Ken Russell cold news 1

An archive of Ken Russell news. Click news above for the latest updates.

This page is no longer supported

Tommy in NSW, Australia

The Ritz Cinema in Randwick, NSW presents Tommy on 1 and 3 Dec 2024.
"This classic rock opera is brought energetically to life by an outstanding cast including many stars of the rock music industry. Told through the remarkable music of The Who, this is the story of Tommy, who, when just a boy of six, witnessed the murder of his father by his mother and her lover. They command him, 'You didn't hear it, you didn't see it, and you won't say anything to anyone...' As a result, the traumatised boy retreats into the shadows of his mind and becomes deaf, dumb and blind".
More details are on the Ritz site click here

For more on Tommy click here

Tommy in New York, USA

Story Screen Music Film present Tommy on 13 Nov 2024 in Hudson, New York.

"After seeing his stepfather murder his father during an argument over his mother, young Tommy goes into shock, suddenly becoming psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind. As a teenager, Tommy stumbles upon a pinball machine and discovers he is a natural prodigy at the game. Fame and fortune follow for Tommy, as he becomes a pinball champion and later the messiah of a religious cult, which views his pinball skills as a miraculous sign of divine intervention".
More details are on the Story Screen site click here
For more on Tommy click here

The Boyfriend in Los Angeles, USA

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles present Ken Russell's The Boyfriend on 30 October 2024.

"Sandy Wilson’s 1953 stage musical The Boy Friend paid homage to the frothy early days of musical theater, and Ken Russell’s stylish film version brought his own distinctively eccentric vision to the material. Iconic fashion model Twiggy made a charming ingenue in her first leading film role, supported by a droll cast including Broadway legend Tommy Tune and an uncredited appearance by Oscar winner Glenda Jackson".

There will be an Introduction by Daniel Orlandi, Costume Designer, and the Academy Governor.

For more details on the Academy website click here.
For more details on The Boyfriend click here.

Update to Whore

Updates to Whore including a thoughtful review by Matthew Surridge, including "The movie works because of how well it balances that grim reality with a playful irony… The pervasive irony in the film is a distancing effect, but it doesn’t blunt the harshness".
For more on the film click here.

Updates to Gordon Jacob

Updates to Gordon Jacob "Given that this was Russell's first composer portrait and that its successors included some of the most memorable television programmes of the 1960s, it's tempting to read too much into Gordon Jacob, but one can certainly see the green shoots of what was to become his first undisputed masterpiece, Elgar (BBC, tx. 11/11/1962) beginning to appear. At the age of thirty-one, after over a decade of considerable uncertainty over his future, Ken Russell had finally found his true vocation" (Michael Brooke, British Film Institute website, no date, click here).
For more on Gordon Jacob click here.
Crimes of Passion in Atlanta, USA

The Plaza Theatre in Atlanta is showing Crimes of Passion on 8, 12 and 15 Aug 2024.
For the Plaza Atlanta theatre website click here

For more on Crimes of Passion click here

Update on Rick Wakeman

Updates from an interview of Rick Wakeman, click here.

Update to The Planets

Updates to Ken Russell's impressions of Holst's music The Planets including a tribute from cinematographer Mari Yamamura on the Venus section.

For more on the film click here (bottom of page).

The Music Lovers on Blu-ray

The British Film Institute are releasing The Music Lovers, Ken Russell's film on Tchaikovsky, on Blu-ray with many extras:

Presented in High Definition

Newly recorded audio commentary by film historian Matthew Melia

Interview with Alexander Verney-Elliott (2024): Ken Russell's son looks back upon his father's work, and remembers his own appearance in The Music Love

Charlotte Bronte Enters the Big Brother House (2007, 16 mins): Ken Russell staged, directed and filmed this 'Radical Bronte' ballet for young people, illustrating Jane Eyre

The Guardian Interview: Melvyn Bragg (1988, c76mins): Ten years after the inception of The Southbank Show, Melvyn Bragg discusses his career in television and film writer Ronald Harwood, at the National Film Theatre in London.

Galina Ulanova in "Swan Lake" (1940, 6 mins): one of the greatest ballerinas of all time is seen performing a dance from Swan Lake. As this rare footage is silent, for best results, watch it as you listen to your favourite recording of the Adagio from Act 2

USSR Today: Edited highlights from three editions of the Soviet newsreel, gathering items about Tchaikovsky and Russian musical arts.

