Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by djprobed (R) on July 16, 2004 at 13:21:28

In Reply to: Ok, I just watched Ken Russell's "TOMMY"....I'm at a loss, posted by RC on July 16, 2004 at 11:15:20:

...I was a little nonplussed by TOMMY. I am only a casual fan of The Who, so maybe that had something to do with it. I thought it was entertaining, but a little too long.

You're right on the money when you make a link between Russell's style and music videos. There is a shared visual vocabulary there. He was definitely ahead of his time in that respect.

If you're iffy about TOMMY, try to hunt down a copy of LISZTOMANIA and watch it sometime (and be prepared for an even weirder, more uneven trip!)

In my not-so-humble opinion, Mr. Russell's reputation rests primarily on his films from the late 1960s and early 1970s (WOMEN IN LOVE, THE DEVILS, THE MUSIC LOVERS and MAHLER) with the notable exception of SALOME'S LAST DANCE from the late 1980s, which I feel was his last truly great film.

He still divides critics today. Pauline Kael hated him.

If you're intrigued enough to watch some of his other films and decide that you like them, you might also enjoy the movies of Derek Jarman (who worked with Russell as a production designer) and Peter Greenaway.

djprobed