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81
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: Music Videos by Jon Sorensen
« Last post by Jon Sorensen on April 28, 2023, 07:56:41 PM »
Hi, Iain. The bio book has grown to be a much bigger project and is delayed by about a year. I certainly will be covering "Alien Blood". In the interim period some bio/travel podcasts may emerge as I move around and I will possibly point you to them on here, for anyone who may be interested. The book I am only going to be doing once, so I may as well get it right. There's a lot of material. More than I could have predicted. Also, I recently watched again Ken's two "Clouds Of Glory" films on Wordsworth and Coleridge, on a DVD given me by Ken himself. Took me back to seeing them first on my loaned tiny black and white TV set wrapped in my sleeping bag in Peter Cushing's old dressing room at the old Bray Film Studios where I camped out for my first four months in 1978 whilst working on "Alien" (1979). I really ought to put them up on YouTube or even on my own website so that people can see them again. They still make me marvel. Just wonderful and still vivid the effects they had on me as we built spaceships and aliens so that "in space no-one could hear you scream". Do take care of yourselves. I send my very best and a wee smile. Keep your sense of wonder!
82
Athol Fugard discussion / Master Harold in San Francisco
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 27, 2023, 08:34:33 PM »
Weathervane Productions presents The Road to Mecca at Z Below from 4- 30 Jun 2023.
For more details click here:
http://www.iainfisher.com/fugard/fugard-news.html

83
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Mahler in USA
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 26, 2023, 07:16:30 PM »
The Colorado MahlerFest present Ken Russell's Mahler on 18 May 2023.  It is shown at the Boedecker Theater, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, USA.

For more details see here
http://www.iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-news.html

84
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: Clouds of Glory at the British Film Institute
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 22, 2023, 12:24:28 AM »
The showing is on 11 June 2023 at the BFI, London.
85
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Clouds of Glory at the British Film Institute
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 21, 2023, 11:08:56 PM »
The BFI in London will show the two Clouds of Glory films about poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.  A rare chance to see them as they are not available on video or DVD.  It is in June, more details soon.


For more on the films see here
http://www.iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-tv-clouds.html
86
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Murray Melvin passes away
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 15, 2023, 06:17:59 PM »
Sadly Murray Melvin has passed away.  He was a loyal  supporter of Ken's works and would attend screenings of his films.

I was fortunate enough to meet and talk with Melvin, a friendly, open and intelligent person.  Someone asked him how old he was- he said 29 and he said he would continue to say that until he decided to move to 30.

His first role for Ken was 1964's The Diary of a Nobody


Further roles for Ken were in  Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World, The Devils, The Boyfriend, Lizstomania, Clouds of Glory and Prisoner of Honor from 1991.

For more on his theatre work, his role in the first episode of The Avengers, and his Kubrick film click here
http://www.iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-news.html

87
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Updates to Tommy
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 13, 2023, 10:15:20 PM »
The section on Tommy is updated, including with comments by Tina Turner from her autobiography "I brought my own clothes to the set, just in case I didn't like the costumes.  Thank God!  You should have seen how they would have dressed me... The costume designer, Russell's wife Shirley, said that I could wear them, although she came up with the Acid Queen's clunky platform shoes.  Ken Russell loved the way I looked"

The update is here
http://www.iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-tommy.html

88
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Elgar 60 years on
« Last post by Iain Fisher on March 15, 2023, 07:00:34 PM »
Elgar was released in 1962 but in 2013 it is still remembered when Elgar's music is performed.

"the glorious sweep of the strings in Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro with their solo participation. It’s a sweep that I can never separate from Ken Russell’s Elgar film, accompanying the young composer riding a white pony across the Malvern Hills via the Royal Philharmonic’s broadest of brushes."

Quotation by Jeremy Eccles on Arts Hub covering the Orange Chamber Music Festival, 15 Mar 2023.
Click here
https://www.artshub.com.au/news/reviews/music-review-orange-chamber-music-festival-2619544/


89
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / poor journalism
« Last post by Iain Fisher on March 09, 2023, 01:12:00 AM »
An example of the sort of poor journalism that haunts Ken's work.

The article is about music videos.  Despite saying “we take a look at music videos from notable directors” he brings in Ken Russell but doesn’t mention (and may be unaware of) Ken’s music videos such as Elton John’s Nikita and Cliff Richard’s She’s So Beautiful.

He does however  talk of “the sacrilege of most of the films of people like Ken Russell”  I am not sure he actually understands the meaning of sacrilegious- the Cambridge Dictionary gives it as “treating something holy or important without respect”.  Certainly The Devils, but Ken’s D.H. Lawrence films?  Far less The Boyfriend. Far less Nikita.

Ignoring the poor understanding of sacrilege.  He talks of a video In A Glass Cage (Tras El Cristal) by AgustĂ­ Villaronga and describes the plot as “The victim takes on the role of the Nazi's caretaker, and decides to torture him and follow in his footsteps as a pedophiliac murderer”.  I’ve not seen it so can’t comment on its merits but does the subject matter (which he sees as sacrilegious) really compare to Ken Russell’s work?

The article is by Theodoor Steen ,Screen Anarchy,  6 Mar 2023, click here
https://screenanarchy.com/2023/03/sound-and-vision-agusti-villaronga.html

90
Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: Billion Dollar Brain
« Last post by Iain Fisher on March 07, 2023, 06:49:32 PM »
and again on Film4 today and also on 20 Mar 2023.
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