Commissioned by Melvyn Bragg and 'The South Bank Show', in a co-production with Isolde Films and RTE, this film celebrates one of the most under-estimated and yet most popular composers. Filmed with his family and friends, it includes extracts from his movies and many performances of his works, including the famous Clarinet Concerto written for Benny Goodman. Tony Palmer's 2-hour film does not shirk the darker side of Arnold's life, however. It stages the triumph of man of indomitable will against all the odds, the story of a great survivor.