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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell => Savage Messiah: Ken Russell => Topic started by: BoyScoutKevin on August 13, 2011, 10:56:17 PM

Title: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 13, 2011, 10:56:17 PM
Since Ken Russell's "Mahler" is available for free on the world wide web, I thought I watch and comment on it.

Who chose the opening music? The film is off to a good start.

Just as it helps that Kirk Douglas looked like Vincent van Gogh in "Lust for Life," so it helps that Robert Powell looks like Gustav Mahler in "Mahler."

What a wonderful metaphor for life's journey is the train journey. Once almost it is a cliche, it has fallen out of favor of filmmakers, maybe because no one travels by train anymore.

Mr. Russell, whatever you are trying to say in the opening, I am afraid I cannot take it seriously, because the opening makes me laugh everytime I see it.

5:17 Boy in sailor suit

Outside of the scenes of hallucinations in his films, this scene is one of the most confusing of the scenes in all of Russell's films. For what is Ken trying to say in this scene? Here you have a fictional scene in a factual film about Mahler, taken from a factual scene in a fictional film about Mahler (i.e. Luchino Visconti's "Death in Venice.")

And Visconti does it better. Not that Russell cannot do boy as sex object. See his "Salome's Last Dance" with Russell Lee Nash as the Pageboy or his "Lair of the White Worm" with Chris Pitt as the Boy Scout, but here Visconti does the scene better. Is that because Ken is a better originator than copyist, or is it because a boy in a swimsuit works better than a boy in a sailor suite?

To be continued . . .
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 29, 2011, 10:32:00 PM
"Mahler," part 2.

00:07 Cameo by Oliver Reed.

04:21 This scene reminds me of the scene in "Women in Love" of Glenda Jackson as Gundrun Brangwen dancing amid the cattle.

So, all of this was filmed in the Lake District?

Here again. Water plays a prominent role in one of Russell's films. How many does this make again? (See the thread "Ken Russell and the Water Motif.")

To be continued . . .
"Mahler," part 3
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: Iain Fisher on September 11, 2011, 11:44:00 PM
"What a wonderful metaphor for life's journey is the train journey. Once almost it is a cliche, it has fallen out of favor of filmmakers, maybe because no one travels by train anymore."

Good point, I hadn't thought of that.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 17, 2011, 08:22:18 PM
"Mahler," part 3.

All times are approximate.

00:29 Alma Mahler (Georgina Hale) has a gold ring on her finger. It looks like a wedding ring, as it is on her ring finger. But it is on her right hand instead of her left hand. Do Austrians wear their wedding rings on a different hand, then we Americans?

03:35 We get our first glimpse of Young Gustav (Gary Rich.) Outside of Young Tommy in "Tommy," it is probably the biggest role played by a child in one of Ken's films.

08:54 And Ken's love/hate relationship with Wagner continues. Why, oh why of all the statues in the world, does it have to be Wagner?

Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 17, 2011, 09:11:54 PM
"Mahler," part 3 continued

Family dynamics. Is there one child in a Ken Russell film that had a happy childhood? Certainly, not . . .

"Salome's Last Dance"
Salome/Rose nor the pageboy

"The Rainbow"
the schoolboy

"Lair of the White Worm"
the boy scout, Kevin

and, certainly not, . . .
"Mahler"
young Gustav

Maybe . . .

"Altered States"
Margaret Jessup

"The Music Lovers"
the von Meck Twins

And notice the lighting used in "Mahler." Always a highlight in any Ken Russell film.

Next time: "Mahler," part 4
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 13, 2011, 10:18:38 PM
"Mahler," part 4

Once again times are approximate.

0:52 What no skinnydipping? I guess a skinnydipping scene would be improssible to shoot, and it it was possible, it take longer to set up the scene. Thus, put the boys in swimsuits for a quicker and less expensive shoot.

2:09 Did I hear the word "pansy" used? Once again we hear and see Russell's interest in homosexuality. Though, Mahler is probably one of Ken's least gay heroes.

