Andre Previn: The Kindness of Strangers: A Portrait by Tony Palmer

Andre Previn turned seventy in 1999. From Berlin refugee to multi-Oscar-winning film score composer, from great jazz pianist to chief conductor of both the London Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, through four marriages including Mia Farrow and present wife Heather, with an honorary knighthood for his services to British music, his story is extraordinary. Previn's remarkable career reached a climax in September 1998 with the premier of his first opera, a Streetcar Named Desire. He also conducted the production at the San Francisco Opera, with Rene Fleming as Blanche. This film tells the story of the making of the opera, based on Tennessee Williams' controversial stage play, and follows the backstage trials and tribulations from first rehearsals through to opening night. Previn talks candidly about the experience and relates it to his international life and career. Andre Previn has stood center stage in the world of music for the last fifty years. Tony Palmer's ninety-minute documentary, filmed in America, Japan, Germany, Austria and England, tells both why and how.