Ken Russell
87 movies · 8 TV shows
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- Jul 3, 1927
- Died
- Nov 27, 2011 (age 84)
- Place of birth
- Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
- Also known as
- Alfred Russell · Alf Russell
Biography
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).
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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."
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Ken Russell: movies and TV shows
Acting (34)
- Upcoming PuzzleFace
as god
- 2025 Twiggy
as (archival footage)
- 2012
- 2010 Mr. Nice
as Russell Miegs
- 2009 Boudica Bites Back
as Roman Senator
- 2007 A Kitten for Hitler
as Santa
- 2006 Trapped Ashes
as Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
- 2005 Colour Me Kubrick
as The Man In Nightgown
- 2004
- 2004
- 2002 Elgar: Fantasy on a Composer on a Bicycle
as Narrator (voice)
- 2002 The Fall of the Louse of Usher
as Dr. Calahari
- 2001
- 2000 Lion's Mouth
as Ken
- 1996 Tales of Erotica
as Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited)
- 1995 The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
as Mr. Kirsch
- 1995
- 1993
- 1992 The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
as Sir Arnold Bax
- 1991 Whore
as Waiter (uncredited)
- 1990 The Russia House
as Walter
- 1990
- 1989
- 1988 The Lair of the White Worm
as Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
- 1988 Salome's Last Dance
as Cappadocian
- 1987
- 1987 Gothic
as Tourist
- 1977 Valentino
as Rex Ingram (uncredited)
- 1975 Tommy
as Cripple (uncredited)
- 1972 Savage Messiah
as Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
- 1968 Song of Summer
as Priest
- 1966 Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
as Captain Patterson
- 1966
- 1961 Walk With The Damned
as Hood
Behind the camera (89)
- 2016 Kitsune
Thanks
- 2009 Boudica Bites Back
Director, Screenplay
- 2007 A Kitten for Hitler
Director, Writer
- 2007 Watch the Birdie
Director
- 2006 Trapped Ashes
Director
- 2006 Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
Producer, Director, Director of Photography, Writer, Choreographer
- 2005 The Miners' Picnic by Ken Russell
Director
- 2004 Revenge of the Elephant Man
Producer, Director, Writer
- 2002 Elgar: Fantasy on a Composer on a Bicycle
Director, Producer, Writer
- 2002 The Fall of the Louse of Usher
Director, Producer, Cinematography, Editor, Writer, Director of Photography
- 2000 Lion's Mouth
Director, Screenplay
- 1998 Dogboys
Producer, Director
- 1997 In Search of the English Folk Song
Director, Writer
- 1996 Mindbender
Director, Writer
- 1996 Tales of Erotica
Director, Writer
- 1995 Treasure Island
Director, Teleplay
- 1995 The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
Director, Writer
- 1995 Alice in Russialand
Director, Writer
- 1994
- 1993
- 1992 The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Writer, Director
- 1992 The Mystery of Dr Martinu
Writer, Director
- 1991 Prisoner of Honor
Director
- 1991 Whore
Director, Screenplay, Camera Operator
- 1991 Road to Mandalay
Director, Writer
- 1990 The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner
Director, Writer
- 1990 Women and Men: Stories of Seduction
Director
- 1989 The Rainbow
Screenplay, Director, Producer
- 1989 A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible
Director, Writer
- 1989 Il Mefistofele
Director
- 1988 The Lair of the White Worm
Director, Screenplay, Producer
- 1988 Salome's Last Dance
Director, Screenplay
- 1988 Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Writer, Director
- 1987 Aria
Director, Writer
- 1987 Gothic
Director
- 1985 Faust
Director
- 1984 Crimes of Passion
Director
- 1984 Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait
Director, Producer, Writer
- 1983 The Planets
Director
- 1980 Altered States
Director
- 1978
- 1978
- 1977 Valentino
Director, Screenplay
- 1975 Lisztomania
Director, Screenplay
- 1975 Tommy
Director, Screenplay, Producer
- 1974 Mahler
Director, Writer
- 1972 Savage Messiah
Director, Producer
- 1971 The Boy Friend
Director, Screenplay, Producer
- 1971 The Devils
Director, Screenplay, Producer
- 1971 The Music Lovers
Director, Producer
- 1970 Dance of the Seven Veils
Director, Writer
- 1969 Women in Love
Director
- 1968 Song of Summer
Director, Writer
- 1967 Dante's Inferno
Director
- 1967 Billion Dollar Brain
Director
- 1966 Don’t Shoot the Composer
Director, Producer
- 1966 Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Director, Writer
- 1965 Always on Sunday
Director, Scenario Writer, Producer
- 1965 The Debussy Film
Director, Scenario Writer
- 1964 The Diary of a Nobody
Director, Writer
- 1964
- 1964 Bela Bartók
Director, Screenplay
- 1964 French Dressing
Director
- 1962 Elgar
Director, Writer
- 1962 Mr Chesher’s Traction Engines
Director
- 1962 The Preservation Man
Director
- 1962 Pop Goes the Easel
Director
- 1962 The Lonely Shore
Director
- 1961 London Moods
Director
- 1961 Old Battersea House
Director
- 1961 Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill
Director
- 1961 Prokofiev
Director
- 1961 Antonio Gaudí
Director
- 1960 The Light Fantastic
Director
- 1960 Shelagh Delaney's Salford
Director
- 1960 A House in Bayswater
Director, Writer
- 1960 A Bedlington Miners' Picnic
Director
- 1960 Journey Into a Lost World
Director
- 1959 Scottish Painters
Director
- 1959 Portrait of a Goon
Director
- 1959 From Spain to Streatham
Director
- 1959 Variations on a Mechanical Theme
Director
- 1959 Gordon Jacob
Director
- 1959 John Betjeman: A Poet in London
Director
- 1958 Amelia and the Angel
Director, Story, Cinematography, Writer
- 1958
- 1958 Lourdes
Director
- 1956 Peepshow
Director
- 1956 Knights on Bikes
Director
Talk shows and appearances (18)
- 2022
- 2012
- 2012
- 2007
- 2006
- 2006
- 2003
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001 Celebrity Big Brother
1 episode
- 2000
- 1995
- 1995
- 1993 Frank Stubbs Promotes
1 episode
- 1986
- 1979
- 1971 Film '72
1 episode
- 1967 Omnibus
3 episodes