist at work and at play against the backdrop of dramatic American landscapes that reflect the themes of his music. Though he has a num...

A documentary by Tony Palmer on English composer Sir William Walton (1902–1983), made shortly before his death. The film includes the only full-length interview ever recorded with Walton. Filmed at his home on Ischia and in Oxford, London & Oldham, i...

70s Butlins documentary, part of a series of films directed by Tony Palmer, which was announced in The Stage [The Stage, 25 July 1974, p.14] "Tony Palmer is directing a new series with Harriet Crawley which will be seen in the HTV area. Tentatively t...