Captain Oates

This is from the BBC America website as an upcoming project...

"Ken Russell at the BBC
When this visionary director burst upon the international scene in 1969 with his bold adaptation of Women in Love, American filmgoers might have imagined that his extraordinary style came out of nowhere. BBC audiences, on the other hand, were able to see his style develop over a number of years through his startling biographies of artistic figures. Russell’s approach was determined by a desire to knock the dust off the biofilm genre: “The whole idea had degenerated into a series of third-rate clichés. I wanted to dress people in old clothes and do it in a totally unreal way, and thus make it more real than ever, and in the process send up this new civil service/academic way of doing films.”

"Our collection includes two early films starring Oliver Reed, The Debussy Film and Dante’s Inferno about Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as well as Always on Sunday about Henri Rousseau, Isadora: The Biggest Dancer in the World, A Song of Summer about Frederick Delius, and Dance of the Seven Veils about Richard Strauss."

cinecymru

I hope it includes his lesser-known but very evocative black and white short 'London - Portrait of a City'. It was one of Ken's very early films made for Huw Wheldon and the Monitor arts programme.
One sequence showed weeds growing on bomb sites with heavily filtered clouded skies to the accompaniment of Vaughan Williams's London Symphony. Sheer cinematic poetry.
I remember it well because I was at that time (1961) an impressionable 17 year old trainee assistant film editor in the next cutting room at Ealing!
Can anyone recall who shot it?
I know it was edited by the brilliant Alan Tyrer who edited many of Ken's early BBC films.

dremble wedge

Splendid news!

maturin

I watched his Elgar again recently and thought it brilliant. Did hear tell of a cringe-making return to Elgar in 2000 something but haven't seen it.

prbmuse

Does anyone know when this set 'Ken Russell at the BBC'
is going to be released and who by?

Àngel Maeztu

Amazon.com: Ken Russell at the BBC: Ken Russell: Movies & TV

Àngel Maeztu

DVD Empire - Item - Ken Russell At The BBC / DVD-Video

Àngel Maeztu

Another link concerning this fantastic next release:

Ken Russell at the BBC

All the best, amigos. Àngel.

R-T-C Tim

Fantastic news - should help to fill up my collection and it is only about £20!

According to the BBC site the set also includes 'Elgar' - which would have been a rather strange omission.

Mondo Esoterica - Cult and obscure DVD reviews from Spaghetti Westerns to Hammer Horror.