Ken Russell
Directing
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."
Known for
Directing87
movieA Kitten for Hitler
2007
Director
movieTrapped Ashes
2006
Director
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
2006
Director
movieDogboys
1998
Director
movieMindbender
1996
Director
movieTales of Erotica
1996
Director
movieTreasure Island
1995
Director
movieAlice in Russialand
1995
Director
tvLady Chatterley
1993
Director
moviePrisoner of Honor
1991
Director
movieWhore
1991
Director
movieThe Rainbow
1989
Director
movieIl Mefistofele
1989
Director
movieSalome's Last Dance
1988
Director
movieAria
1987
Director
movieGothic
1987
Director
movieFaust
1985
Director
movieCrimes of Passion
1984
Director
movieThe Planets
1983
Director
movieAltered States
1980
Director
tvThe South Bank Show
1978
Director
movieValentino
1977
Director
movieLisztomania
1975
Director
movieTommy
1975
Director
movieMahler
1974
Director
movieSavage Messiah
1972
Director
movieThe Boy Friend
1971
Director
movieThe Devils
1971
Director
movieThe Music Lovers
1971
Director
movieWomen in Love
1969
Director
movieSong of Summer
1968
Director
movieDante's Inferno
1967
Director
movieBillion Dollar Brain
1967
Director
movieAlways on Sunday
1965
Director
movieThe Debussy Film
1965
Director
movieThe Diary of a Nobody
1964
Director
Six
1964
Director
movieBela Bartók
1964
Director
movieFrench Dressing
1964
Director
movieElgar
1962
Director
movieThe Preservation Man
1962
Director
moviePop Goes the Easel
1962
Director
movieThe Lonely Shore
1962
Director
movieLondon Moods
1961
Director
movieProkofiev
1961
Director
movieAntonio Gaudí
1961
Director
movieThe Light Fantastic
1960
Director
movieA House in Bayswater
1960
Director
movieScottish Painters
1959
Director
moviePortrait of a Goon
1959
Director
movieFrom Spain to Streatham
1959
Director
movieGordon Jacob
1959
Director
movieAmelia and the Angel
1958
Director
Lourdes
1958
Director
Peepshow
1956
Director
Acting60
movieTwiggy
2025
(archival footage)
movieThe Who: One Band's Explosive Story
2022
Self (archive footage)
movieKen Russell: A Bit of a Devil
2012
Self (archive footage)
movieMr. Nice
2010
Russell Miegs
Boudica Bites Back
2009
Roman Senator
movie10 Best Elgar
2007
Self (archive footage)
movieTrapped Ashes
2006
Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")
movieColour Me Kubrick
2005
The Man In Nightgown
tvAgatha Christie's Marple
2004
Rev Caleb Dane Calthrop
movieCelebrity Naked Ambition
2003
Self - Contributor
movieElgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle
2002
Narrator (voice)
movieThe Fall of the Louse of Usher
2002
Dr. Calahari
tvWaking the Dead
2001
Gerry Raistrick
movieTales of Erotica
1996
Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited)
movieThe Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch
1995
Mr. Kirsch
tvLady Chatterley
1993
Sir Michael Reid
movieThe Secret Life of Arnold Bax
1992
Sir Arnold Bax
movieWhore
1991
Waiter (uncredited)
movieThe Lair of the White Worm
1988
Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
movieSalome's Last Dance
1988
Cappadocian
movieGothic
1987
Tourist
movieValentino
1977
Rex Ingram (uncredited)
movieTommy
1975
Cripple (uncredited)
movieSavage Messiah
1972
Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
movieSong of Summer
1968
Priest
tvOmnibus
1967
Self
movieIsadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
1966
Captain Patterson
Writing43
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
2006
Writer
Lion's Mouth
2000
Screenplay
movieMindbender
1996
Writer
movieTreasure Island
1995
Teleplay
tvLady Chatterley
1993
Writer
movieWhore
1991
Screenplay
movieThe Rainbow
1989
Screenplay
movieThe Lair of the White Worm
1988
Screenplay
movieSalome's Last Dance
1988
Screenplay
movieAria
1987
Writer
movieValentino
1977
Screenplay
movieLisztomania
1975
Screenplay
movieTommy
1975
Screenplay
movieMahler
1974
Writer
movieThe Boy Friend
1971
Screenplay
movieThe Devils
1971
Screenplay
movieSong of Summer
1968
Writer
movieAlways on Sunday
1965
Scenario Writer
movieThe Debussy Film
1965
Scenario Writer
Six
1964
Writer
movieBela Bartók
1964
Screenplay
movieElgar
1962
Writer
movieAmelia and the Angel
1958
Story, Writer
Production15
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
2006
Producer
movieDogboys
1998
Producer
movieThe Rainbow
1989
Producer
movieTommy
1975
Producer
movieSavage Messiah
1972
Producer
movieThe Boy Friend
1971
Producer
movieThe Devils
1971
Producer
movieThe Music Lovers
1971
Producer
movieAlways on Sunday
1965
Producer
Crew4
movieKitsune
2016
Thanks
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
2006
Choreographer
movieThe Fall of the Louse of Usher
2002
Cinematography
movieAmelia and the Angel
1958
Cinematography
Camera3
Charlotte Brontë Enters the Big Brother House
2006
Director of Photography
movieThe Fall of the Louse of Usher
2002
Director of Photography
movieWhore
1991
Camera Operator