Tony Palmer is a British film director and author. His work includes over 100 films, ranging from early works with The Beatles, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa (200 Motels), to his classical portraits which include profiles of Maria Callas, Margot Fonteyn, John Osborne, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Wagner, Yehudi Menuhin, Carl Orff, Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams. He is also a stage director of theatre and opera. Among over 40 international prizes for his work are 12 Gold Medals from the New York Film Festival as well as numerous BAFTAs and Emmy Awards. Palmer has won the Prix Italia twice,for A Time There Was in 1980 and At the Haunted End of the Day in 1981. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and an honorary citizen of both New Orleans and Athens. Description above from the Wikipedia article Tony Palmer, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- August 29, 1941 (85)
- London
- Director, editor and writer, also actor, cinematographer and producer
- 17 on Motif · 66 credits in all
Known for
What are Tony Palmer's films like?
Across their 15 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 14
A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 5 · Dark 2
Grounded 12 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1
Gentle 6 · Charged 8 · Intense 1
Steady 11 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 7 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 8 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 1
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet8
- Ambiguous6
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Tony Palmer's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 17 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Tony Palmer's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
66 credits, 17 with a Motif page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Leonard Cohen: The Bird on a Wire Concerts (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2024)
Motif score: 80th percentile of all films
The Beatles And World War II (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2017)
Vangelis: The Interviews (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)
Britten: Nocturne (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)
Motif score: 83rd percentile of all films
The Piano Room(2013)
Motif score: 58th percentile of all films
Motif score: 60th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Beware of Mr. Baker(2012)
Motif score: 96th percentile of all films
Holst: In the Bleak Midwinter (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2011)
Rope Ladder to the Moon (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2010)
Motif score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Wagner Family (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2009)
O, Fortuna! (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2008)
O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2007)
Hail Bop! A Portrait of John Adams (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2006)
Tangerine Dream at Coventry Cathedral (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2006)
The Salzburg Festival(2006)
Motif score: 87th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Margot(2005)
Motif score: 86th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Toward the Unknown Region: Malcolm Arnold - A Story of Survival (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)
Hero: The Bobby Moore Story (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)
Ladies & Gentlemen, Miss Renée Fleming (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)
The Strange Case of Delfina Potocka (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1999)
Parsifal: The Search for the Grail (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1998)
The Kindness of Strangers (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1998)
The Harvest of Sorrow(1998)
Motif score: 85th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Fantastic World of Michael Crawford (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1996)
Brahms and the Little Singing Girls (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1996)
England, My England (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1995)
Henryk Górecki: The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1993)
Menuhin, A Family Portrait (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1991)
The Children (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1990)
Hindemith: A Pilgrim's Progress (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1990)
Testimony (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1988)
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1988)
Code Name Vengeance (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1987)
God Rot Tunbridge Wells! (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1985)
Puccini (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1984)
Wagner(1983)
Motif score: 44th percentile of all shows
Stravinsky: Once at a Border... (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1982)
Death in Venice (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1981)
At the Haunted End of the Day (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1981)
The Space Movie (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1980)
Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was… (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1979)
Callas: A Documentary(1978)
Motif score: 89th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Wigan Casino (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1977)
Mighty Good: The Beatles (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1977)
All You Need Is Love(1977)
Motif score: 33rd percentile of all shows
Bernstein Mahler Rehearsal (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1976)
Harriet at Play (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1976)
Motif score: 98th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Harriet At Butlins (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1974)
The World of Miss World (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1974)
The World of Liberace(1973)
Motif score: 39th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Ginger Baker: In Africa (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1973)
The World of Hugh Hefner (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1973)
Fairport Convention and Matthews Southern Comfort (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1972)
200 Motels(1971)
Motif score: 42nd percentile of all films
Performance(1970)
Motif score: 74th percentile of all films
Colosseum and Juicy Lucy (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1970)
Motif score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Cream: Farewell Concert (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1969)
All My Loving (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1968)
Benjamin Britten and His Festival (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1967)
The Burning Fiery Furnace (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1967)
Alice in Wonderland (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1966)
Career shape
A full career of 63 titles from 1966 to 2024.
Biggest box office
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (2019)
Highest rated
Beware of Mr. Baker (2012)
Most popular right now
The Harvest of Sorrow (1998)
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.
How do Tony Palmer's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 15; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 88th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th4
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 17 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive2
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 41/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Tony Palmer work with?
People who share at least 2 of Tony Palmer's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rob Ayling shares the most, 7.
Actors
- Leonard CohenShared titles: Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (2019), Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire (1974)See all 2 shared titles with Leonard Cohen
Cinematographers
- Les YoungShared titles: Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire (1974), Rory Gallagher: Irish Tour '74 (1974)See all 2 shared titles with Les Young
Producers
- Rob AylingShared titles: Vangelis and the Journey to Ithaka (2013), Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard (2012), The Salzburg Festival (2006), Margot (2005), The Harvest of Sorrow (1998), Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire (1974), The World of Liberace (1973)See all 7 shared titles with Rob Ayling
