Salome's Last Dance from 1988.
Ken Russell filming Oscar
Wilde´s Salome.
Like The Boyfriend Russell films
the staging of a play, Wilde´s biblical story of Salome
who dances the seven veils and demands as a price the
head of John. And like The Boyfriend an unknown becomes
the star of the show. Russell has Wilde watching the
privately staged performance and interacting throughout.
The story takes place in real-time.
An erotic film packed with imagery. I hated it
the first time I saw it, now I love
it. The acting is good throughout with Glenda Jackson on
form, and Stratford Johns giving his best performance
ever.
To save money the music was made up of
out-of-copyright compositions. It was filmed at the Cannon
Studio in Barnet. The schedule was three weeks.
Linzi Drew, one of the slave girls says "When
Salome premiered in the West End, Ken thought it would be a gas to turn
up in an open-topped limousine accompanied by his topless slave girls.
We travelled through central London, our gold-tipped bosoms bared, and
we were even given a police escort on the way".
|