Recent Posts

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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Mindbender and Altered States
« Last post by Iain Fisher on Today at 05:27:26 PM »
Watching Mindbender again (still not recommended).  I noticed the camera operator is Alf Smith who is not listed under any other film, and given that Ken often used the name Alf Russell when he operated the camera, I guess it is Ken.

Also one of the characters says he is going to Mexico City to study hallucinogenic herbs used by the Hinchi tribesmen- this is what Eddie Jessup does in Altered States.

More on the film is here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-tv-mindbender.html



And more on Altered States
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-altered-states.html



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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Ken Russell's Black Magic advertisement
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 21, 2025, 12:17:38 PM »
"The man in my life brings me Black Magic chocolates".  An advert, 65 seconds and black and white, for Rowntree's Black Magic chocolates made in 1966.  A chic woman walking through a stately building and the man she walks to has chocolates for her.
For more see
https://www.iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-tv-video.html


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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: site updates: Pop Goes the Easel
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 20, 2025, 07:09:06 PM »
Various updates to the Monitor film Pop Goes the Easel including the list of music used.

For more on Pop Goes the Easel click here
https://www.iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-tv-monitor-classics.html

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Athol Fugard discussion / The Island reading in Virginia, USA
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 10, 2025, 09:31:51 AM »
Metrostage Theatre present a Tribute to Athol Fugard with a reading of The Island.  It is on 16 April 2025.  The performers are Doug Brown and Bill Grimmette.

"Since Mr. Fugard died this past February, MetroStage is honored to pay tribute to his body of work and present a reading of this extraordinary play. By depicting the labor required of the political prisoners, their bond, and their commitment to telling the classic story of “Antigone” for their fellow prisoners, Fugard has created a dramatic, and historic masterpiece. As MetroStage director Thomas W. Jones II described in a 2015 interview, the play depicts “themes of solidarity, endurance, perseverance (that) are timeless”, and a “celebration of human dignity and freedom in the face of insurmountable oppression".

For the theatre website click here
https://www.metrostage.org/
For more on the play click here
https://iainfisher.com/fugard/athol-fugard-statements.html



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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / site updates
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 09, 2025, 02:44:19 PM »
Update to Tommy with on-scene reporting of the accidental fire on the pier

https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-tommy.html


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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Refocus: the Films of Ken Russell in paperback
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 09, 2025, 01:42:29 PM »
the book is now available in paperback
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Athol Fugard discussion / Re: The Train Driver in London 2026
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 09, 2025, 10:36:36 AM »
Park Theatre present The Train Driver from 14 Jan- 7 Feb 2026.  The director is Jimmy Walters and the play is presented by Proud Haddock and Sarah Lawrie in association with Park Theatre.

"December 2000, Cape Flats, South Africa. A woman steps in front of a train with her baby on the railway tracks between Philippi and Nyanga.

Two months later Roelf, the train driver, has spent weeks searching for the identities of the victims. After a fruitless journey through shanty towns, he encounters an old gravedigger named Simon who helps the desperate man unburden his conscience. Based on a true story, The Train Driver is a soulful exploration of guilt, suffering, racial intolerance and the powerful bonds that grow between strangers".

For the theatre website click here
https://parktheatre.co.uk/
For more on the play click here
https://iainfisher.com/fugard/athol-fugard-plays-keeping-watch.html



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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: Richard Chamberlayne passes away
« Last post by Jon Sorensen on April 08, 2025, 12:07:45 PM »
Hi, Iain,

Richard Chamberlain was an amazing acting talent.

Ken (Russell) made me a gift of many of his own films on DVD. A friend of mine, a visual effects supervisor who had just come off "Perfume" (2006), had never seen any of Ken's movies. I gave him a bunch of them. I told him "Dance Of The Seven Veils" was amongst the best things Ken ever done. It was Ken at his best. My friend went off and reported back that what he really dug was Ken's "The Music Lovers" with Chamberlain. He was hooked and converted, and my friend was due to make a documentary about Ken and I hanging out together. It did'nt happen. Then Ken died.

But all this reminds me of the incredible films and other film-makers we had. Seeing that Chamberlain had died I was prompted to go hunting for the now very rare "Lady Caroline Lamb" (1972), made by Robert Bolt and starring Chamberlain as Lord Byron. A film full of siginificant philosophies for me personally, I have a copy winging its' way to me as I write this. Boy, we had a golden age in which Ken, John Boorman, Stanley Kubrick and Robert Fuest and others were, to me, the bedrock. We have been lucky to have lived when we have lived.

Thanks for all your great work. Stay well, Iain. Keep flying the flag.

Jon
www.jonsorensencreative.com

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Steven Berkoff discussion / Steven Berkoff and Frankenstein in Chichester, UK
« Last post by Iain Fisher on April 04, 2025, 11:05:03 AM »
Steven Berkoff will be reading from Frankenstein at the Chichester Festival on 8 July 2025.

"The legendary actor and playwright Steven Berkoff reads from Mary Shelley’s iconic horror story Frankenstein. With poetry from Mary Shelley and the Romantic era women writers read by Emily Rose Smith. Music from the period including Fanny Mendelssohn played by concert pianist Elena Toponogova, plus contemporary South Downs poetry.".

The Chichester Festival website is here
https://festivalofchichester.co.uk/

More on Steven Berkoff is here
https://iainfisher.com/berkoff/berkoff-overview.html


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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: Music Videos by Jon Sorensen
« Last post by Jon Sorensen on April 02, 2025, 07:58:24 PM »
Hi, Iain,

A few words. I am embarking on another feature film project. It has been 25 years since
"Alien Blood". That movie is still out there and the US Distributors have just renewed its' contract,
so it's like Dracula in that it simply refuses to die and walks on, astonishing for an indie film I was sure would be gone in a year.

I know you are a fan of that "Russellesque" feature. This new script will amalgamate two stories I
have wanted to make into a film for many years. I will post here occasionally on updates. It's all highly visual stuff and will be ready when it is ready. But there it is.

Thanks so much for flying the flag for Ken, (and others), and please do keep up the great work.

Stay well, Iain, and all of you Keep Your Sense Of Wonder.

As a matter of passing, the two recent music shorts of my site you will find are "Pets" and "Warp", but there is a fair ton of them in the Ken Russell music/visuals spirit.

Take care of yourselves,


Jon Sorensen

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