Reviewer: (david.tall@btinternet.com) from Kenilworth, England
After over thirty years, Ken Russell's exquisite portrait of the last years
of Frederick Delius is
available for sale. Those of us who taped the original 1968 production
will remember the
opening moments in which the young Fenby accompanied a silent Laurel and
Hardy film - a rude
awakening to a moving production whose other music is exclusively by Delius
himself. The
Laurel and Hardy copyright prevented the earlier commercial release of
this production; here the
problem is solved by omitting it entirely. The action therefore begins
with the next scene,
idyllically by the sea, north of Scarborough, as Fenby (played by the late
Christopher Gable)
notes down the sounds of nature. The rest of the film is presented uncut.
It is a moving work of
genius, which Russell claims to be his greatest creation.
The DVD includes a brief printed biography of Russell and a full-length
spoken director's
commentary. The latter is particularly enlightening, commenting not only
on how the film and its
individual scenes came to be made, but also on Russell's relationship with
Eric Fenby - who
provided the main source of material from his book 'Delius as I knew him'
- and with the three
main actors, Max Adrian as Delius, Maureen Prior as his wife and Christopher
Gable as the
young Fenby. As Russell confirms in his commentary, Fenby felt that it
was absolutely true to
character. Eric Fenby was renowned in his later life, as was Delius, for
the plain-speaking that is
characteristic of Yorkshiremen. I was privileged to know him personally
and can confirm his
admiration of how Max Adrian followed his suggestions to act precisely
like Delius. Maureen
Pryor's performance had an Englishness that was not entirely in keeping
with the character of
Delius's German wife Jelka, and Christopher Gable's otherwise profound
performance was
framed with a Yorkshire accent that would have provoked amusement from
both himself and
Delius. As Russell remarks, the small budget for the film meant that they
were unable to use
Delius's original house in Grez-sur-loing. This makes Percy Grainger's
trick of throwing a ball
over the roof, running through the house and catching it on the other side
an amazing feat The
original Delius house has a broad opening in the middle going from the
road straight to the
garden, making the task somewhat easier, though still remarkable. Likewise
other aspects show
Russell's fertile imagination outstripping the truth. Delius purchased
several masterpieces from his
circle in Paris, including Gaugin's 'Nevermore', but he did not possess
'the scream' by Munch
which the film shows on the wall in Fenby's room. Such trivia pale into
total insignificance
compared with the inspired characterisations of the performers and the
unerring rightness of
Russell's choice of Delius's music. The perfection of the climax of 'Song
of the High Hills' as
Delius is carried to the top of a mountain to see his last sunset is an
unforgettable moment of
sheer genius. Now, at last, it is available for us all to savour.