Original trailer

FIRST PRESSING ONLY- Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Matthew Melia, a new essay by Caroline Langhorst and contributions from Alexander Verney-Elliott and Lisi Russell

It will be released 17 June 2024.
For more on The Music Lovers click here.
Shirley Russell's costumes for The Music Lovers

Shirley Russell's work on costumes for The Music Lovers, with an informative article by Claire Smith of the British Film Institute.

"The costumes of the central characters look forward from the war to the youth, vigour and energy of the 1920s style. Scouring London markets and regional auctions for examples of period dress, [Shirley] Russell made the moment relevant; seeking links between the present and the vivacious, wild but often troubled bright young things of the decade...".

The article by Claire Smith on the BFI website is here
https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/vintage-1920s-fashions-ken-russells-women-love

For more on The Music Lovers click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-women-in-love.html.

The Lair of the White Worm on Blu-ray

A Blu-ray of Lair of the White Worm is to be released in the USA on 14 May 2024.
Extras include:

a commentary by Ken Russell

Lisi Russell in conversation with Film Historian Matthew Melia

The featurette “Worm Food: The Effects of The Lair of the White Worm”

Interviews with Editor Peter Davies and Actress Sammi Davis

plus trailers and gallery.

For more on The Lair of the White Worm click here.

Tommy in Macedonia

Tommy is on at the Cinematheque in Macedonia on 29 Feb 2024.
For details see the Cinematheque site click here.
For more on Tommy click here.

The Dance of the Seven Veils coming on Blu-ray

The copyright on Richard Strauss' music has expired, so there is no legal obstruction to presenting The Dance of the Seven Veils. The BFI are looking at issuing a Blu-ray. More details when known.

Thanks to Alex for the information.

Elton John pinball machine signed by Ken Russell

You can buy an Elton John pinball machine signed by Ken Russell for only £19,900 !!!!
"This is a piece of Pinball history. Capt Fantastic pinball was made to celebrate the Tommy film produced by the legendary Ken Russell. The art depicts the Kings Theatre PINBALL WIZARD showdown with Elton John playing his custom pinball in big red boots and glasses. The machine available was used in a Portsmouth Film Festival event where Ken signed his name on the backglass art".
The pinball machine is on sale here.
For more on Tommy click here.
Gothic on Blu-ray

The British Film Institute (BFI) have issued Gothic on Blu-ray. It has tons of extras including two extra films:

Feature commentary by film historian Matthew Melia and Lisi Russell (2018)

The Fall of the Louse of Usher (2002, 83 mins): Ken Russell returns to gothic themes in this legendarily lurid late video work featuring an all-star cast

A Haunted Evening (2023, 35 mins): Stephen Volk, the writer of Gothic, revisits his earliest feature script

The Sound of Shelley with Julian Sands (2017, 18 mins): the actor reflects upon the making of Gothic

Amelia and the Angel (1958, 27 mins): in this charming early Russell short, a young girl, cast as an angel in the school play, is distraught when her brother damages her treasured wings. Pocket money in hand, Amelia traverses London on the hunt for a new pair in time for the play

The Guardian Lecture: Ken Russell in conversation with Derek Malcolm (1987, 87 mins, audio only): the director reflects upon his career, at the time of Gothic.

Georgina Hale passes away

Sadly Georgina Hale has passed away. For me her most memorable performance were in Maher (wife Alma Mahler) and The Devils (Philippe). More soon.

Altered States and Lair of the White Worm in Los Angeles

New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles present Altered States and Lair of the White Worm. They are on 3, 4 Feb 2024.

For the cinema website click here
For more on Altered States click here
For more on Lair of the White Worm click here

Whore in New York

The IFC Centre in New York are showing Whore from 19- 27 Jan 2024.
"This searing melodrama investigates the life of a prostitute in a pseudo-documentary style. The life of a hooker isn’t easy…".

It is on at the IFC Centre, for the website click here.

For more on Whore click here.

Gothic in Christchurch, UK

Dirt In The Gate Movies present Gothic in the Regent in Christchurch, UK. It is on 20 Jan 2024.

For details click on the Regent website here.

For more on Gothic click here.

