Testimony: Tony Palmer's Story of Shostakovich (1988)

• 72%
• 1988

Oscar winner Ben Kingsley stars as Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich in this fascinating biopic from director Tony Palmer. Based loosely on Shostakovich's memoirs that were dictated to and edited by his colleague Solomon Volkov, the film focuses on the composer's complex dealings with Joseph Stalin and the Soviet government, a relationship that included official denunciations of his music and the periodic banning of his work.