3:29 Despite what is said there in the film. There are some men that cannot float. I being one of them. It is not that common. Probably only one in ten men have no flotation at all. But, there are some men who cannot float.

Next time: "Mahler," part 5.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: Iain Fisher on November 01, 2011, 12:12:54 AM
"There are some men that cannot float. I being one of them"

How do you find out?  Thrown into a pool (like I was as a kid and got rescued screaming but it didn't affect me)? Working as a steward on the Titanic?  Part of a science experiment?

Turning to horror, maybe everyone floats but maybe after drowning?
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 05, 2011, 07:41:08 PM
"There are some men that cannot float. I being one of them"

How do you find out?  Thrown into a pool (like I was as a kid and got rescued screaming but it didn't affect me)? Working as a steward on the Titanic?  Part of a science experiment?

Turning to horror, maybe everyone floats but maybe after drowning?

Not thrown in, but anytime I entered a pool and got in over my head, I sank like a rock. And it is true, that people will float after they drown. I don't know all the details, but it has to do something with the body swelling up, after a person drowns, or the body is submerged into the water. I have heard that bodies have been submerged attached to anchors, and after awhile they still have come up, anchor and all. Just remember that. The next time you submerge a body into the water. or drown a scout in the tub like Ken did in "Lair of the White Worm." And how long did it take for that body to come to the surface?
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 05, 2011, 07:54:47 PM
"Mahler," part 5.

Times are approximate.

3:42 If you can't drown him, then paralyze him. What we can presume. An inexperienced rider riding at a gallop bareback on a horse. Not good Ken. Even an experienced horseman, such as Christopher Reeve, riding a saddled horse can have a fall that causes paralysis. Of course, it may not be Young Gustav (Gary Rich) in that scene, as we never really see his face. Still, I know enough about horses, to know that it is not good for the horse to have nothing, not even a blanket, between the rider and the horse.

5:32 Alma Mahler (Georgina Hale) Outside of this film, I really don't know much about Mahler. I don't know how his biographers feel about him. I don't even know yet how Ken feels about him. But I am developing, through this film, some sympathy for Alma. Mahler must not have been easy to live with, let alone be married to.

8:57 Is this the first time that a person of black descent has appeared in one of Ken's films? I can't remember them being that prevalent in Ken's films except for "Tommy" and "Whore."

Next time: "Mahler," part 6.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 11, 2012, 10:02:22 PM
"Mahler," part 6.

Times are approximate.

0:10. Book unknown. Artist Gustave Dore. His style of illustrrations is distinctive enough to identify him.

6:44. Where would be if one of Ken's films did not have at least one hallucination in them? Especially one as incomprehensible as this one.

7:19. It is too bad Ken did not live long enough to do a film on Beethoven. While there have been other films about the German composer, just think what Ken could have done with the subject of Beethoven's growing deafness.

7:38. I presume that the crematorium is some sort of metaphor for Hell.

It does not bother me so much that the film starts and stops, but that the sound is so bad, it is hard to hear what every one is saying.

Next time: "Mahler," part 7.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: Iain Fisher on January 14, 2012, 11:57:55 PM
"Is this the first time that a person of black descent has appeared in one of Ken's films? I can't remember them being that prevalent in Ken's films except for Tommy and Whore."

A couple of earlier appearances, but both following racial stereotypes unfortunately.  In The Boyfriend there is a black chauffeur, and in the television film "Guitar Crazy" there is a very unfortunate cut between an intelligent young black boy, and a "sambo" balloon.  Common for the time, but now shows the racism of the time.

Later the surgeons in Aria, and Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch in Whore.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 31, 2012, 10:24:32 PM
Thank-you for the reply to my question, Iain. Having seen both "The Boyfriend" and "Aria," I should have remembered that blacks appear in both films, especially "Aria."

As for "Guitar Crazy," which I have not seen, if Ken was ahead of his times in so many of his films, he was also a product of his times.

Thank-you again, Iain.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 19, 2012, 07:30:20 PM
"Mahler," part 7.

