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Ken Russell Dies 29 November 2011
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church. His films often dealt with the lives of famous composers or were based on other works of art which he adapted loosely. Russell began directing for the BBC, where he made creative adaptations of composers' lives which were unusual for the time. He also directed many feature films independently and for studios. He is best known for his Oscar-winning film Women in Love (1969), The Devils (1971), The Who's Tommy (1975), and the science fiction film Altered States (1980). Classical musicians and conductors held him in high regard for his story-driven biopics of various composers, most famously Elgar, Delius, Liszt, Mahler and Tchaikovsky. British film critic Mark Kermode, attempting to sum up the director's achievement, called Russell, "somebody who proved that British cinema didn't have to be about kitchen-sink realism—it could be every bit as flamboyant as Fellini. In the final period of his directing careers he makes what have been described as very strange experimental films such as Lion's Mouth and Revenge of the Elephant Man, and they which are considered to be as edgy and out there as some of the work he made in the 1970s".
Russell was born in Southampton, England, on 3 July 1927, the son of Ethel (née Smith) and Henry Russell, a shoeshop owner. His father was distant and took out his rage on his family, so Russell spent much of his time at the cinema with his mother. He cited Die Nibelungen and The Secret of the Loch as two early influences. He was educated in Walthamstow and at Pangbourne College. He harboured a childhood ambition to be a ballet dancer but instead joined the Royal Air Force and the Merchant Navy as a teenager. He moved into television work after short careers in dance and photographyHis television films became increasingly flamboyant and outrageous. Dance of the Seven Veils sought to portray Richard Strauss as a Nazi: one scene in particular showed a Jew being tortured while a group of SS men looked on in delight, to the tune of Strauss's music. The Strauss family was so outraged they withdrew all music rights so that the film is effectively banned from being screened until Strauss's copyright expires in 2019. Russell's first feature film was French Dressing (1963), a comedy loosely based on Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman; its critical and commercial failure sent Russell back to the BBC. His second big-screen effort was part of author Len Deighton's Harry Palmer spy cycle, Billion Dollar Brain (1967), starring Michael Caine.In 1969, Russell directed what is considered his "signature film", Women In Love, a rollicking adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's novel of the same name about two artist sisters living in post-World War I Britain. The film starred Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Jennie Linden and Alan Bates. The film is notable for its nude wrestling scene, which broke the convention at the time that a mainstream movie could not show male genitalia. Women in Love connected with the sexual revolution and bohemian politics of the late 1960s. It was nominated for several Oscars, and won one for Glenda Jackson for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Russell himself was nominated for an Oscar — that for Best Director (his only nomination)— as were his cinematographer and screenwriter.
Ken Russell was born 3 July 1927, 00.05am BST Southampton, England (data from Astrotheme).A number of things stand out about this chart. Firstly, there is a lack of Earth (only Chiron in Taurus) and Air (only the Moon's N Node in Gemini). Fire and Water are dominant. However, Saturn at the top of the chart is the handle to a bucket as well as making a Grand Trine configuration with Mercury in Leo and a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aries. This is an indication of mental organisation and ability to focus the mind on the expansion of original ideas that are likely to cause controversy. Pisces is rising and its ruler Neptune is conjunct the Moon and Venus in Leo and squares Saturn. This aspect denotes artistry but can also be an indication of depression and anxiety. Positive use of this energy was in his work, which allowed him to express his vivid imagination. The more so as the Moon rules the 5th House of creativity.Mars and Mercury are in the 5th House and Mercury is on the Mars/Pluto mid-point. It suggests a fanatical desire to realise plans to the point of overworking the nerves., which could lead to a break-down (square to Chiron).The Sun conjunct Pluto is an indication of his powerful energy that can become dictatorial if not kept in check. But the broad square from the Sun to the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction indicates the need to shock regarding taboo subjects (Pluto). L.S.
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