Testimony (1987)

The Evolution of Ben Kingsley (68 items)
list by Villiana

Movies about composers! (32 items)
list by dixie riddle cup

This is a cinematically innovative and philosophically engaging drama about the controversial life of the prolific Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Ben Kingsley gives a solid performance as the artist whose creativity was repeatedly restricted by the ideological rigors and aesthetic rigidity of the Communist Party. At the heart of the film is Shostakovich's attentiveness to the barbarities and power plays of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (Terence Rigby). British director Tony Palmer has fashioned a masterful biography of a major twentieth century artist.