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Last update 12 October 2025
The Boyfriend in many cinemas in Australia
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:
For the Festival site click
here. Altered States on UHD and Blu-Ray
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".
For more on Altered States click here.
John Woodvine passes away John Woodvine who played Louis Trincant in The Devils has passed away. Woodvine also had a leading role in An American Werewolf in London. Woodvine has over 180 film and television credits 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.
Billy Williams passes away
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.
The Lair of the White Worm in St Louis, USAp>
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. Altered States in Chicago, USA
Music Box Theatre present Altered States on 19 September 2025. "In an attempt to experience higher mental and physical states, psychology professor Edward Jessup (William Hurt) combines sensory deprivation and psychotropic drugs to try to unlock higher states of consciousness. But as Edward is more successful with his experiments, he starts to lose grip with reality and alters his state of mind. This daring Hollywood film from Ken Russell (The Devils, The Music Lovers) attacks the viewer with lo-fi effects, immersive sound, and a relentless story that combine to overwhelm the viewer's senses".
For the Music Box Theatre click
here.
Updates on Ken Russell's Dracula
Update on the film script of Ken Russell's never-filmed Dracula.
The poster on the wall is from the proposed film.
The first half of the script follows Bram Stoker's novel but the
second, more interesting half, has Dracula philosophising "When one is
immortal, one cannot live by blood, alone" and "How jealously God
guards his immortality. Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Tchaikovsky: as
soon as they challenged him with their vision of heaven he cut them
down".
For more on the book click here.
Peter Philips passes away
Peter Philips, one of the artists in Ken Russell's Pop Goes the Easel, has sadly passed away. "Phillips rose to prominence in the 1960s, and was featured in a BBC documentary titled Pop Goes the Easel alongside Peter Blake and Pauline Boty in 1962. His fame was bolstered by his inclusion in international exhibitions, including the Paris Biennale in 1963 and “Nieuwe Realisten” at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague the following year. In 1964, Phillips moved to New York, where he exhibited alongside Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and James Rosenquist" (Maxwell Rabb, 2 Jul 2025, Artsy website click here).
For more on Pop Goes the Easel click
here.
Kenneth Colley passes away Kenneth Colley, a Russell regular, has passed away aged 87. Colley first worked with Ken Russell on The Music Lovers playing Tchaikovsky's brother Modeste- for me his best role.
He went on to act in The Devils, Mahler, Lisztiomania and The Rainbow as well as the television film Prisoner of Honour from 1991 playing Dreyfus.
He worked in over 150 cinema and television films including roles in
Monty Python's Life of Brian and The Empire Strikes Back.
Crimes of Passion in London The Cinema Museum present Crimes of Passion on 23 July 2025. "Controversial on release in 1984, the erotic thriller Crimes Of Passion proved to be a turning point in Ken Russell’s career. Screening from a 16mm archival print, this is a rare chance to see Kathleen Turner’s fearless performance as a Reagan-era businesswoman who moonlights as a sex worker. But this is no mere tale of a fallen angel, as Russell heightens the religious anxiety, psychic repression, and visual splendour to deliver a fantasia of late-20th century anxiety".
For the Cinema Museum website click here. For more on Crimes of Passion click here. Sofia Coppola on Lisztomania Sofia Coppola says of her film Marie Antoinette "I was inspired by Ken Russell's film Lisztomania and how he approached period with a really irrelevant way" (Sofia Coppola Inn Conversation with Richard Curtis, from the DVD extras of Priscilla).
For more on Lisztomania click
here. Ken Russell season in London The season at the Prince Charles Cinema in London continues, including with Rupert Russell:
The cinema website is here. For more on the films click here.
Altered States in Hollywood, USA
The Vista Theatre Hollywood present Altered States on 30, 21 May 2025. "It's the late 1960's. Just for a lark, graduate student Eddie Jessup, known for being unconventional, brilliant and slightly mad, conducts experiments with an isolation chamber, using himself as the subject. His experiences in the chamber cause him to hallucinate, much of the imagery being religious-based despite he not being a religious man. Seven years later, he is a respected full professor in the Harvard Medical School. Believing he has lost his edge and has fallen into an unwanted state of respectability, Eddie decides to resume his work with sensory deprivation, this time using hallucinogens, specifically untested ones used in mystical Mexican rituals, to enhance the experience of being in the isolation tank. After initial tests, he claims he entered an alternate physical and mental state".
Foe the theatre website click
here. Woman in Love on TCM
As part of a 'Salute to the BFI’ (British Film Institute) TCM will show Women in Love on 17 June 2025.
For more on Women in Love click
here.
Site update: Pop Goes the Easel
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.
Site update: Tommy
Update to Tommy with on-scene reporting of the accidental fire on the pier.
For more on Tommy click here.
Richard Chamberlayne passes away
Richard Chamberlayne, who played Tchaikovsky in The Music Lovers, has passed away. Chamberlayne achieved fame starring in all 191 episodes of the television series Dr Kildare. He then took challenging roles in cinema, including Petulia and of course The Music Lovers as well as playing Octavius in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The Music Lovers was the first Ken Russell film I saw, so Chamberlayne introduced me to a new world.
