Stars: Andre Previn

Director: Tony Palmer

Summary: A look at the life of one of the most distinguished conductors of all time.

Classical music conductor-composer-pianist Andre Previn has been a noteworthy presence in the music world for five whole decades. This fine documentary, directed by seasoned musical film director Tony Palmer, tells Previn's remarkable story. Chronicling his rise from a dispossessed Berlin refugee to an Academy Award-winning composer of film scores (GIGI, PORGY AND BESS) and conductor of two world-renowned orchestras, THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS is a fascinating musical portrait.

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Director Tony Palmer's appreciation of André Previn, The Kindness of Strangers, takes its title from Previn's biggest work to date, A Streetcar Named Desire, an opera based on the play by Tennessee Williams. Blanche Dubois, the leading character, speaks of her reliance on the kindness of strangers to see her through her troubles. The preparation for the opera cuts between Previn's other activities and forms the riveting climax to the film as opening night approaches, though it remains a moot point why these sequences should be accompanied by the 'Romanza' from Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony? Despite struggling to hear his singers in a hopelessly inadequate orchestra pit, Previn's common sense and humour win through. The film has many instances of this, as when reporting an anecdote to an orchestra of young musicians, Previn tells them that conducting is not an exalted calling of limousines and mistresses but more often a case of knowing where to get your underwear laundered.

Previn always has enjoyed the thrill of hearing his music performed fresh off the printed page from his first MGM title, The Sun Comes Up(starring Jeanette Macdonald and Lassie) to the San Francisco premiere of Streetcar. This beautifully shot film runs the gamut of his versatility, taking us to Germany to hear him conducting Ravel, advising a young conductor at Tanglewood on the complexity of a Richard Strauss score, playing Gershwin with bass player David Finck, and then at a haunt of yesteryear, a jazz club in New York: the nomadic life of an itinerant musician lives with him still it seems. This is an affectionate portrayal of a fine musician, sensitively directed. --Adrian Edwards

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	French, German
Year:	2001
Release Date:	January 29, 2001
Runtime:	90 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	100 150
Keywords:	Kindness, General, Strangers, Entertainment, Portrait, Previn, Andre, Documentaries, Biographies
Genre:	Documentaries & Biographies