Ken Russell season on the Criterion Channel

In Jan 2024 the Criterion Channel present Ken Russell's Shocking Rhapsodies, showing ten of his films.
"Passionate, transgressive, over-the-top, and unforgettable: the films of British iconoclast Ken Russell have rarely been surpassed in their feverish visual imagination and sheer audaciousness. Courting controversy after controversy with provocations like The Devils, Mahler, and Altered States, Russell explored the extremes of sexuality, violence, religion, and creativity through elaborate, often eye-popping mise-en-scène and performances of hysterical excess. The result is a cinema that still feels daring and fresh, with unbridled romanticism and surreal flights of fancy woven into his boundary-pushing narratives.

FEATURING: The Boy Friend (1971), The Devils (1971), Savage Messiah (1972), Mahler (1974), Altered States (1980), Gothic (1986), The Lair of the White Worm (1988), Salome’s Last Dance (1988), The Rainbow (1989), Whore (1991)".
The link to Criterion is here.

Tommy in Australia

The British Film Festival 2023 in Australia includes Tommy in its lineup. The festival is at various venues from 1-29 Nov 2023.
The programme is here.
For more on Tommy click here.

The Music Lovers in Chichester, UK

The Music Lovers, Ken Russell's film about Tchaikovsky, will be shown at the Chichester Film Festival on 12 and 22 Aug 2023. The festival guide is pretty grudging "However rife with inaccuracies... Unless you are seeking the whole truth". Is it less accurate than Bernard Rose's The Beethoven Secret or Milos Foreman's Amadeus? I have quoted from Barbara von Meck's 1893 letter to show how closely the script follows her account of her relationship with Tchaikovsky.
The festival website is here and for more on the film click here.

Glenda Jackson passes away

Sadly Glenda Jackson has passed away. More soon.

Ken Westbury, cinematographer, passes away

Ken Westbury, cinematographer on Ken Russell's The Debussy Film and The Diary of a Nobody, and camera on The Debussy Film, has passed away.

His other work included The Singing Detective, To The Lighthouse and Dr Fischer of Geneva.
According to imdb.com his first film role was clipper loader on The Bells Go Down with James Mason in 1943 and his last film before retirement was Unknown Things from 2007.
The imdb.com entry is here.
There is an interview with him here though his work with Russell is not covered.

Updates to The Mystery of Dr. Martinu

A major update to Ken Russell's television film on the Czech composer Martinu. "The Mystery of Dr. Martinu subtitled A Revelation by Ken Russell from 1993. This is Freud meets Buñuel´s Een Chien Andalou meets Hitchcock (Spellbound and Vertigo)".

For the update click here (bottom of page).

Clouds of Glory in London

The British Film Institute (BFI) in London will show the two Clouds of Glory films about the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge. They will be shown on 11 June 2023. More details soon.

For more on Clouds of Glory see here.

Murray Melvin passes away

Sadly Russell regular Murray Melvin has passed away. He was a loyal supporter of Ken's works and would attend screenings of his films.

Melvin started acting on stage and was part of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London. With the company his work included roles in Oh! What a Lovely War and Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey.

His 104 film and television roles include Hot Snow (above), the first episode of The Avengers which would run for 161 episodes.

Melvin was iconic reviving his role in A Taste of Honey on film opposite Rita Tushingham, directed by Tony Richardson in 1961. The film "broke new ground with its adult themes, interracial kiss and its commitment to filming on the streets… And although the Dirk Bogarde-starring Victim (1961), released just a few months earlier, was also groundbreaking in its empathetic portrayal of homosexuality, Murray Melvin reported that when he met him at an awards ceremony, Bogarde said of Melvin’s performance as Geoff, 'You did more for the cause in one scene than the whole of bloody Victim put together'” (Chloe Walker, British Film Institute, 14 Sept 2021, click here).

His first role for Ken was 1964's The Diary of a Nobody (above). Further roles for Ken were in Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World, The Devils (first photo), The Boyfriend, Lizstomania, Clouds of Glory and Prisoner of Honor from 1991.

Melvin also worked with Kubrick in Barry Lyndon (above) and on 103 other films.

What I have only just discovered was that after The Devils, with music by Peter Maxwell Davies, Melvin directed two work by Maxwell Davies, Miss Donnithorne's Maggot and the opera The Martyrdom of St Magnus.

I was fortunate enough to meet and talk with Melvin, a friendly, open and intelligent person. Someone asked him how old he was- he said 29 and he said he would continue to say that until he decided to move to 30.

