Ken Russell's ABC of British Music

1988 1h 14m EN

🤯

10.0

MASTERPIECE

★10.0TMDB · 1

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A feat that fully matches its title, an alphabetical trawl through both the history of British music and Russell's own likes and dislikes, the latter summed up by a scene in which he takes a phone call and listens for a bit before concluding that 'it's either an obscene call or the beginning of Michael Tippett's Fourth Symphony.' Gleefully exploiting an already contrived format, Russell uses alphabetical coincidence as an excuse to throw wildly disparate material together: Elgar is fused with Elton John, Holst with Heavy Metal and Punk with Purcell.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ken Russell
Himself
Benjamin Britten
Self (archive)
John Lennon
Self (archive)
Thomas Dolby
Self
Edward Elgar
Self (archive)
Elton John
Self (archive)
Kate Bush
Self (archive)
Janet Baker
Self (archive)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ken Russell
Writers: Ken Russell
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Ken Russell and Benjamin Britten and John Lennon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1118507 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ken Russell directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Ken Russell and Benjamin Britten and John Lennon carry the top of the cast.
5IMDB entry: tt1118507 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.