Ken Russell

Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was an English film director. He is known for his pioneering work in television and film, and for his controversial style. He has been criticized as being over-obsessed with sexuality and the church. His subject matter is often about famous composers, or based on other works of art which he adapts loosely. Russell began directing for the BBC, where he did creative adaptations of composers' lives which were unusual for the time. He also directed many feature films independently and for studios. He is best known for his Oscar-winning romantic drama Women in Love (1969), the notoriously controversial The Devils (1971), the rock musical Tommy (1975), and the science fiction film Altered States (1980). One noted admirer, British film critic Mark Kermode, attempting to sum up the director's achievement, called Russell; "somebody who proved that British cinema didn't have to be about kitchen-sink realism – it could be every bit as flamboyant as Fellini. He now makes very strange experimental films like Lion's Mouth and Revenge of the Elephant Man, and they are as edgy and out there as the work he made in the 1970s."

Cast

Whore
Waiter (uncredited)
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait
Self
Gothic
Tourist
The Real Blue Nuns
Self
Tommy
Cripple (uncredited)
Trapped Ashes
Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Valentino
Rex Ingram (uncredited)
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Captain Patterson
Salome's Last Dance
Cappadocian
The Real Oliver Reed
Self
The Fall of the Louse of Usher
Dr. Calahari
A Kitten for Hitler
Santa
Hell on Earth: The Desecration & Resurrection of The Devils
Self
Music for the Movies: Georges Delerue
Self
Boudica Bites Back
Roman Senator
Savage Messiah
Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
Mr. Kirsch
Revenge of the Elephant Man
Unknown
Mr. Nice
Russell Miegs
Lion's Mouth
Ken
The Who: One Band's Explosive Story
Self (archive footage)
Vem Var Dracula
Self
Your Honour, I Object! Guccione V Russell
Unknown
Don’t Shoot the Composer
Himself
Brothers of the Head
Himself
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Himself
Director of Devils
Self
A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema
Self
10 Best Elgar
Self (archive footage)
The Russia House
Walter
Empire of the Censors
Self
Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil
Self (archive footage)
Song of Summer
Priest
Colour Me Kubrick
The Man In Nightgown
The Lair of the White Worm
Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
Walk With The Damned
Hood
Russell at Work
Unknown
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Bax
The Aristofrogs
Unknown
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible
Unknown
The Devils Original on-set footage
Unknown
PuzzleFace
god
Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song
Himself
The Who: The Kids Are Alright
Self
Twiggy
(archival footage)
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
Narrator (voice)
Alice in Russialand
Unknown
100 Greatest Sexy Moments
Self
Tales of Erotica
Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited)

Crew

French Dressing
Director
Billion Dollar Brain
Director
Tommy
Director, Screenplay, Producer
The Lair of the White Worm
Producer, Director, Screenplay
Whore
Director, Screenplay, Camera Operator
Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song
Director, Writer
Altered States
Director
The Devils
Director, Screenplay, Producer
The Boy Friend
Director, Screenplay, Producer
Gothic
Director
Crimes of Passion
Director
The Rainbow
Screenplay, Director, Producer
Trapped Ashes
Director
Valentino
Director, Screenplay
Women in Love
Director
Lisztomania
Director, Screenplay
Salome's Last Dance
Director, Screenplay
The Music Lovers
Director, Producer
Mahler
Director, Writer
Savage Messiah
Director, Producer
The Fall of the Louse of Usher
Director, Editor, Writer, Producer, Cinematography, Director of Photography
Song of Summer
Director, Writer
Dante's Inferno
Director
Dogboys
Director, Producer
A Kitten for Hitler
Writer, Director
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Writer, Director
Dance of the Seven Veils
Director, Writer
Amelia and the Angel
Director, Story, Cinematography, Writer
Elgar: Portrait of a Composer
Director, Writer
Tales of Erotica
Director, Writer
Mindbender
Writer, Director
Boudica Bites Back
Director, Screenplay
Prisoner of Honor
Director
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
Director, Writer
The Diary of a Nobody
Director, Writer
A House in Bayswater
Director, Writer
Pop Goes the Easel
Director
Revenge of the Elephant Man
Writer, Director, Producer
Lion's Mouth
Director, Screenplay
The Light Fantastic
Director
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait
Director, Producer, Writer
London Moods
Director
The Preservation Man
Director
From Spain to Streatham
Director
The Lonely Shore
Director
Bela Bartók
Director, Screenplay
The Debussy Film
Scenario Writer, Director
Kitsune
Thanks
Knights on Bikes
Director
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Director, Writer
Always on Sunday
Director, Scenario Writer, Producer
Shelagh Delaney's Salford
Director
Antonio Gaudí
Director
Old Battersea House
Director
Gordon Jacob
Director
Don’t Shoot the Composer
Director, Producer
Scottish Painters
Director
The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner
Director, Writer
Variations on a Mechanical Theme
Director
Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill
Director
Peepshow
Director
Journey Into a Lost World
Director
Mr Chesher’s Traction Engines
Director
Faust
Director
Alice in Russialand
Director
The Planets
Director
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible
Director, Writer
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Writer, Director
The Miners' Picnic by Ken Russell
Director
Prokofiev
Director
The Mystery of Dr Martinu
Writer, Director
Treasure Island
Director, Teleplay
Pandora's Box: It's All Coming Back to Me Now
Director
Watch the Birdie
Director
Aria
Writer, Director
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
Director, Producer, Writer
Il Mefistofele
Director
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
Choreographer, Producer, Writer, Director of Photography, Director
John Betjeman: A Poet in London
Director
A Bedlington Miners' Picnic
Director
Portrait of a Goon
Director
Women and Men: Stories of Seduction
Director
Lourdes
Director