Known for
7.1An astonishing documentary of the life of classical composer Sir Edward Elgar. This partly dramatised account is remarkable for its sensitive portrayal of the rise of a young musician from an underprivileged background to international fame.
Elgar
1962
6.7A study of Antoni Gaudí's architecture, his sources of inspiration and his influence on Picasso.
Antonio Gaudí
1961
6.5A portrait of the life and work of the great Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, exploring both his music and his passionate interest in his country's folklore.
Bela Bartók
1964
NRPhilip Larkin talks to John Betjeman about his life, his poetry and the city of Hull where he lived and worked as university librarian.
Larkin and Betjeman: Down Cemetery Road
1964
7.0A documentary about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, responsible for creating some of the most memorable television and radio music in British popular culture, including "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and Doctor Who (1963).
The Alchemists of Sound
2003
6.3Pop Goes the Easel was Ken Russell’s first full-length documentary for the BBC’s arts series Monitor. It focused on 4 British Pop Artists - Peter Blake, Peter Philips, Pauline Boty and Derek Boshier.
Pop Goes the Easel
1962
Film credits
1970s · 1 titles
1960s · 9 titles
7.1An astonishing documentary of the life of classical composer Sir Edward Elgar. This partly dramatised account is remarkable for its sensitive portrayal of the rise of a young musician from an underprivileged background to international fame.
Elgar
1962
6.7A study of Antoni Gaudí's architecture, his sources of inspiration and his influence on Picasso.
Antonio Gaudí
1961
6.5A portrait of the life and work of the great Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, exploring both his music and his passionate interest in his country's folklore.
Bela Bartók
1964
6.3Pop Goes the Easel was Ken Russell’s first full-length documentary for the BBC’s arts series Monitor. It focused on 4 British Pop Artists - Peter Blake, Peter Philips, Pauline Boty and Derek Boshier.
Pop Goes the Easel
1962
6.5Subtitled 'Portrait of a Soviet Composer', this is the second of Ken Russell's composer biopics.
Prokofiev
1961
NRInterviews with and performance footage of conductor Sir John Barbirolli.
JB: A Portrait of Sir John Barbirolli
1965
7.0Ken Russell directed a short document of German actress (and widow of famed composer Kurt Weill) Lotte Lenya performing many of Weill's best known compositions for BBC TV series "Monitor."
Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill
1961
9.0The Preservation Man is about useless objects but here they're part of the artist Bruce Lacey's collection of random junk that is incorporated into his art with their original function is irrelevant. Sensibly, Russell and commentator Huw Wheldon keep analysis to a minimum, preferring to use the film as an excuse to spend a quarter of an hour in Lacey's amiable company.
The Preservation Man
1962
Mrs Wilhelmina Sterling shows her vast collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings, pottery and other artefacts at her home in Battersea.
Old Battersea House
1961
Behind the camera
NRPhilip Larkin talks to John Betjeman about his life, his poetry and the city of Hull where he lived and worked as university librarian.
Larkin and Betjeman: Down Cemetery Road
1964
6.3Pop Goes the Easel was Ken Russell’s first full-length documentary for the BBC’s arts series Monitor. It focused on 4 British Pop Artists - Peter Blake, Peter Philips, Pauline Boty and Derek Boshier.
Pop Goes the Easel
1962
6.5Subtitled 'Portrait of a Soviet Composer', this is the second of Ken Russell's composer biopics.
Prokofiev
1961
NRPortrait of Spike Milligan, then part of The Goon Show examining his views on comedy,
Portrait of a Goon
1959
7.0An illustration of various mechanical instruments, from the musical-box to 1950s electronica.
Variations on a Mechanical Theme
1959
7.0One of the most conceptually original of all the films that Ken Russell made for Monitor, this imagines an expedition of alien archaeologists (represented only by the soundtrack commentary) examining various artefacts strewn along a stretch of Britain's coastline and musing on their possible significance.
The Lonely Shore
1962


