Ken Russell & Hampshire
Ken Russell was born in Southampton,
Hampshire in 1927.
Not many had heard of this film director before he produced Women In Love in 1969.
Not shocking by today's standards, I remember going to Winchester cinema with a group of friends who all
adored DH Lawrence novels and sitting in stunned silence watching the gorgeous Alan Bates and Oliver Reed
wrestle in the nude on a huge screen. We weren't shocked by the act but by the fact that this had passed
the censors!
It was a brilliant film with an earthiness that was attributed to his directing although in reality he was
working with a brilliant cast.
Everyone expected Ali MacGraw to receive the best actress Oscar in 1970 for her role in Love Story with Ryan O'Neal but it was Glenda
Jackson who walked away with it for Women in Love - deservedly so as her performance along with Oliver Reed's and Alan Bates's was incredible.
The Rainbow in 1989 was, again, touching the boundaries even though it was 20 years later.
Having also produced Lady Chatterley for television in 1993 Ken Russell undoubtedly owes a great deal to the
unique way that Lawrence was able to express tenderness and love throughout his novels.
In 2006 the thatched house in Lymington on the Hampshire coast which had been Ken Russell's home
for 30 years burned down. All of the director's original film scripts,
including Women in Love, The Devils and Tommy, were destroyed.
Before he embarked on his career in film, Ken Russell spent several years working as a
photographer. Below are 2 of his photographs which form part of an exhibition for his 80th birthday.
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