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List Price: $29.99Amazon.com's Price: $26.99 You Save: $3.00 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0032031800595
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: Kultur Video
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kultur Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Running Time: 151 minutes
Sales Rank: 25215
Studio: Kultur Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1988-11
Editorial Review:
Description:
Testimony is one of those comparatively rare events nowadays – a real piece of cinema. Tony Palmer’s prowess as an editor, his knack of juxtaposing image and music – something which has remained his forte since he first caused a stir back in the Sixties with Buddhist monks burning to The Beatles – has a field day in Testimony. Most importantly for a movie about a composer, there is always the feeling that Palmer understands the music. For a start he puts to rest the hoary old cliché that the private Shostakovich is only to be found in his chamber music – try listening to the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Fourteenth symphonies – but he also brings vividly alive musical details (like the composer’s use of unison scoring) in colour sequences showing the orchestra, as in the climax of the Fifth..... a truly remarkable film. Starring Ben Kingsley.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Warning: Shameful Transfer!!
Having watched a 1-hour version of this film several years ago on TV, I was elated at finding out the complete version was on DVD. So much for the good news. When I started watching it I thought something was wrong with my DVD player; unfortunately (or fortunately!) there was nothing wrong with the player... the quality of the transfer is just horrible, equal to a very worn out VHS tape. For the price this is going for, it's highway robbery. You've been warned. By the way, the film is excellent... ... Read More
Rating:  - In the Eye of the Beholder
Tony Palmer appears to have made a documentary on just about every musician in the world, and generally gets high ratings. My first purchase was "England, My England -- The Story of Henry Purcell" (151 minutes). All I saw were actors walking around in old clothes with a few snippets of Purcell's music in the background. Unfortunately, I didn't learn from the experience: I bought the Shostakovich documentary!
"Testimony", supposedly based on Solomon Volkov's book about Shostakovich (which ... Read More
Rating:  - Shostakovich via cinema verite merged with music video
Anyone expecting a literal retelling of tales from Solomon Volkov's book "Testimony" is going to be disappointed and bewildered by Tony Palmer's cinematic account, for this is more a 150-minute metaphor and music video than narrative of the life and times of DSCH.
Make no mistake, this is a stunning piece of cinema verite, an art form described in one place as, "A form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement." The scenes ... Read More
Rating: - Really awful
I wanted to like this film but it is long and boring. Ben Kingsley did a nice job with what he had but this movie is ill-conceived. There are lots of shots of machinery, train engines and molten steel set to Shostakovich's music. The integration of black and white with color did not help. This is only for the really hard-core Shostakovich fan and then don't expect many insights. I want my 2 1/2 hours back !
Rating: - Great Film of a Great Composer, but....
... the video transfer appears to be absolutely awful. It looks like it might have been transferred from video table instead of from the original negative or even a good print. In order to squeeze a movie that is more than two hours long onto a single-sided DVD they must have used lower quality compression. Rather expensive for a DVD of such low quality.
If you haven't seen the movie before and you love Shostakovich, buy a used copy, save your money, and enjoy. You won't be disappointed.
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