In association with

O Thou Transcendent - The Life Of Ralph Vaughan Williams [2007]
from Tony Palmer Films/ Select Music & Video Distribution
directed by Tony Palmer

Features:

• Colour
• NTSC

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

• A truly enjoyable documentary
  This film is worth watching from many perspectives. The life of Vaughan Williams is portrayed in a balanced way, the excerpts from his music are beautifully played and presented, the interviews are excellent and informative. Interesting narrative and a great subject all make this a film for all abilities and backgrounds, from the lay person to the professional musician.

• A disappointment.....
  As someone who enjoys the music of RVW as well as the general excellence of British documentary composition (Grier, Anstey, Jennings) I have to say that "O Thou Transcendent" was a disappointment. My suggestion is to rent, but do not purchase.
  First, unless one already has some knowledge of the life of RVW the documentary's narrative could, and probably will, become very confusing. The time lines are constantly cross backwards and forwards. Second, where is the 3rd symphony? The documentary mentions... more info

• Marvellous, but...
  As a biography of R.V.W. it is a marvellous compilation of facts and music
  samples.
  Slightly annoying, however, that the picture material is not adapted to a general format. So historical film sequences appear "broadened", i.e. with horizontally inflated proportions.

• A case for letting the music do all the talking
  The solitary indisputable triumph of this film lies in the performances of extracts from many of the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams. With one exception, they are very well performed; well enough, I suspect and hope, to inspire those unfamiliar with the composer's works to seek out complete recordings, or, better still, live performances. The problem, however, is that the quality of the music and of the performances disguises the truly threadbare nature of everything else in this documentary. It is a... more info

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