Our Ken

A nice article in today’s Guardian about Ken Russell, a British film director that people either seem to love or hate. Me, I love him. It’s been that way ever since I saw his films on the old BBC TV arts programmes Monitor and Omnibus. Films about people such as Isadora Duncan, Delius and Bartok, and the latter two films were directly responsible for sparking a love of their music in me. And all including some masterstroke of visual imagery which had an overwhelming emotional impact on me. That continued when he moved onto the big screen with Women in Love and in subsequent films.

 

My one regret is that I never got to see The Devils. I thought at the time that it was probably too powerful for me. Alas, it’s never been issued on DVD, so I will just have to carry on waiting for the opportunity.

 

If you’ve never been exposed to Russell’s visual extravangzas, then the rock opera Tommy (which is available on DVD) is a good choice to see his imagination firing on all cylinders. It’s the filmic equivalent of an opera, a rollercoaster and a ghost train all rolled into one.