Ken Russell was a British director who became renowned for his bold and outlandish, over-the-top, and in-your-face controversial style. The majority of his films usually tackled themes such as sexuality and religion. Russell’s artistic roots were in still photography. He later became a documentary filmmaker for the BBC, focusing mainly on art and music content. In 1964, he had his big screen directorial debut with the feature film, French Dressing.
Russell made a name for himself with his film biographies of the lives of classical composers including Bartok (1964), The Music Lovers (1971), Mahler (1974), and Lisztomania (1975).
In 1969, Russell directed his highly regarded film, Women in Love, which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Film. Actor Glenda Jackson, herself, won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role whilst Russell was also honoured with a nomination the Best Director category. The film is mostly remembered for the then-highly controversial scene (by sixties standards) in which the film’s two male starts, Alan Bates and Oliver Reed are seen wrestling in the nude.
In 1975, Russell directed the cult film, Tommy, based on The Who’s rock opera. Highlights of his other film credits include Billion Dollar Brain (1967), The Devils (1971), Valentino (1977), Altered States (1980), Whore (1991), and Mindbender (1996).
Highlights of Russell’s acting credits include a part in Fred Schepisi’s 1991 film, The Russia House, based on John le Carré’s novel of the same title, in which he starred alongside Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.
