Synopses & Reviews
A biography of director Ken Russell that details the wild ideas, surreal moments, personal faith, and cavalcade of colorful personalities surrounding this eccentric filmmaker—on and off the set. Best known for the acclaimed movies Altered States, The Devils, Gothic, The Music Lovers, Tommy, and Women in Love, Russell redefined cinema in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, working with magnetic actors like Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Ann-Margret, William Hurt, Gabriel Byrne, and Vanessa Redgrave. Moments of Russell’s career are highlighted in this intimate biography, including how creative differences between Russell and producer Robert Stigwood stopped production of a movie version of Evita, how he creatively staged the love duet between Faust and Helen over a bowl of pasta in the opera Mephistopheles, and how Alan Bates and Oliver Reed compared their penis size for the nude wrestling scene in Women in Love. A biography of director Ken Russell that details the wild ideas, surreal moments, personal faith, and cavalcade of colorful personalities surrounding this eccentric filmmaker—on and off the set. Best known for the acclaimed movies Altered States, The Devils, Gothic, The Music Lovers, Tommy, and Women in Love, Russell redefined cinema in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, working with magnetic actors such as Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Ann-Margret, William Hurt, Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Redgrave, and Glenda Jackson, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Women in Love. Russell’s imagery, dialogue, and erotic metaphors are both outrageous and thought provoking, and he has explored the lives and works of such literary and musical luminaries as Claude Debussy, D.H. Lawrence, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Mary Shelley, Gustav Mahler, and Oscar Wilde. This intimate biography ranges over Russell’s entire life and career and highlights how creative differences stopped production of a movie version of Evita, how he grappled with censors and got accused of blasphemy for his adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s The Devils, how he creatively staged the love duet between Faust and Helen over a bowl of pasta in the opera Mephistopheles, and how Alan Bates and Oliver Reed compared their penis sizes before diving into Women in Love’s nude wrestling scene.
Review
"Joseph Lanza knows more about my life than I do!" Ken Russell
Review
"A lively and explicit biography." Nerve.com
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"A solid, long-overdue reconsideration of director Ken Russell's horrific surrealism." PLAY
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"It makes for a thrilling readit vibrates, shimmies, pounds down the pavement of every page." Alternative Film Guide
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"The core features are discussed in exhaustive detail, blending close analysis with lively anecdote . . . [Lanza] has delved extensively into the more colorful aspects of his subject's life." Book Review Digest
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"Everything you ever wanted to knowand moreabout the wild child of Cinema Britannia." Financial Times
Synopsis
A biography of director Ken Russell that details the wild ideas, surreal moments, personal faith, and cavalcade of colorful personalities surrounding this eccentric filmmaker—on and off the set. Best known for the acclaimed movies Altered States, The Devils, Gothic, The Music Lovers, Tommy, and Women in Love, Russell redefined cinema in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, working with magnetic actors such as Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Ann-Margret, William Hurt, Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Redgrave, and Glenda Jackson, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in Women in Love. Russell’s imagery, dialogue, and erotic metaphors are both outrageous and thought provoking, and he has explored the lives and works of such literary and musical luminaries as Claude Debussy, D.H. Lawrence, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Mary Shelley, Gustav Mahler, and Oscar Wilde. This intimate biography ranges over Russell’s entire life and career and highlights how creative differences stopped production of a movie version of Evita, how he grappled with censors and got accused of blasphemy for his adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s The Devils, how he creatively staged the love duet between Faust and Helen over a bowl of pasta in the opera Mephistopheles, and how Alan Bates and Oliver Reed compared their penis sizes before diving into Women in Love’s nude wrestling scene.
Synopsis
Ken Russell has made some of the most daring, disturbing, and beautifully photographed films of all time. Drawing from a wealth of historic and literary references, Russells subjects are astounding: deranged Ursuline nuns in a 17th-century French province, the inner demons of Mary Shelley and Lord Byron, the sexual angst of Tchaikovsky, the emotionally drained life of Rudolph Valentino, the messianism of a pinball wizard, the fury of lesbian vampires, the introspections of prostitutes. Russells movies offer not just brazen sensationalism but food for thought; they horrify yet inspire. And through it all, Russell maintains a simultaneously impish and intellectual sense of humor.
The first full biography of the director, Phallic Frenzy is far from a dry, film-by-film analysis. It shows how Russells real life has often been as engaging and vibrant as his film scenarios. Here youll learn how Alan Bates and Oliver Reed compared their penis sizes for the nude wrestling scene in Women in Love; how Russell disfigured Paddy Chayevskys script for Altered States by having the actors holler out the lines as fast as possible, accompanied by spewed food and streams of spittle; and how Russell was slated to direct Evita, starring Liza Minnelli, and the creative differences” that ensued. A madcap tale full of wild ideas, surreal situations, and a cavalcade of colorful personalities, Phallic Frenzy is as thrilling a ride as any Ken Russell film.
About the Author
Joseph Lanza is the author of numerous books, including Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening and Other Moodsong; Fragile Geometry: The Films, Philosophy, and Misadventures of Nicolas Roeg; Russ Columbo and the Crooner Mystique; and Vanilla Pop: Sweet Sounds from Frankie Avalon to ABBA.