Made at the request of the Stravinsky Estate to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky’s birth, this film traces the composer’s life and career from his childhood in St Petersburg to his death in America in 1971. The film includes documents, photos and rare footage of the composer, and features interviews with several individuals connected to Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes including Alexandra Danilova, Serge Lifar, Kyra Nijinsky (Nijinsky’s daughter) and Marie Rambert.
Regrettably, the ballet ‘excerpts’ in the film are of little interest. So much fancy camera work and intercutting with shots of the orchestra (and mountains!?) renders the dancing completely unintelligible—such a pity when the ballet footage included Monica Mason in Kenneth MacMillan’s Rite of Spring. Although the film drags a little towards the end, it is nevertheless a fine record of Stravinsky’s career and the material relating to the Ballets Russes is well covered.
Directed by Tony Palmer, 1982.
Region Code: 0
Format & Aspect Ratio: NTSC, 16:9
Number of discs: 1
Run time: 166 minutes
Studio: Kultur Video
DVD release date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7697-8709-1
