Movies: Tony Palmer

In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide—and the impact is both exotic and explosive....

The story of the great Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) and his life and career during the rule of Stalin....

A collection of unedited interviews with Vangelis recorded for the film Vangelis and The Journey To Ithaca in September 2008, which was subsequently finished without Tony Palmer....

Irish Tour '74 is a film which captures the artist, his music, the period and the place with perfection. Filmed in January 1974 at Belfast Ulster Hall, Dublin Carlton Cinema and Cork City Hall....

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....

"Touring makes you crazy," Frank Zappa says, explaining that the idea for this film came to him while the Mothers of Invention were touring. The story, interspersed with performances by the Mothers and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, is a tale of life ...

Soldier of fortune, Monroe Bieler, is sent to dole out some American-style justice when the wife and child of an African president are kidnapped by terrorists....

Rose Sellars is a middle-aged woman who falls in love with a widower. However, his children believe that their father is too old to start a new relationship....

1969's Apollo 11 mission to the moon is highlighted in this tribute to the history of the United States' space program....

Celebrated filmmaker Tony Palmer follows Leonard Cohen on his 1972 European tour. The film, after extensive re-editing from its initial version, opened in London in 1974. It was shown on German television, but it disappeared for decades and was consi...

Tony Palmer's award-winning feature-length documentary profile of Richard Burton....

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...

A documentary portrait of composer Malcolm Arnold. Broadcast in two parts on The South Bank Show but premiered in its entirety at the Royal Festival Hall...

Yet more archive film has been found from the famous 1972 tour, which formed the basis of the best-selling 2010 DVD Bird on a Wire. Concert material from the shows in Stockholm, Paris and the Albert Hall, with Cohen at the height of his powers perfor...

Tony Palmer appeared at Harrogate Film Festival on 12 March 2020 as part of a celebration of his work which included a screening of Mighty Good, his television documentary about the Beatles era. This independent documentary feature chronicles that oc...

The story of Henry Purcell....

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 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....

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...

Originally a BBC documentary, this film by Tony Palmer about the 1960's music scene was later released as a standalone DVD by the BFI...