What I noted.

And as always, times are approximate.

0:21 The eyes! The eyes! "Gothic."

1:30 And thru out the film. Multiple images. That is the first time I can remember seeing something like that in one of Ken's films.

1:54 And thru out the film. Constant contrast between black and white.

2:15 The camera shot between the legs. Many films.
        Stockings. "Lair of the White Worm."

2:35 Riding the phonograph machine. OK! What is all that about?

3:45 Robert Powell looks like Gustav Mahler. Just creepy. It is almost like Mahler was reincarnated in Powell.

5:14 Mahler's "Don't associate naivete with children." Associate it with boy scouts.

6:49 Mahler's "I don't want to see you get hurt." And with Austrian composers.

7:02 And thru out the film. Russell makes good use of Mahler's music.

7:20 Water motif. Many films, but this is the first time I can remember seeing its use in a water fountain.

Next time: "Mahler," part 8.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 24, 2012, 07:47:49 PM
"Mahler," part 8

Not much to say about this, except, unlike some of the previous scenes in the film, this one could be excised completely from the film without hurting the film.

2:15 Wagner

I regret that Russell, before he died, could not have done one of his musical biographies on Wagner. While Wagner does play an important part in "Lisztomania," I'd still like to have seen what Russell could have done with Wagner. For a man, Russell disliked, with or without reason, Wagner keeps popping up time and time again in Russell's films.

Next time: "Mahler," part 9.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 04, 2012, 10:40:18 PM
"Mahler," part 9.

Family dynamics. One wonders how close it comes to Ken's family.

Mahler (Robert Powell) smokes a cigar. Which reminds how little smoking I can remember seeing in Ken's films. The only other character in a Ken film that smokes that comes to mind is Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) in Ken's "Lair of the White Worm."

4:01 "The Convert" Seemingly a watershed moment between Ken's more restrained, comparatively speaking, "The Music Lovers" and his unrestrained "Lisztomania."

And if there is any doubt about Robert Powell's skill as an actor, this scene proves how good of an actor he is.

It also proves Ken's skill as a filmmaker. Because a scene that by all rights should not work, actually works quite well within the film.

Next time: "Mahler," part 10.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 14, 2012, 11:23:24 PM
"Mahler," part 10

"The Convert" continues.

Robert Powell is a good actor, but as a singer . . .?

Next time: "Mahler," part 11
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: Iain Fisher on April 19, 2012, 11:12:10 AM
"The only other character in a Ken film that smokes that comes to mind is Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) in Ken's "Lair of the White Worm."

The actress disguised as a nun in French Dressing smokes.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 27, 2012, 10:01:33 PM
"The only other character in a Ken film that smokes that comes to mind is Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) in Ken's "Lair of the White Worm."

The actress disguised as a nun in French Dressing smokes.

You are right. I had forgotten that. While I have not seen the film in its entirity, I have seen stills of that scene.
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 27, 2012, 10:32:29 PM
"Mahler," part 11.
0:01 She has a beautiful voice, indeed if that is her singing, and not someone else dubbed into the film.

0:36 Contrast between light and dark. Outside of the directors who worked in the genera film noire, I don't know any director outside of our Ken, who was better at working with light.

6:01 There are directors who work well with individual actors. There are directors who work well with crowds of actors, but Ken is one of the few who seems to work equally well with crowds of actors and individual actors. The only others I can think who do equally well with both are Sir Carol Reed and David Lean.

Next time: "Mahler," part 12.
 
Title: Re: Mahler
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 05, 2012, 08:55:54 PM
"Mahler," part 12, and final thoughts.

When I saw this I associated it most with "Altered States" and "Women in Love." Because, as in "Altered States" a relationship which seems to begin poorly ends well, whereas, in "Women in Love," a relationship which seems to begin well ends poorly.

And as the film progressed, I had an increasing sympathy for Alma Mahler (Georgina Hale.) If Mahler was anything like he was in the film, he certainly does not seem to have been the easiest person to live with.

Next time: Past. Present.