The story of the great Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) and his life and career during the rule of Stalin.
Acting
Kingsley's trembling restraint is masterclass in fear.
Score
Shostakovich's actual music becomes character, not decoration.
Director
Tony Palmer
Ben Kingsley
Dmitri Shostakovich
Terence Rigby
Joseph Stalin
Ronald Pickup
Marshall Tukhachevsky
John Shrapnel
Andre Zhdanov
Vernon Dobtcheff
Gargolovsky
Brook Williams
H.G. Wells
Peter Woodthorpe
Alexander Glazunov
William Squire
Khatchaturyan
Dorota Kwiatkowska
Anna Akhmatova
Liza Goddard
English Humanist
Murray Melvin
Film Editor
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shostakovich's memoir 'Testimony' was published posthumously and its authenticity is still debated by historians.
Terence Rigby's Stalin reportedly terrified the crew so thoroughly that some avoided him on set entirely.
DK
US
