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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell => Savage Messiah: Ken Russell => Topic started by: BoyScoutKevin on October 02, 2014, 11:47:53 PM
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Ken is a study in contrasts, or, at least, his films are a study in contrasts, with two types of contrasts or mirror images.
Opposing images in two different films, which we will take up next time, and opposing images in the same film, which we will take up now. And what do I mean by opposing images, just this.
Altered States
light and dark
Lair of the White Worm
paganism and Christianity
Mahler
black and white
Savage Messiah
artistic and philistinism
Women in Love
clean and dirty
To be continued . . .
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Not only do you find mirroring contrasts in the same film by Ken, you find mirroring contrasts across Ken's films. For example: the protagonist Father Urbain Grandier, here played by Oliver Reed, in Ken's "The Devils," and the antagonist Lady Sylvia March, here played by Amanda Donohoe, in Ken's "Lair of the White Worm" mirror each other. Again, for example:
1.Each loses.
2. Each is the most interesting character in the film (IMHO.)
3. Each has ineffectual allies.
To be continued . . .
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Continuing . . .
4. Loser enjoys what he/she is doing.
5. Loser is sexually free and happy.
6. Foes sexually repressed and unhappy.
To be continued . . .
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7. Multiple foes.
8. Loser outnumbered by foes.
9. Foes more progressive.
And that's that.
Next time: If we can find any that we have not seen, Ken's films on the world wide web.