1927-07-03 Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK
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."
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Twiggy | (archival footage) | 2025-03-07 |
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The Who : pile et faces – La double vie d'un groupe anglais de légende | Self (archive footage) | 2022-08-26 |
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Director of Devils | Self | 2012-03-19 |
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Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil | Self (archive footage) | 2012-01-14 |
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The Devils Original on-set footage | 2012-01-01 | |
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Mr. Nice | Russell Miegs | 2010-10-07 |
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The Aristofrogs | 2010-08-19 | |
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Boudica Bites Back | Roman Senator | 2009-08-06 |
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10 Best Elgar | Self (archive footage) | 2007-04-27 |
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A Kitten for Hitler | Santa | 2007-06-01 |
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Brothers of the Head | Himself | 2006-07-28 |
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Trapped Ashes | Dr. Lucy (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts") | 2006-09-12 |
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The Real Blue Nuns | Self | 2006-10-16 |
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Colour Me Kubrick | The Man In Nightgown | 2005-10-06 |
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Revenge of the Elephant Man | 2004-07-14 | |
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100 Greatest Sexy Moments | Self | 2003-11-29 |
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The Fall of the Louse of Usher | Dr. Calahari | 2002-02-02 |
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Elgar: Fantasy of a Composer on a Bicycle | Narrator (voice) | 2002-09-22 |
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Hell on Earth: The Desecration & Resurrection of The Devils | Self | 2002-11-24 |
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Lion's Mouth | Ken | 2000-01-01 |
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The Real Oliver Reed | Self | 2000-01-13 |
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Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song | Himself | 1997-11-14 |
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Vem Var Dracula | Self | 1996-10-02 |
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Tales of Erotica | Mr. Kirsch (segment 'The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch') (uncredited) | 1996-01-01 |
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Alice in Russialand | 1995-01-01 | |
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Music for the Movies: Georges Delerue | Self | 1995-04-04 |
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The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch | Mr. Kirsch | 1995-01-01 |
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Empire of the Censors | Self | 1995-05-28 |
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The Secret Life of Arnold Bax | Sir Arnold Bax | 1992-11-22 |
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Whore | Waiter (uncredited) | 1991-06-21 |
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The Russia House | Walter | 1990-12-21 |
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A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible | 1989-03-20 | |
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The Lair of the White Worm | Police Radio (voice) (uncredited) | 1988-09-21 |
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Salome's Last Dance | Cappadocian | 1988-05-06 |
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Ken Russell's ABC of British Music | Himself | 1988-02-04 |
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Your Honour, I Object! Guccione V Russell | 1987-11-27 | |
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Gothic | Tourist | 1987-02-27 |
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A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema | Self | 1986-01-01 |
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Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait | Self | 1983-01-01 |
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The Who: The Kids Are Alright | Self | 1979-06-15 |
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Valentino | Rex Ingram (uncredited) | 1977-09-07 |
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Tommy | Cripple (uncredited) | 1975-03-19 |
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Savage Messiah | Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited) | 1972-06-27 |
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Song of Summer | Priest | 1968-09-15 |
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Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World | Captain Patterson | 1966-01-02 |
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Don’t Shoot the Composer | Himself | 1966-01-09 |
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Russell at Work | 1966-01-01 | |
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Walk With The Damned | Hood | 1961-06-02 |
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PuzzleFace | god |
