Ken Russell
DirectingHenry 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."
Known For
Tales of Erotica
Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited)
The Russia House
Walter
Tommy
Cripple (uncredited)
The Lair of the White Worm
Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
Whore
Waiter (uncredited)
Valentino
Rex Ingram (uncredited)
Mr. Nice
Russell Miegs
Twiggy
(archival footage)
Gothic
Tourist
Savage Messiah
Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
Filmography — Acting
Tales of Erotica
Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited)
The Russia House
Walter
Tommy
Cripple (uncredited)
The Lair of the White Worm
Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
Whore
Waiter (uncredited)
Valentino
Rex Ingram (uncredited)
Mr. Nice
Russell Miegs
Twiggy
(archival footage)
Gothic
Tourist
Savage Messiah
Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
Trapped Ashes
Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Colour Me Kubrick
The Man In Nightgown
Celebrity Naked Ambition
Self - Contributor
100 Greatest Sexy Moments
Self
Salome's Last Dance
Cappadocian
Brothers of the Head
Himself
The Who: The Kids Are Alright
Self
Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil
Self (archive footage)
The Aristofrogs
Hell on Earth: The Desecration & Resurrection of The Devils
Self
Empire of the Censors
Self
A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema
Self
The Fall of the Louse of Usher
Dr. Calahari
Vem Var Dracula
Self
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Captain Patterson
The Real Oliver Reed
Self
Alice in Russialand
Don’t Shoot the Composer
Himself
The Who: One Band's Explosive Story
Self (archive footage)
Music for the Movies: Georges Delerue
Self
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Himself
Song of Summer
Priest
Director of Devils
Self
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Bax
The Devils Original on-set footage
A Kitten for Hitler
Santa
Lion's Mouth
Ken
10 Best Elgar
Self (archive footage)
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
Mr. Kirsch
Boudica Bites Back
Roman Senator
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait
Self
Revenge of the Elephant Man
The Real Blue Nuns
Self
Walk With The Damned
Hood
Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song
Himself
PuzzleFace
god
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
Narrator (voice)
Russell at Work
Your Honour, I Object! Guccione V Russell
Filmography — Crew
Tales of Erotica
Director
The Devils
Director
Tommy
Director
Altered States
Director
Crimes of Passion
Director
The Lair of the White Worm
Director
Aria
Director
Whore
Director
Women in Love
Director
Valentino
Director
Billion Dollar Brain
Director
Gothic
Director
The Rainbow
Screenplay
Lisztomania
Director
Savage Messiah
Director
Trapped Ashes
Director
Mahler
Director
The Music Lovers
Director
The Boy Friend
Director
Salome's Last Dance
Director
Prisoner of Honor
Director
Dogboys
Producer
Women and Men: Stories of Seduction
Director
The Diary of a Nobody
Director
The Fall of the Louse of Usher
Director
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Director
French Dressing
Director
Treasure Island
Director
The Debussy Film
Director
Dante's Inferno
Director
A House in Bayswater
Director
Alice in Russialand
Director
Don’t Shoot the Composer
Director
Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill
Director
Always on Sunday
Director
Dance of the Seven Veils
Director
Faust
Director
Peepshow
Director
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Writer
Song of Summer
Director
Amelia and the Angel
Director
Mindbender
Director
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Writer
Bela Bartók
Director
London Moods
Director
Variations on a Mechanical Theme
Director
A Kitten for Hitler
Director
Il Mefistofele
Director
Old Battersea House
Director
Elgar
Director
The Miners' Picnic by Ken Russell
Director
The Mystery of Dr Martinu
Writer
Lion's Mouth
Director
The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner
Director
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
Director
Boudica Bites Back
Director
The Planets
Director
Shelagh Delaney's Salford
Director
From Spain to Streatham
Director
Journey Into a Lost World
Director
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible
Director
A Bedlington Miners' Picnic
Director
The Light Fantastic
Director
The Preservation Man
Director
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
Producer
The Lonely Shore
Director
Pop Goes the Easel
Director
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait
Director
Pandora's Box: It's All Coming Back to Me Now
Director
John Betjeman: A Poet in London
Director
Portrait of a Goon
Director
Revenge of the Elephant Man
Producer
Antonio Gaudí
Director
Prokofiev
Director
Scottish Painters
Director
Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song
Director
Lourdes
Director
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
Director
Mr Chesher’s Traction Engines
Director
Watch the Birdie
Director
Gordon Jacob
Director
Knights on Bikes
Director