Updates to Tommy

Quotes from Tina Turner's autobiography added to Tommy, including "I brought my own clothes to the set, just in case I didn't like the costumes. Thank God! You should have seen how they would have dressed me... The costume designer, Russell's wife Shirley, said that I could wear them, although she came up with the Acid Queen's clunky platform shoes. Ken Russell loved the way I looked"- click here.

Updates to The Music Lovers

Details of music added to The Music Lovers- click here.

Updates to the play Weill and Lenya

Updates about the play on Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya by Judith Paris and Ken Russell, directed by Russell. Click here.

Updates to The Rainbow

The page on The Rainbow has been extensively updated. Click here.

Novelisation of Gothic

Mahler in Boulder, USA

The Colorado MahlerFest present Ken Russell's Mahler on 18 May 2023. It is shown at the Boedecker Theater, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, USA.

"Cinematically, it is a work of art. “Visually the film is a feast, notable for its dazzling and pointed use of color and movement.” It earns the ire of many Mahlerites for being overly creative with the facts. “Never one to dwell on facts or chronological limitations, Russell set out to capture the spirit of his subject rather than any textbook accuracy.”

Mahler can perhaps best be described as a very creative interpretation of Mahler’s life. One Mahlerite put it this way, “It’s a great music video, which Russell should have subtitled: ‘What I think About When I Think About Mahler Thinking About Music.’ It’s not a biography, just a series of a listener’s impressions”.

Click here for the MahlerFest site.

Crimes of Passion in Massachusetts, USA

Crimes of Passion will be shown as part of the After Midnight film series in Coolidge Corner Theater in Massachusetts. It is screened on 26 May 2023 at one minute before midnight.
"In the early eighties British enfant terrible Ken Russell traveled to America and placed his unorthodox imprint on a pair of US movies. The first was Altered States, so out-there its screenwriter disowned it. The second was the equally crazy Crimes of Passion, starring Kathleen Turner (Body Heat, Serial Mom) at the height of her powers".
More details at the Coolidge website click here.

Tommy in Ohio, USA

Tommy will be shown at the Robins Theatre, Warren, Ohio on 11 March 2023.

"Tommy is a 1975 British satirical operetta fantasy drama film written and directed by Ken Russell and based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album Tommy about a "psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind" boy who becomes a pinball champion and religious leader. The film featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including the band members themselves, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Jack Nicholson."

The theatre website is here.

Tommy in Nashville, USA

Tommy will be shown at the Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, USA on 13 Feb 2023.

Women in Love in Culpeper, Virginia, USA

Women in Love in the cinema for free!! It is at the Packard Campus Theater on 11 Feb 2023.

Teddy Girls photos

21 of Ken's photos of Teddy Girls from 1955. Nicely printed. The cover is of Iris Thornton and the other Teddy Girls were Pat Wiles, Rose Price, Vera Harrison, Grace Living, Barbara Wood, Josie Buchan, Eileen Lewis, Rose Hendon, Mary Toovey and Jean Rayner.

"Teddy Girls brings together, for the first time in one publication, images taken by Ken Russell of this scarcely documented subculture. Taken around London in January 1955 and published in the Picture Post on June 4th that year, these photographs are a testament to the supremely stylish young women depicted. The style of the Teddy Girls, like that of the Teddy Boys, grew out of a trend for Edwardian influenced fashion in post-World War II London. However, these women should be seen as more than a feminine facsimile of their male counterparts and Russell’s images document the ingenuity and complexity of their sartorial choices. As well as recording the style of the Teddy Girls, these images also provide a snapshot of London in 1955, a city in flux, still rebuilding itself after the damage inflicted by war. An essay by the fashion historian, Mairi MacKenzie, considers the cultural history and context within which these women lived and the photos were taken".

Recommended

Mahler in Boulder, USA

The Colorado MahlerFest present Ken Russell's Mahler on 18 May 2023. It is shown at the Boedecker Theater, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, USA.

"Cinematically, it is a work of art. “Visually the film is a feast, notable for its dazzling and pointed use of color and movement.” It earns the ire of many Mahlerites for being overly creative with the facts. “Never one to dwell on facts or chronological limitations, Russell set out to capture the spirit of his subject rather than any textbook accuracy.”

