Ken Russell – who died on
November 27 at the age of 84 – was one of the great British maverick film
directors. Alongside Lindsay Anderson and Nicolas Roeg, Russell debunked a few
taboos in films and introduced a new form of modernity in British cinema.
He was a kind of British
Fellini, creating visual universes that were unique, and had, like his Italian
counterpart, an appetite for unconventional narratives and stories, as well as
a capacity to make some arrangements with reality: Russell’s ‘Mahler’ or his
film on Tchaikovsky are probably as close to real life as Fellini’s ‘Casonova’
– in other words, pure fiction.
Excess was normal to him, even pushed to the limits of grotesque.
And he would court controversy too. Think of the nude scene of Alan Bates and
Oliver Reed wrestling in ‘Women in Love’, or the sex scenes with nuns in ‘The
Devils’.
From a very
young age, Russell was passionate about film and music, especially classical
music. He made his dent in filmmaking through commissions for British TV shows
such as Monitor. But he is better known
for his music-related films such as 1970’s ‘The Music
Lovers’, 1974’s ‘Mahler’, 1975’s ‘Tommy’ and 1976’s ‘Lisztomania’ – for which
he pioneered the Dolby stereo sound.
‘The
Music Lovers’ is about Russian composer Tchaikovsky, with Richard Chamberlain
and Glenda Jackson. To sell the movie to his producers, Russell described the
movie as the story of “a homosexual who falls in love with a nymphomaniac”.
And the film is pretty much about that, and a few more things, shot in a
flamboyant, if not decadent style.
‘Mahler’, which was shot in
the Lake District in Northern England, has a lot of depth in that it tries to
explain the mysteries of creation through the life of the Austrian composer.
The music in the movie is haunting and it rates probably as one of Russell’s’
greatest achievements.
Russell was no fan of rock
music, which he described as “an endless bang crash bang crash wall”… But when
he was confronted with Pete Townshend’s rock opus ‘Tommy’ he decided to have a
go at it. The movie has aged but remains one of the great rock movies of all
time, not least because of its cast (The who, of course, but also Eric Clapton,
Elton John, Tina Turner, etc).
In an interview I did with
him in 2006, Russell said that he believed that ‘Tommy’ pre-dated and opened
the era of MTV, since the film was a series of music videos. He also came to
respect the rock stars who were playing in the film. He was warned that he
would go through problems with such a bunch of hellraisers, but all went fine.
“Since they were not professional actors, they were very concentrated and eager
to do well,” he told me. “And they let their ego aside before getting on the
set.”
Russell mentioned his
fondness for The Who’s drummer Keith Moon, whom he thought was the most
talented of the lot for comedy and acting. In the famous scene in which he
plays Uncle Ernie, Moon breaks half a dozen eggs in a glass and swallows them.
“He was perfect and we only did a few shots,” said Russell. “He was charming
and talented.” But when asked what his favourite scenes from ‘Tommy’ was,
Russell would roar with laughter at the mention of the one in which Ann-Margret
swims in a sea of beans and chocolate.
‘Tommy’ is one of the few
movies, with ‘Music Lovers’, that Russell continued to make money from. Russell
explained why: “I had an agent who was not too good and quite lazy, so he made
some very bad deals. I do get royalties from ‘Tommy’, not as much as I should,
but at least I am getting something.”
Russell told me that his
worst working experience was with Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev who was the
lead actor in ‘Valentino’, a biopic on the silent movie star Rudolph Valentino.
“He was a diva and made my life terrible,” he said. “On top, he could not
deliver his lines!”
I met Ken Russell in 2006,
when I was asked to get in touch with him by a group of friends who were
setting up a music and film festival in the French city of Besancon. They
planned to offer him a Lifetime Achievement Award and present some of his
movies. The first meeting between him and his wife Elize Tribble with the
festival’s co-founder Pascal Signolet and myself took place in a restaurant
near Southampton where he lived.
He chose the place because
they had a good wine list, he told us later. And indeed, over some very decent
French wine, we went through the motions. He was happy to do anything we asked
him to. He was wearing a colourful shirt and sandals with some woollen socks. Not
very trendy, and quite eccentric. Elize Tribble, his fourth wife, appeared
dedicated to her husband, often finishing his sentences or helping him when his
memory faltered. (“I married him for love, not for money,” she said.)
I believe he was deeply
touched that somewhere in the world (and even more so, in France), there were
people who highly regarded his work. “I’ve never been recognised in my country
where the film establishment ignores me,” he said. He relished the attention he
would receive in Besancon and he was looking forward to a few days of good food
and wines, and talking about movies (we were to do a master class with him).
Unfortunately, upon advice
from his doctors, he had to cancel the trip (although he appeared a few days
later on Big Brother so we always questioned the reality of his illness…). But
we needed something from him, so off I went back to Southampton to get a video
interview with him.
Russell welcomed me in his
modest suburban house in Southampton. The place was an untidy mess with
documents scattered all over the living room, sharing space with drying
clothes. There, we recorded some footage to be played at the festival to
introduce his various movies. He grabbed a small digital camera – he was very
interested in new digital technologies – and his wife Elize played the
cinematographer while I was asking the questions.
As an intro, he put on a
mask representing a skull. He thought it was hilarious. Within 25 minutes we
had it all in the box (Russell was a very good speaker). “That should do,” said
Russell. As I was packing, I suggested that quite a few beautiful women --
Vanessa Redgrave, Ann-Margret or Glenda Jackson, to name but a few – crossed
his life. “That’s because I paid them,” he quipped. We laughed, but I am not
sure that Elize enjoyed the pun.
The past 30 years have not
been too easy for him. A lot of project collapsed, due to lack of financing. He
had a few successes with 1980’s sci-fi movie ‘Altered States’ and 1990’s ‘The
Russia House’. Towards the end of his life, he was trying to self-finance his
films with moderate success. He worked on a project with the late (and quite
eccentric) German actor Klaus Kinski about the life of Brahms. With a burst of
laughter, Russell recalled that Kinski promised that he would play each scene
in which Brahms music would feature with a massive erection…
Russell also worked on a
film about the Gershwin brothers, for which he had been in contact with one of
the brothers, Ira. Again, the film never materialised. In April 2006, part of his
house burnt and in flames went a good part of his archives, scripts and films.
At least, he got the recognition he deserved in North America when in 2010, the
Cinematheque Quebecoise in Montreal and the Lincoln Centre in New York offered
a retrospective of his works.
Too bad he never made it to
Besancon. He would have enjoyed the public’s attention, the good food and the
local wines.
I still have the award. Never got the chance to bring it to him.
(See Part 2: An interview with Ken Russell)
(See Part 2: An interview with Ken Russell)
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