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.
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."
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001692
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55249
Facebook: No data
Instagram: No data
X: No data
Filmography (Movies)
Twiggy
Character:(archival footage)
Release Date:07/03/2025
The Who: One Band's Explosive Story
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:26/08/2022
Director of Devils
Character:Self
Release Date:19/03/2012
Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:14/01/2012
The Devils Original on-set footage
Character:
Release Date:01/01/2012
Mr. Nice
Character:Russell Miegs
Release Date:07/10/2010
The Aristofrogs
Character:
Release Date:19/08/2010
Boudica Bites Back
Character:Roman Senator
Release Date:06/08/2009
A Kitten for Hitler
Character:Santa
Release Date:01/06/2007
10 Best Elgar
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:27/04/2007
The Real Blue Nuns
Character:Self
Release Date:16/10/2006
Trapped Ashes
Character:Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
Release Date:12/09/2006
Brothers of the Head
Character:Himself
Release Date:28/07/2006
Colour Me Kubrick
Character:The Man In Nightgown
Release Date:06/10/2005
Revenge of the Elephant Man
Character:
Release Date:14/07/2004
100 Greatest Sexy Moments
Character:Self
Release Date:29/11/2003
Hell on Earth: The Desecration & Resurrection of The Devils
Character:Self
Release Date:24/11/2002
Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
Character:Narrator (voice)
Release Date:22/09/2002
The Fall of the Louse of Usher
Character:Dr. Calahari
Release Date:02/02/2002
The Real Oliver Reed
Character:Self
Release Date:13/01/2000
Lion's Mouth
Character:Ken
Release Date:01/01/2000
Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song
Character:Himself
Release Date:14/11/1997
Vem Var Dracula
Character:Self
Release Date:02/10/1996
Tales of Erotica
Character:Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited)
Release Date:01/01/1996
Empire of the Censors
Character:Self
Release Date:28/05/1995
Music for the Movies: Georges Delerue
Character:Self
Release Date:04/04/1995
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
Character:Mr. Kirsch
Release Date:01/01/1995
Alice in Russialand
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1995
The Secret Life of Arnold Bax
Character:Sir Arnold Bax
Release Date:22/11/1992
Whore
Character:Waiter (uncredited)
Release Date:21/06/1991
The Russia House
Character:Walter
Release Date:21/12/1990
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible
Character:
Release Date:20/03/1989
The Lair of the White Worm
Character:Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
Release Date:21/09/1988
Salome's Last Dance
Character:Cappadocian
Release Date:06/05/1988
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Character:Himself
Release Date:04/02/1988
Your Honour, I Object! Guccione V Russell
Character:
Release Date:27/11/1987
Gothic
Character:Tourist
Release Date:27/02/1987
A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1986
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1983
The Who: The Kids Are Alright
Character:Self
Release Date:15/06/1979
Valentino
Character:Rex Ingram (uncredited)
Release Date:07/09/1977
Tommy
Character:Cripple (uncredited)
Release Date:19/03/1975
Savage Messiah
Character:Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
Release Date:27/06/1972
Song of Summer
Character:Priest
Release Date:15/09/1968
Don’t Shoot the Composer
Character:Himself
Release Date:09/01/1966
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Character:Captain Patterson
Release Date:02/01/1966
Russell at Work
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1966
Walk With The Damned
Character:Hood
Release Date:02/06/1961
Television Appearances
Images