Mahler can perhaps best be described as a very creative interpretation of Mahler’s life. One Mahlerite put it this way, “It’s a great music video, which Russell should have subtitled: ‘What I think About When I Think About Mahler Thinking About Music.’ It’s not a biography, just a series of a listener’s impressions”.

Click here for the MahlerFest site.

Crimes of Passion in Massachusetts, USA

Crimes of Passion will be shown as part of the After Midnight film series in Coolidge Corner Theater in Massachusetts. It is screened on 26 May 2023 at one minute before midnight.
"In the early eighties British enfant terrible Ken Russell traveled to America and placed his unorthodox imprint on a pair of US movies. The first was Altered States, so out-there its screenwriter disowned it. The second was the equally crazy Crimes of Passion, starring Kathleen Turner (Body Heat, Serial Mom) at the height of her powers".
More details at the Coolidge website click here.

Tommy in Ohio, USA

Tommy will be shown at the Robins Theatre, Warren, Ohio on 11 March 2023.

"Tommy is a 1975 British satirical operetta fantasy drama film written and directed by Ken Russell and based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album Tommy about a "psychosomatically deaf, mute, and blind" boy who becomes a pinball champion and religious leader. The film featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including the band members themselves, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Jack Nicholson."

The theatre website is here.

Tommy in Nashville, USA

Tommy will be shown at the Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, USA on 13 Feb 2023.

Women in Love in Culpeper, Virginia, USA

Women in Love in the cinema for free!! It is at the Packard Campus Theater on 11 Feb 2023.

William Hurt passes away

William Hurt has sadly passed away.

After a couple of television roles his career started with Ken Russell's Altered States in 1980. Not a bad place to start.
He appeared in major mainstream films such as Spielberg’s AI, but he also often undertook quirky films different from the mainstream, such as Children of a Lesser God (he won an Oscar for this), Kiss of the Spider Woman and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

My favourite, the little known Accidental Tourist.

Flipping the script on Britishness

Found in an overlooked photo archive "images of Windrush arrivals and jazz club romances challenge the traditional narrative about what it means to be British". Interesting photos including "London by Ken Russell, 1954... street scenes of the 1950s from the future film-maker’s series Portobello Road – Everyday Life. Here, a young black boy plays in one of the bombed out ‘playgrounds’ much loved by kids at the time. He is wearing a kind of superhero eye mask on his forehead, from an earlier game".

From the Guardian 4 Jan 2022 click here.

Ken Russell t shirt

A t shirt illustrated by Paul Cemmick. Details are on Pinterest click here.

Oliver Reed turned down for a blue plaque

Christopher Hastings writing in the Mail on Sunday newspaper reports that Oliver Reed has been turned down for a blue plaque because " his legacy in the field of acting was not sufficiently strong". Blue plaques are meant to celebrate notable figures and the places they lived and worked.

The article says “A committee at the charity – which has been accused of political correctness – rejected a bid to honour the hell-raising star of films including Oliver!, Women In Love and Gladiator, despite many considering him a towering figure in British cinema.”

Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam is quoted as saying “… this is crazy. Ollie was a monument to everything that was wonderful at that time in England. I think this decision proves our culture is being invaded by close-minded idealogues with no idea of either history or uniqueness.’

The article by Christopher Hastings is in the Mail on Sunday, 5 Dec 2021 is on the Mail website here

People who were awarded a blue plaque this year include Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets and Hilton Valentine, guitarist of The Animals.

Gretchen Felker-Martin podcast on Ken Russell's The Devils

The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast presents a 30 minute discussion with Gretchen Felker-Martin on The Devils "A story about human fragility and the beauty of human frailty". Good to hear people genuinely appreciating the film- like an idiosyncratic discussion between friends.

The link is on atcast click here.

Dick Bush, Cinematographer

An update on one of Ken's cinematographers.

"When I was asked to do a Ken Russell film I was only an acting cameraman. I’d never been taught lighting, I taught myself really by watching other films, and went ahead to work with this terrifying creature as Ken was in those days. He would get through sound crews and camera crews in seconds. And I realised Ken was being really helpful. We’d go off to locations or work in the studio and I would light the set and he would come up and quietly say “Dick, do you really need that lamp on there”, and I’d switch it off and realise the set looked better".

The link is here .

A major update of Savage Messiah here .

A major update of The Boyfriend here .

