Ken Russell England's Great Visionary Film Director And Music Lover [Hardcover]

A filmmaker like no other, Ken Russell remains one of cinema's extraordinary talents, a creator of masterpieces such as The Devils, Tommy and The Music Lovers, and a body of work that flies from the pastoral, Romantic lyricism of Delius: Song of Summer and Elgar to the wild extremes of Lisztomania, Altered States and Mahler.

Ken Russell is the greatest living filmmaker in Britain. Even though he died on November 27, 2011, he's still somehow very much alive. After the death of Michael Powell in 1990, who else was there? As an image-maker, Russell is not only a total natural, he has very few peers among filmmakers - not only in Britain; but also around the globe. Russell's inventiveness seems to know no bounds, and his films are cascades of images, so much that it can't all be taken in on the first viewing of a picture. Russell does everything a great director and a great artist should do, and then he does so much more.

Why do we love Ken Russell's movies so much? For many reasons: the spirituality, such a rare commodity in recent British cinema: Russell's films are not afraid of addressing spiritual issues. The poetry. The music - no other filmmaker of the same era in Britain has been such a tireless and enthusiastic promoter of music. The dancing - no other British film director has included so much dance in their output (and very few directors anywhere!). The British popular culture elements. The English landscape. The romance and romantic sensibility His stories of artists and creativity. His interviews and public persona, appearing on everything from websites and YouTube to silliness like British TV's Big Brother. His encouragement to young filmmakers and his teaching.

Ken Russell has been dubbed 'a fish and chips Fellini', 'the enfant terrible of British cinema' and 'the Wild Mal3(