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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Updates to Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill
« Last post by Iain Fisher on Yesterday at 07:01:12 PM »
Ken Russell's film for Monitor about legendary singer Lotte Lenya.  She performs songs by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht,

Ken Russell says "it was in the early 60s that I met the legendary Lenya herself and was able to talk her into appearing on the BBC Arts programme Monitor.  I staged four numbers for her including Surabaya Johnny and The Alabama Song of which I still have dazzling memories".

Click here for the film (bottom of the page)
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-tv-monitor-shorts.html



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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Re: Ken Russell - Alice In Russialand
« Last post by Jr on November 02, 2025, 05:05:16 AM »
OH MY GOD!!! I cannot believe it took so so many many years to finally watch this. More than 10 years looking for this.

Quote from: alicia on January 09, 2025, 04:29:49 AM
Quote from: Kseniya on September 12, 2023, 09:56:15 AM
Hi there. I accidentally found this topic and I am very glad that people are interested in finding this rare film. Personally, I would like to see it not so much because of Ken Russell (sorry ;D ) but because of Steve Pemberton in it (my favorite British actor plays at least two roles in there). I see that no one has offered this clip here yet, so... This is the announcement of the TV Cultura channel for 1994: https://youtu.be/ArMaXRh7oow?si=D8gNgkQEXBh9zaL6 Starting from 1:05. VHSRip quality I suppose.

The portuguese title of "Alice in Russialand" was "Alice no PaĂ­s dos Russos". Hope that can help you a bit. Cheers!

hello! i found it and uploaded to youtube! :)
https://youtu.be/PhgDLCkBkJQ?si=xj0nsecNzbwOJXRm
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Steven Berkoff discussion / updates to Remembering Nigel film
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 23, 2025, 05:27:17 PM »
Remembering Nigel, a comedy from 2015 written and directed by Frank Howson.  It attempted to get crowd funding but failed to reach the target.

More on the film is here
https://iainfisher.com/berkoff/berkoff-film-2010s-2.html


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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / John Woodvine passes away
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 12, 2025, 02:42:04 PM »
John Woodvine who played Louis Trincant in The Devils has passed away.

Woodvine has over 180 film and television credits including a leading role in An American Werewolf in London and an extensive career in theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the English Shakespeare Company.  I saw him on stage playing three plays in a day, Falstaff in Henry IV parts 1 and 2 and Henry V playing the Chorus.  He was magnificent.
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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / The Boyfriend in many cinemas in Australia
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 12, 2025, 12:56:24 PM »
The British Film Festival present The Boyfriend at various cinemas in Australia between 6 November- 4 December 2025.

"Step into the dazzling world of Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend (1971), a lavish, tongue-in-cheek homage to the golden age of musicals. Adapted from Sandy Wilson’s hit stage production, the film stars Twiggy in a radiant screen debut as Polly Browne, a shy understudy suddenly thrust into the spotlight when the lead actress collapses. What follows is an exhilarating mix of backstage chaos, soaring fantasy numbers, and affectionate satire of 1920s musical extravaganzas. Russell pulls out all the stops, blending lush art-deco sets, kaleidoscopic costumes, and ingenious choreography that seamlessly oscillates between reality and dream".

The festival is on various dates at various sites:

  • Melbourne: The Astor Theatre, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, Palace Penny Lane, The Kino, Pentridge Cinema, Palace Church St
  • Ballarat: Palace Regent Ballarat
  • Canberra: Palace Electric Cinemas
  • Brisbane: Palace Barracks, Palace James Street
  • Adelaide: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas
  • Perth: Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Leederville and Windsor
  • Byron Bay: Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas
  • Sydney: Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park, Chauvel Cinema, Palace Central

For the Festival site click here
https://britishfilmfestival.com.au/
For more on The Boyfriend click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-the-boyfriend.html


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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Altered States on UHD and Blu-Ray
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 10, 2025, 05:53:15 PM »
Altered States issued on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray by Criterion in UK and USA editions.

"The ultimate cinematic head trip of the 1980s, British renegade Ken Russell’s first Hollywood film—adapted by the legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky from his own novel—is part hallucinogenic freak-out, part gonzo creature feature, part transcendent love story, all played at a fever pitch. When researcher Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) begins using himself as a test subject for his mind-expanding psychological experiments, it sends him on an increasingly dangerous, substance-fueled odyssey from humankind’s primordial past to the outer limits of consciousness. It’s all visualized by Russell in a psychedelic supernova of out-there imagery that encompasses everything from the pagan to the cosmic sublime, culminating in a brain-wave-blasting battle between the mind and the heart".

The features include
  • New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • New audio commentary featuring film historian Samm
  • Archival interviews with director Ken Russell and actor William Hurt
  • New interview with special-visual-effects designer Bran
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
For more on Altered States click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-altered-states.html

To buy on Amazon UK click here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FJYJJ9ZK/savagmessiakenru
To buy on Amazon USA click here
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FHSC1TK8/savagemessiah
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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / Billy Williams passes away
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 10, 2025, 04:33:02 PM »
Billy Williams was cinematographer on Russell's Billion Dollar Brain in 1967 through to Women in Love, The Rainbow and Dusk Before Fireworks in 1990, being nominated for an Oscar for Women in Love.  His 46 film credits also include Sunday Bloody Sunday and Gandhi as well as the opening (Iraq) sequence of The Exorcist.  Williams said  he moved from documentaries to commercials, working with Russell, to films.

Above Williams with Ken Russell, below his cinematography with Alan Bates reflected in the mirror.

For more on Billy Williams click here.
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-people-technicians.html

There is an interview with Williams talking of The Exorcist here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTEQ46Lv5NU&t=176s
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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell / The Lair of the White Worm in St Louis, USA
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 10, 2025, 03:42:11 PM »
Arkadin Cinema in St Louis present The Lair of the White Worm on 23 October 2025.

"Unfairly dismissed as an aging auteur’s bid at serious horror, THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is Ken Russell’s typically extravagant exercise in camp absurdism. Drenched in phallic imagery, folkloric terror, and a masculine battle of wills between, of all people, Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, Russell’s sublimely silly tale of a gigantic white serpent monster who feeds on the flesh of virgins. Posh nobleman James D’Ampton (Grant) dismisses these tales until archaeology student Angus Flint (Capaldi) unearths a massive reptilian skull. Could lubricious local temptress Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) be involved?"

The screening includes a pre-show "Come out early for 30 minutes of slimy slithery terror with our Creepy Crawlies Pre-Show featuring the ickiest worms, snakes, slugs, and bugs in cinematic history".

For the Arkadin Cinema click here
https://arkadincinema.com/
For more on The Lair of the White Worm click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-lair-white-worm.html


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Steven Berkoff discussion / Re: Steven Berkoff analysis
« Last post by Iain Fisher on October 08, 2025, 02:44:54 PM »
There are a number of longer articles on the site
https://iainfisher.com/berkoff/berkoff-study.html

Two might be of interest here
  • Creating the "Berkovian" Aesthetic
    An analysis of Steven Berkoff's Performance Style
  • Figuring Figuration and the Works of Steven Berkoff

Do these help?
Iain
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Steven Berkoff discussion / Re: Steven Berkoff's set designs
« Last post by dex on October 07, 2025, 11:16:13 PM »
me too rosie. me too :'(
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