Ken Russell: Portrait of a Maverick

Ken Russell Portrait of a Maverick is a documentary by Chris Wade. The film gives an overview of Ken’s childhood and career, and has interviews with Xavier Russell (Ken’s son who edited some of Ken’s films), Judith Paris, Emma Millions and (voice only) Scott Antony.

Xavier gives some good insight into Ken’s working such as how he edits. He also mentions the friendship between Ken and Coppola, and Scorsese (who would send Ken copies of his latest films), as well as Fellini’s admiration of Ken. He also mentions Ken’s mixed feelings about Kubrick.

Judith Paris brings out how devoted she is to the work of Ken and mentions his insistence on lots of takes. As well as in films, she worked with Ken in the theatre.

Emma Millions covers the last films of Ken. She gives examples of Ken’s inventiveness such as when they had to find a way of portraying a castle collapsing (The Fall of the Louse of Usher) and he came up with the idea of using a bouncy castle. She also touchingly tells how she burst into tears when she overheard someone say Ken had just died.

The film is just over 55 minutes. You can buy the DVD or the download here

http://wisdomtwinsbooks.weebly.com/documentaries.html

The site has a short online trailer you can watch.

Site updates - Savage Messiah

Updates to films Russell has acted in other than his own films, including The Russia House, Waking the Dead: Final Cut and The Moving Finger.

Luna Carmoon

New filmmaker Luna Carmoon says she gets inspiration from the British films of the 1960s and '70s and filmmakers such as Ken Russell and Nicolas Roeg. She has made three short films so far- Hoard, Shagbands and Nosebleed (above).

She is one of the National Film & Television School's Screen Stars of Tomorrow, and Hoard is backed by BBC Film and the British Film Institute.

The trailer for Shagbands is here.

The quote is from the screendaily site here.

Glenda Jackson interviewed on Radio 4 about directors she has worked with

BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life will interview Glenda Jackson including on directors she has worked with. It is broadcast on Saturday 1 Oct 2022 19:15 on BBC Radio 4. It will also be available live on the BBC Website click here. Thanks to Michelle for the information.

Update: You can still watch it online. She talks of working with theatre director Peter Brook, of her view of Margaret Thatcher and her decision to become an MP, and of course on Ken Russell.

"He could be absolutely ghastly, he could be rude- not to the actors, I give him credit here- and, you know, he could scream his head off and be furious, and them thirty seconds later he’d be completely stuck on a rock somewhere and anybody who had an idea he would listen to, and listen to openly and properly and not infrequently those ideas would trigger something in him and he would do it.

But he was a marvelous marvelous director to work with, I think, because he had images, visions. It was always with him something that was seen and was set, the image, it was the vision, it was the idea how the person could physically change or develop that were really the things that triggered him.

…

I think the way this country has treated him is an absolute and utter disgrace. It’s almost as though everybody on the production or direction side of cinema in this country simply don’t want to hear his name, and I think he at the peak of his directing talents really made fundamental changes to British cinema, and I just think it is scandalous that he’s been sort of discarded because he made major, major positive changes, and he helped dozens and dozens of people to discover their talents".

Lair of the White Worm on The Criterion Channel

Classic ’80s Horror is coming to Criterion Channel for Halloween. One of the films is Ken Russell's Lair of the White Worm.

Other interesting films include Michael Wadleigh's Wolfen, Larry Cohen's Q: The Winged Serpent and John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness. The full list of 30 films is here.

David Warner passes away

David Warner, magnificent as poet Wordsworth in Ken Russell's Clouds of Glory, has passed away aged 80. Other good roles include the photographer opposite Gregory Peck in the original The Omen and the lead role in cult classic Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment.

"With the rigour of his classical training, his style and his fine voice, Warner boosted the IQ of any movie he was in" (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 25 Jul 2022, click here)".

Crimes of Passion in Austin, USA

Crimes of Passion is on at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas. It is showing on 7 Dec 2022. Details are here.

Elgar and Dance of the Seven Veils in London

Elgar and Dance of the Seven Veils are on at the National Film Theatre in London on 3 Nov 2022.

"Monitor was ground-breaking in the way it gave creatives the freedom to experiment. Overseen by the great Sir Huw Wheldon, the strand revolutionised arts broadcasting. Ken Russell’s work was perhaps the most obvious in this respect, particularly his essays on music and composers. His film on Elgar, made for the 100th edition of Monitor, remains one of the strand’s towering achievement".

