In Search of the English Folk Song

By all accounts an ardent enthusiast of folk music, iconoclastic and controversial English director Ken Russell (Lisztomania, The Rainbow) headlines the documentary In Search of the English Folk Song. In this program, Russell undertakes a long journey from New Forest, Hampshire, to Cropredy for the Fairport Convention and then to Glastonbury - a journey in which the filmmaker both investigates the roots of British folk music and attempts to carefully separate that tradition from the Gaelic styles so often intertwined with it. As an added bonus, this program features performances by such musicians as Donovan, Bob Appleyard, Eliza Carthy and Fairport Convention.