Project Detail

Elgar: The Man Behind The Mask

Synopsis

The composer of 'Land of Hope and Glory' is often regarded as the quintessential English gentleman. But Edward Elgar's image of hearty nobility was deliberately contrived. In reality, he was the son of a shopkeeper, who was awkward, nervous, self-pitying and often rude. His marriage to his devoted wife Alice was complicated by romantic entanglements which fired his creative energy. In this revelatory portrait of a musical genius, John Bridcut explores the secret conflicts in Elgar's nature which produced some of Britain's greatest music.

Details

Year
2011
Type of film
Features
Running time
90 mins
Format
HDCAM SR
Director
John Bridcut
Producer
Fiona Morris, Jan Younghusband, Adam Barker
Editor
Sam Santana
Screenwriter
John Bridcut
Director of Photography
Vaughan Matthews
Sound
Paul Paragon, John Avery
Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Edward Gardner, James Creswell (bass), Schola Cantorum of Oxford, conductor James Burton, Mark Wilde, David Owen Norris

Production Status

Production Company

John Bridcut

Crux Productions Ltd
Liss Hampshire
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1730 894720

Prospect Pictures

Glen House
22 Glenthorne Road
London
W6 0NG
UK
Tel: +44 (0)208 563 9393
Fax: +44 (0)208 741 7214

Sales Company

DCD Rights

151 Wardour Street
London W1F 8WE
UK
Tel: + 44 (0)207 297 8021
Fax: + 44 (0)207 297 8022

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

No Women No Children No Women No Children

Director: Akporé Uzoh

Year: 2025

The aftermath of a sexual assault (rape). Exploring the deep-felt consequences for all involved. At its heart an epic story of a couple's fight for the survival of their love.

Spacewoman Spacewoman

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle. Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all. At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

Freeing Flipper (Working Title) Freeing Flipper (Working Title)

Director: Barney Douglas

Year: 2026

The extraordinary story of Richard “Ric” O’Barry, once the world’s highest-paid dolphin trainer, now their most passionate defender, risking his life and liberty to free these remarkable creatures from captivity. In the 1960s, Ric was America’s leading dolphin trainer at the Miami Seaquarium and the celebrated trainer behind the hit TV series Flipper, whose smiling stars enchanted a generation. Everything changed after the apparent suicide of one of the show’s dolphins, Kathie - a moment that shattered his beliefs and set him on a radical path from insider to activist. For over 50 years, Ric has led a global campaign against dolphin captivity. As founder of Dolphin Project, he has risked arrest, injury, and personal loss to rescue dolphins and expose the industry’s darkest secrets. Both celebrated and criticised, he remains steadfast that every captive dolphin can be returned to the wild. Told through intimate family access, joyous underwater imagery, and covert filming, Ric’s mission has transformed a non-issue into a global movement. Now 85, he must ask: after a lifetime spent freeing others, can he finally set himself free?