"Russell’s daring film about the life of Richard Strauss, made for the Omnibus strand, was shown once and then banned because of objections from the Strauss estate, who blocked the use of his music. Now these compositions have finally come into the public domain it can be seen again. The film was hugely controversial, but it is a fine example of Russell at his most extravagant and attracted a wide and curious audience."

More details are on the NFT site here.

The Devils and Hell on Earth on-line

You can watch The Devils as well as Mark Kermode's documentary Hell on Earth plus Q&A with Ken etc. The link is on the Internet Archive is here.

As well as the film the extras are:

Hell on Earth - A documentary exploring the film's production and controversial history. (2002, 48 mins)

Onstage Q&A with Ken Russell - The director in conversation with Mark Kermode at the NFT in 2004. (2012, 13 mins

Director of Devils - A documentary featuring candid Ken Russell interviews and unique footage of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies recording his score. (1971, 22 min)

On-set footage - 8mm footage of the set with commentary by Michael Bradsell. (2012, 8 mins)

Deleted Scene: The Rape of Christ - The infamous orgy scene scene never officially released. (1971, 2 mins)

Deleted Scene: Grandier's Bone - In this often cut scene, Sister Jeanne appears to masturbate with the charred bone of Grandier, given to her by Laubardemont. (1971, 1 min)

Trailers - Original UK and US theatrical trailers for The Devils. (1971, 5 mins)

James Ferman - The former secretary of the BBFC discusses censorship of 'The Devils'. (3 mins)

UK Censors - A short excerpt on the campaign to censor 'The Devils' in the UK. (1 min)

Year of Censorship - Interviews with film critic Alexander Walker, Ken Russell, and BBFC examiner Ken Penry on the controversies of 'The Devils'. (5 mins)

Bernard Haitink, Russell's conductor of Mahler, dies

The music on Ken's Mahler was conducted by Bernard Haitink, shown above from the credits of Mahler. I saw Haitink conduct many times and he was one of the great conductors. He was with the Dutch Concertgebouworkest for 65 (!) years, his first concert in 1939 (from NRC.NL 22 Oct 2021). He was also conductor of the London Philharmonic from 1967- 1979 and the Royal Opera House London from 1987-2002. He died on 21 Oct 2021 aged 92. He will be missed and I will be playing all my Haitink CDs to remember him.

The Music Lovers on The Criterion Channel

The Criterion Channel have a season of Glenda Jackson films, one of which is The Music Lovers. Not sure which regions it covers or dates- for non-members there is limited information. Other Glenda films included are The Maids and Sunday Bloody Sunday both of which are recommended.

The Criterion blurb on The Music Lovers has the usual shoddy clichés- "gloriously bonkers spectacle of madness".

Glenda Jackson season in London

The British Film Institute in London have a month long Glenda Jackson season in July including "Ken Russell’s fine take on DH Lawrence’s Women in Love" and The Rainbow. Glenda got an Oscar for the performance in Women in Love, and the season includes her second Oscar film the comedy A Touch of Class. Women in Love is on 2 and 13 Jul 2022, The Rainbow is on 19 and 31 July and she is in conversation on 5 July. Other highlights with Glenda are The Maids, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Strange Interlude.

Tommy in Berlin

Tommy is shown as part of Berlinale 2022 on 16 and 20 Feb 2022. Click here for the Berlinale website.

Digitally Restored Tommy in Leederville, Australia

The 4K digitally restored version of Tommy will be shown at the Luna Outdoor Cinema in Leederville, Australia on 18 March 2022. Details are on the Luna website click here.

Tommy in MOMI, New York

Tommy at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York on 13, 14 Nov 2021. It is part of their See It Big: Extravaganzas!

"Often we praise movies for their restraint. We’re putting a stop to such gentility with our latest edition of See It Big, a properly super-sized, two-part, bursting-at-the-seams program that features a selection of films that push cinematic style into excess. The makers of these films, which span the silent era to the 21st-century, really pile it on: teeming canvases, crammed frames, ornate art direction and costume design foregrounded by lush camerawork and intense performance style".

More details are here.

Altered States in London, UK

Altered States is on at the British Film Institute on 30 Sept 2021.

Altered States in St Louis, USA

A chance to see Altered States in the open air. It is on 4 Aug 2021 at The Arkadin Backlot at The Heavy Anchor, St. Louis, MO 63116.

The link is here .