A Time There Was

On the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, composer, conductor and pianist, UC Presents celebrates Britten as the twentieth century’s consummate musician during a five-week Britten Festival. Filmmaker Tony Palmer profiles Benjamin Britten in this prize-winning documentary that mixes biography with musical excerpts and archival rehearsal footage.

"Palmer is a master of the medium - he takes us into the minds of men of music and explains why they accomplished what they did. This is the most absorbing film ever made about a composer, how he worked, what he thought and what made him what he was. It is as important as any book written on the man and his music." John Ardoin, The New York Times

(Tony Palmer, 1979, UK/West Germany, 103 min)