"Richard Chamberlain, the hero of the 1960s television series Dr
Kildare who found a second career as an award-winning 'king of the
miniseries,' has died. He was 90
... Chamberlain died on Saturday night in Waimānalo, Hawaii of
complications after a stroke, according to his publicist, Harlan Boll.
Thanks to Alex for the link.
For more on The Music Lovers click
here.
Savage Messiah in Wotton-Under-Edge, UK
Wotton Cinema are showing Savage Messiah on 30 March 2025. This is part of a celebration of Sophie Gaudier-Brzeska.
"Sophie Gaudier-Brzeska, who lived in Wotton from 1916 to 1922, will
be celebrated this month with events marking the centenary of her
death... Sophie, a distinguished writer, poet, and author, was known
for her work in English, French, and Polish. Despite her
contributions, she has rested in an unmarked grave for a century.
A stone marker was finally unveiled at her grave in Tredworth Road
Cemetery, Gloucester, on Monday, March 17, as part of the
commemorative events.
Information from Matty Airey, The Gazette, 18 March 2025, click
here.
Tommy on Blu-ray and UHD
Shout Factory are releasing Tommy on Blu-ray and UHD.
The Shout Factory website is
here.
Ken Russell season in London The Prince Charles Cinema in London present a season of Ken Russell films:
The cinema website is here. For more on the films click here.
Crimes of Passion in Knoxville, USA
The Knoxville Horror Film Fest present Crimes of Passion on 15 February 2025. It is in a double bill with Gus Van Sant's To Die For in the Central Cinema. "CRIMES OF PASSION, a trashy romp featuring electric performances from Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins... In the early 1980s, British filmmaker Ken Russell (THE DEVILS, TOMMY) travelled to America and placed his unorthodox imprint on CRIMES OF PASSION—a crazed erotic thriller starring Kathleen Turner (SERIAL MOM) and Anthony Perkins (PSYCHO). Fashion designer Joanna Crane (Turner) leads a double life. At night, she is China Blue, a prostitute who has attracted the attention of a psychopathic priest (Perkins). With its outrageous script by gay screenwriter Barry Sandler and sparkling score from Rick Wakeman of the band Yes, CRIMES OF PASSION is a movie that could only have been realized by the gonzo creativity of Ken Russell". The cinema website is here. For more on Crimes of Passion click here.
Alice in Russialand on YouTube
Alice in Russialand is now on YouTube. Alice falls through a rabbit hole and floats down, with images of Russians floating by- leaders such as Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachov, Yeltsin along with cultural icons such as Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky and national hero Yuri Gagarin. Some of the imagery is reminiscent of early film-maker Mêliés. The online link is here. For more on Alice in Russialand click here.
Thanks to Alicia who found the online copy and posted details on the
forum.
New book: Ken Russell Interviews
"In Ken Russell: Interviews, the filmmaker discusses his colorful life
and career, from his youth fascinated by movies to his early work in
television through his feature films and his retreat to home movies".
The editor is Barry Keith Grant. More details soon.
The Death of Alexander Scriabin
Details of Ken Russell's radio play on a meeting between composer Alexander
Scriabin and notorious English mystic Aleister
Crowley. With Oliver Reed, James Wilby and Hetty
Baynes. You can also hear a short extract from the play- click
here
Folk Horror on Film
A new book Folk horror on film edited by Kevin J. Donnelly and Louis Bayman has been issued, and will include Ken Russell's The Lair of the White Worm". "What is folk horror and how culturally significant is it? This collection is the first study to address these questions while considering the special importance of British cinema to the genre's development. The book presents political and aesthetic analyses of folk horror's uncanny landscapes and frightful folk. It places canonical films like Witchfinder General (1968), The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and The Wicker Man (1973) in a new light and expands the canon to include films like the sci-fi horror Doomwatch (1970-72) and the horror documentary Requiem for a Village (1975) alongside filmmakers Ken Russell and Ben Wheatley". Sounds interesting. It is currently an expensive hardback (£90) but when in paperback I will post more.
For more on The Lair of the White Worm click
here .
YouTube tribute to Ken Russell
A tribute to the visual imagery of Ken Russell's films set to the Sparks song This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us.
The link is
here.
Ken Russell Book launch and Symposium
A new book Refocus: the Films of Ken Russell, part of ReFocus: The International Directors Series, edited by Matthew Melia. Shoddy Wikipedia article on The Music Lovers To give an example of biased criticism of Ken Russell see the Wikipedia entry. It quotes Time Out New York on The Music Lovers "vulgar, excessive, melodramatic and self-indulgent . . . " (Wikipedia, accessed 3 May 2023, click here).
The "..." cuts out some words. The original reads "vulgar, excessive, melodramatic and self-indulgent: Tchaikovsky's music is indeed all of these things, yet gloriously so, and the same goes for Ken Russell at his freewheeling best" (TJ, Time Out, 10 September 2012, click here). This is shoddy misrepresentation of the review by TJ, of Tchaikovsky and of Ken Russell.
Too late- you missed it The Lair of the White Worm in Seattle, USA
The Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle present The Lair of the White Worm on 17 January 2025.
“Russell’s compositions are gorgeous to look at, though it’s the
deliciousness with which the story unravels that made Lair of the
White Worm Russell’s most enjoyable film since his masterpiece Crimes
of Passion.” Ed Gonzalez, Slant
The cinema website is
here.
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