Ken Russell

His favorite film is Jean Vigo's L'Atalante (1934).

Ken Russell tried several professions before choosing to become a film director; he was a still photographer and a dancer and he even served in the Army, but film was his destiny. He began by making several short films which paved the way for his brilliant television films of the 1960s that are acclaimed for his attention to detail and opulent visuals.

Was part of a legendary incident in British television when he appeared on Late Night Line-Up (1964) on BBC2 to discuss his new film The Devils (1971) alongside critic Alexander Walker, who did not like the film. As Walker began critiquing the film, Russell interrupted him repeatedly. The two began shouting at each other, and Russell eventually hit Walker over the head with a rolled-up copy of his own review. The incident took place on live television and no footage is known to exist.

Considers his best film to be Omnibus: Song of Summer (1968), which he directed for the BBC. When discussing the film he said, "This is the best film I have ever made... I don't think I would have done a single shot differently".

His third feature film Women in Love (1969) was a triumph that made him known internationally.

Has tried to work on film with Barbra Streisand twice, first in the early 1970s on a biography of Sarah Bernhardt, and then in the version of the stage musical "Evita".

His films were popular in Italy. At the 1971 Venice Film Festival he won Best Director-Foreign Film for The Devils (1971).

His first wife, Shirley Russell, was the costume designer on all of his films until 1978 when they divorced. She was later nominated for two Oscars: Michael Apted's Agatha (1979) and Warren Beatty's Reds (1981).

Francis Ford Coppola told Rolling Stone magazine while promoting Apocalypse Now (1979), "People used to ask me, well, what's this movie gonna be like? I said, well, it's gonna be very stylized. And they said, well, like what? Like what director? And I would say, like Ken Russell.".

After the controversy surrounding Altered States (1980), he had trouble getting financial backing, so he directed opera for a while, including a version of Madame Butterfly.

Currently a house-mate in the UK TV series Celebrity Big Brother (2001), Episode #5.1 (2007). [January 2007]

He was a guest of Belgrade Film Festival - FEST 2003.

Currently a feature writer for the London Times film section. [March 2007]

Directing the play "Mindgame" by Anthony Horowitz in New York, starring Keith Carradine. [October 2008]

Retrospective at the 14th New Horizons Film Festival (2014).

He was originally cast to play a cameo in the horror musical Spidarlings (2016). Russell passed away mere months before principal photography was scheduled to begin. The film is dedicated in his memory.