Ken Russell

Born: 1927-07-03

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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The Lair of the White Worm

as Police Radio (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1988-09-21

On a farm owned by Eve Trent and her sister Mary, young archaeologist Angus Flint discovers a...

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Gothic

as Tourist
Released: 1986-11-30

Living on an estate on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lord Byron is visited by Percy and Mary...

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Whore

as Waiter (uncredited)
Released: 1991-06-21

This melodrama investigates the life of a sex worker, in a pseudo-documentary style.

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The Russia House

as Walter
Released: 1990-12-21

Barley Scott Blair, a Lisbon-based editor of Russian literature who unexpectedly begins working...

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Tommy

as Cripple (uncredited)
Released: 1975-03-19

After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy...

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as Russell Miegs
Released: 2010-10-07

Biopic about 1970s Welsh marijuana trafficker Howard Marks, whose inventive smuggling schemes...

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Brothers of the Head

as Himself
Released: 2006-07-28

In the 1970s a music promoter plucks Siamese twins from obscurity and grooms them into a...

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Trapped Ashes

as Dr. Lucy
Released: 2006-09-12

Trapped in a house of horror, seven people discover that the only way they'll get out alive is...

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Hell on Earth: The Desecration & Resurrection of The Devils

as Self
Released: 2002-11-24

Hell on Earth is a documentary about Ken Russell's 1971 film, The Devils. Film critic Mark...

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Valentino

as Rex Ingram (uncredited)
Released: 1977-09-07

In 1926 the tragic and untimely death of a silent screen actor caused female moviegoers to riot...

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Colour Me Kubrick

as The Man In Nightgown
Released: 2005-10-06

The true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's...

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Salome's Last Dance

as Cappadocian
Released: 1988-05-06

London, England, November 5th, 1892, Guy Fawkes Night. The famous playwright Oscar Wilde and his...

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Savage Messiah

as Passenger getting off train in station (uncredited)
Released: 1972-06-27

In the Paris of the 1910s, brash young sculptor Henri Gaudier begins a creative partnership with...

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Twiggy

as (archival footage)
Released: 2025-03-07

Twiggy takes a comprehensive look at the life story of UK model and cultural icon Twiggy, real...

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The Real Blue Nuns

as Self
Released: 2006-10-16

An investigation into nunsploitation, and why men find images of nuns involved in sexual...

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The Real Oliver Reed

as Self
Released: 2000-01-13

A documentary portrait about the life and times of the infamous hellraiser, who died in May...

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Tales of Erotica

as uncredited
Released: 1996-01-01

A series of erotic short films, all with similar unexpected endings.

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The Kids Are Alright

as uncredited
Released: 1979-06-15

Through concert performances and interviews, this film offers us a comprehensive look at the...

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10 Best Elgar

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2007-04-27

A line up of star performers celebrate the very best of Edward Elgar's music in the 150th...

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A British Picture

as uncredited
Released: 1989-03-20

The updated autobiography of Britain’s most controversial film director, the maker of Women in...

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The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch

as Mr. Kirsch
Released: 1995-01-01

A writer taking a rest in a country hotel is obsessed with a strange woman in the same hotel....

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Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World

as Captain Patterson
Released: 1966-01-02

The outrageous life of the American dancer of the 1920s, Isadora Duncan, whom Ken Russell...

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Ken Russell's ABC of British Music

as Himself
Released: 1988-02-04

An irreverent survey of British Music.

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The Fall of the Louse of Usher

as Dr. Calahari
Released: 2002-02-02

Rock star Roddy Usher is confined to an insane asylum after murdering his wife. There, he is...

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The Secret Life of Arnold Bax

as Sir Arnold Bax
Released: 1992-11-22

A biopic about the eminent composer Sir Arnold Bax.

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In Search of Dracula

as Self
Released: 1996-10-02

A look at "Dracula" in the arts and his supposed real-life inspiration Vlad Tepes.

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Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2012-01-14

Following the recent death of Ken Russell, Alan Yentob looks back over the career of the...

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The Who: One Band's Explosive Story

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2022-08-26

The story of Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith...

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Song of Summer

as Priest
Released: 1968-09-15

The last five years of Frederick Delius's life through the eyes of a young composer and aide,...

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A Kitten for Hitler

as Santa
Released: 2007-06-01

The result of a challenge from Melvyn Bragg to write a film that Ken Russell himself would be...

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Your Honour, I Object! Guccione V Russell

as uncredited
Released: 1987-11-27

A courtroom 'drama' featuring Bob Guccione versus Ken Russell in a breach of contract case...

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Don’t Shoot the Composer

as Himself
Released: 1966-01-09

DON’T SHOOT THE COMPOSER is far from an ordinary profile of Georges Delerue. It also serves as a...

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The Aristofrogs

as uncredited
Released: 2010-08-19

A short promotional film for the 2010 Oldenburg Film Festival consisting of various actors and...

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Ken Russell: In Search of the English Folk Song

as Himself
Released: 1997-11-14

This documentary begins with Ken Russell posing the question: "What is a true English folk song,...

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A Turnip Head’s Guide To The British Cinema

as Self
Released: 1986-01-01

Documentary presenting Alan Parker’s view of British cinema with comments from Richard Lester...

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Music for the Movies: Georges Delerue

as Self
Released: 1995-04-04

Documentary covering the career of French composer Georges Delerue, famous for film scores for...

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Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait

as Self
Released: 1983-01-01

South Bank Show documentary concerning the life and music of Ralph Vaughn Williams.

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Walk With The Damned

as Hood
Released: 1961-06-02

Gangsters run rampant until they encounter a gutsy minister.

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Agatha Christie's Marple

as Rev Caleb Dane Calthrop
First aired: 2004-12-12

The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St...

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Waking the Dead

as Gerry Raistrick
First aired: 2001-06-18

A detective team apply new techniques to old crimes as they solve cold cases.

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Celebrity Big Brother

as Self - Contestant
First aired: 2001-03-09

Celebrity Big Brother is a British reality television game show in which a number of celebrity...

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The South Bank Show

as Self
First aired: 1978-01-14

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show that was produced by ITV between 1978 and...

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Lady Chatterley

as Sir Michael Reid
First aired: 1993-06-06

Lady Constance Chatterley is married to the handicapped Sir Clifford Chatterley, who was wounded...

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