Ken Russell's Elgar has attained classic status in the realm of television documentaries since it was first shown on November 11th, 1962 as the 100th programme in the BBC's Monitor series. Made at a time when much that is now known about Elgar had yet to be published, Russell's film is remarkable for its sensitive portrait of the rise of a young musician from a relatively poor background to international fame.

The film was also groundbreaking, in that for the first time the BBC relaxed its taboo on using actors in factual films, although Russell was only allowed to use actors if they appeared in long shot and spoke no dialogue. As Russell's tribute to music he loved, the film is evocative, visually superb and true to the elegaic nobility of Elgar's music.