image of Ken Russell
Birthday: Jul 03, 1927
Place of Birth: Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK

Ken Russell

Henry 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."

Filmography
Movie Cast Year
Whore Waiter (uncredited) 1991
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait Self 1983
Gothic Tourist 1986
The Real Blue Nuns Self 2006
Tommy Cripple (uncredited) 1975
Trapped Ashes Dr. Lucy 2006
Valentino Rex Ingram (uncredited) 1977
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World Captain Patterson 1966
Salome's Last Dance Cappadocian 1988
The Real Oliver Reed Self 2000
The Fall of the Louse of Usher Dr. Calahari 2002
A Kitten for Hitler Santa 2007
Hell on Earth: The Desecration & Resurrection of The Devils Self 2002
Music for the Movies: Georges Delerue Self 1995
Tales of Erotica 1996
Boudica Bites Back Roman Senator 2009
Savage Messiah Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited) 1972
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch Mr. Kirsch 1995
Revenge of the Elephant Man 2004
Mr. Nice Russell Miegs 2010
Lion's Mouth Ken 2000
The Who: One Band's Explosive Story Self (archive footage) 2022
In Search of Dracula Self 1996
Your Honour, I Object! Guccione V Russell 1987
Don’t Shoot the Composer Himself 1966
Brothers of the Head Himself 2006
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music Himself 1988
Director of Devils Self 2012
A Turnip Head’s Guide To The British Cinema Self 1986
10 Best Elgar Self (archive footage) 2007
The Russia House Walter 1990
Empire of the Censors Self 1995
Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil Self (archive footage) 2012
Song of Summer Priest 1968
Colour Me Kubrick The Man In Nightgown 2005
The Lair of the White Worm Police Radio (voice) (uncredited) 1988
Walk With The Damned Hood 1961
Russell at Work 1966
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Bax 1992
The Aristofrogs 2010
A British Picture 1989
The Devils Original on-set footage 2012
PuzzleFace god 1970
Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song Himself 1997
The Kids Are Alright 1979
Twiggy (archival footage) 2025
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle Narrator (voice) 2002
Series Cast Year
The South Bank Show Self 1978
Plunder 1990
Waking the Dead Gerry Raistrick 2001
Frank Stubbs Promotes Self 1993
Celebrity Big Brother Self - Contestant 2001
Agatha Christie's Marple Rev Caleb Dane Calthrop 2004
Lady Chatterley Sir Michael Reid 1993
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