At the Haunted End of the Day remains the only full-length documentary on Sir William Walton, and is probably the most perceptive of Tony Palmer's composer studies from the 1980s. The first half of Walton's life is the stuff of novels: his unremarkable childhood in Oldham; his years as a chorister at Oxford University; his induction into "high society" by the Sitwell family; above all, the series of major works written during the 1920s and early 30s. The second half--when Walton relocated to Ischia and, surrounded by the tropical garden his wife Susana created, continued to compose impressive but often overlooked works--allows for some stunning footage of the Italian coastline.
Musical contributions are plentiful, notably the young Simon Rattle directing Belshazzar's Feast and the First Symphony, and there are revealing interviews with Sacheverell Sitwell and Laurence Olivier. Interspersed throughout is film of the composer at work and in transit: laconic, self-deprecating, yet resolutely aware of his own worth.
This DVD was made two years before Sir William Walton’s death and was the winner of the prestigious Prix Italia documentary award.
‘Walton was lucky to have found in Palmer a director who clearly understands the nature of genius. A true meeting of minds which has produced a
great and timeless film’ – The Times
Region Code: Region 4 PAL
Release Date : --
