Ken Russell tried several professions, before choosing to become a film director.He was a still photographer a dancer and even served in the army, but it was film that was to be Mr. Russell's destiny. He began by making several short films, and those paved the way for his brilliant television films of the sixties that are acclaimed for his attention to detail and opulent visuals. His third feature film 'Women in Love' was a triumph and he became an internationally known filmmaker.In the 1970s his talent truly blossomed , over the next 2 decades he would direct a succession of remarkable films most of them contained his trademark flamboyance that critics generally dismiss but many seem to find this engrossing.He will forever be remembered as a controversial & visionary artist with something of a third eye when it comes to making oddball dramas that have captivating images and themes.
Father of Alex Russell, Molly Russell, Rupert Russell, Toby Russell and Victoria Russell. Has tried to work on film with Barbra Streisand twice. First in the early 1970s on a biography of Sarah Bernhardt, and then in the version of the stage musical Evita. Became interested in making movies after frequenting the cinema after school with his mother. According to Russell, he once met Federico Fellini, who he had been a fan of, outside an Italian movie studio. He saw a cloaked figure in the distance who ran up to him and said, "Ken, you know don't me, but they call me the Italian Ken Russell." To which he replied, "Then I know who you are because they call me the English Federico Fellini." His films were popular in Italy. At the 1971 Venice Film Festival he won Best Director-Foreign Film for The Devils (1971). After the controversy surrounding Altered States, he found it hard to get financial backing, so he directed opera for a while, including a version of 'Madame Butterfly'. In the early 1980s during preproduction for the film version of 'Evita', he was so impressed with Liza Minelli's screen test that he refused to direct the film without her. But the producers wanted Elaine Paige and the production came to a halt. The film was eventually made by Alan Parker starring Madonna. Alumni of East London University Stanley Kubrick once called him in the early 1970s to ask him where he had found the lovely locations for his films. Russell complied and Kubrick used the locations in his next film Barry Lyndon. Russell said, "I felt quite chuffed."