Ken Russell 1927-2011

[Guest]

Ken Russell died yesterday, aged 84. A truly original film maker. A BBC obituary is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10701521

[Norfolk Born]

Well, I hope he's remembered as much - if not more - for his early work for 'Monitor' as for his later excesses. Is it too much too hope that BBC 4 might show his 'Elgar' again?

[amateur51]

How sad! Truly a one-off and highly original film-maker who was actually interested in Western classical music and the people who create it.

When he was good, he was outstanding. Nuff said

Enough of the good stuff survives to ensure his lasting memory.

[DublinJimbo]

Is it too much too hope that BBC 4 might show his 'Elgar' again?

Agreed. That was a wonderful piece of work. Not only was it visually glorious and excellently informative, but it also introduced me to the Introduction and Allegro for Strings.

[PJPJ]

I also think the Elgar film is superb.

Here's an interesting summary of his TV work

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1030140/

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1030584/index.html

I'd like to see the Martinu film again.

RIP

[MrGongGong]

I loved the passion for the subject in his films
and can't ever take Glenda Jackson seriously as I always imagine her on a train with Tchaikovsky

eccentric is what we do well in the UK

[Serial_Apologist]

and can't ever take Glenda Jackson seriously as I always imagine her on a train with Tchaikovsky

Yep - that was a bumpy ride, ahem... My favourite was the Debussy film: the scene in which Oliver Reed, playing Reed playing Debussy off-scene, is attending a party at which he insists on "Danses Sacree et profane" being on the record player instead of pop, and his girlfriend jumps onto a table and does a strip tease.

[gurnemanz]

His films were always very watchable whatever their faults or excesses. Delius and Elgar were memorable contributions. Bruckner and R. Strauss were way over the top. He had a good sense of humour with tongue often firmly in cheek. His best film was probably Women In Love, but I also enjoyed Mahler, Music Lovers, Savage Messiah and even The Boy Friend and the Devils. Well done, Ken!!

[Mandryka]

Ken Russell was one of the very few film directors of whom it could be said that he lived for his Art.

In all his films - the bad ones as much as the good ones- there is a passion and an appetite for life that just doesn't figure on the agenda of most other directors; and it's not often acknowledged that he had a truly great sense of composition, that never amounted to pretty or strikign pictures for their own sake.

Quite a few people (self included) were first drawn to explore orchestral music via Russell's Monitor documentaries (I wasn't born when most of them were first broadcast, but have tried to catch up with them since). I'll make a controversial point by saying that his film on Delius makes F.D. seem a better composer than he actually was.

He was incapable of making a boring film - of how many can that be said?

Just received a text from a friend of mine about this news: 'My God! He's left us a lot to enjoy.' Enough said.

A truly great man has departed.

[Colonel Danby]

I've just heard about the passing of Ken Russell, and am very sad. Obviously he was a controversial artist, and there was a lot of his stuff which was just a load of rubbish, like the biopics of Holst, RVW and particularly Arnold Bax: Glenda Jackson dressed up as Harriet Cohen was not a good idea. But the work on Delius and Elgar was very fine and he certaintly knew his English music. RIP Ken, and in memoriam I shall play Max's suite from 'The Devils'. (Collins Classics 10952).

[Serial_Apologist]

I've just heard about the passing of Ken Russell, and am very sad. Obviously he was a controversial artist, and there was a lot of his stuff which was just a load of rubbish, like the biopics of Holst, RVW and particularly Arnold Bax: Glenda Jackson dressed up as Harriet Cohen was not a good idea. But the work on Delius and Elgar was very fine and he certaintly knew his English music. RIP Ken, and in memoriam I shall play Max's suite from 'The Devils'. (Collins Classics 10952).

News at One just played a clip from the 1962 Elgar documentary, and it was noticeably in very good nick, so one hopes the Beeb will consider replaying this great piece - which was so much better than Ken's somewhat belaboured later version.

For me, Colonel, it would have to be "The Boy Friend", if I had a DVD of it - which I shall make it my business to track down a copy. I think I may be right in believing Peter Maxwell Davies did the score for this, knitting the original musical into his own wonderful musical fabric, as well as the near-contemporaneous "The Devils". A sheer delight for both ears and eyes.

[hackneyvi]

He was a good guy and an original, if wayward, filmmaker.

Is it too soon to offer this as a cheering form of tribute? For Derek Asquith read a slightly warped version of Ken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILgaOb7BW8o

[Chris Newman]

I loved and hated his work in about equal measure: Elgar and Delius were superb; The Boyfriend was an utter delight and The Devils you expected to be shocking. Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss and Co.....Oh dear.

[VodkaDilc]

He gave us some wonderful films; sad that he seemed to be neglected in his later years. Michael Winner commented on the radio this morning that his film-making career came in a very narrow time-span.

And let's not forget his wonderful contributions to Celebrity Big Brother a couple of years ago! He really sent up the format and made that series quite watchable.

[Anna]

I had no idea, until this morning, about Monitor and his Elgar, but I think, (unless I misheard) I have just heard Sean Fafferty say it'll be repeated on BBC4 in the New Year?