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52 of 52 people found the following review helpful
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'Ken Russell at the BBC' is an extra-ordinary dvd box-set. In it are some of the great man's greatest works, scandalously only released on R1 in the US (in one fell swoop, the obscene amount I paid for a multi-region dvd player has been rendered money superbly spent).
'Song of Summer' is possibly the finest, most inspiring film ever made about a composer; 'Dante's Inferno' and 'the Debussy Film' both have a simmer/bellow/simmer/bellow performance from Oliver Reed; 'Isadora' is better than the Vanessa Redgrave film version; 'Always on a Sunday' has a real-life French realist painter being played by a real-life Yorkshire realist painter(!) and 'Elgar' was the first music bio to feature actors - - sadly, only allowed in long-shot as a compromise to The Corporation.
477 minutes. A cultural medium completely deconstructed.
Possibly the most essential collection of BBC films ever assembled in one place (outside of their vaults of course). Imaginative, unique, mystical, lyrical, anti-cliché, anti-intellectual, funny, sad, moving, haunting...and not one frame could've been shot by anyone else.
Not one blistering, believable, fevered performance could've been prised out of the superb casts by anyone else.
Not one film-maker in the history of tv OR film has been SO on the side of his audience.
No other 80 year old man could sit on a park bench and be so mesmerising and deliriously enthusiastic about films he made over 40 years ago ~ and if I was to type 'til I was 80, I would not come close to properly evaluating his work on this dvd set.
There are others involved: Melvyn Bragg writes a couple of creditable scripts; Huw Wheldon writes and narrates the excellent commentary for 'Elgar'; and there's some fine work from Dick Bush - the greatest ever British lighting cameraman - but it's Russell's genius.
Emblazoned and embellished on every kinetic edit: every rising symphonious dawn, every artistic tantrum, every slightly alien look at a European city from an English South Coast perspective, every beautiful girl fighting a futile battle against art AND temperament; every achievement, gain and much, much pain - the eye on the lens and the ear at the stylus is Russell's.
'Ken Russell at the BBC' is the ultimate review. A legacy that will last and expand in appreciation, even when we're all as long dead and gone as the subjects of Russell's splendid mini-masterpieces.
'Song of Summer' is possibly the finest, most inspiring film ever made about a composer; 'Dante's Inferno' and 'the Debussy Film' both have a simmer/bellow/simmer/bellow performance from Oliver Reed; 'Isadora' is better than the Vanessa Redgrave film version; 'Always on a Sunday' has a real-life French realist painter being played by a real-life Yorkshire realist painter(!) and 'Elgar' was the first music bio to feature actors - - sadly, only allowed in long-shot as a compromise to The Corporation.
477 minutes. A cultural medium completely deconstructed.
Possibly the most essential collection of BBC films ever assembled in one place (outside of their vaults of course). Imaginative, unique, mystical, lyrical, anti-cliché, anti-intellectual, funny, sad, moving, haunting...and not one frame could've been shot by anyone else.
Not one blistering, believable, fevered performance could've been prised out of the superb casts by anyone else.
Not one film-maker in the history of tv OR film has been SO on the side of his audience.
No other 80 year old man could sit on a park bench and be so mesmerising and deliriously enthusiastic about films he made over 40 years ago ~ and if I was to type 'til I was 80, I would not come close to properly evaluating his work on this dvd set.
There are others involved: Melvyn Bragg writes a couple of creditable scripts; Huw Wheldon writes and narrates the excellent commentary for 'Elgar'; and there's some fine work from Dick Bush - the greatest ever British lighting cameraman - but it's Russell's genius.
Emblazoned and embellished on every kinetic edit: every rising symphonious dawn, every artistic tantrum, every slightly alien look at a European city from an English South Coast perspective, every beautiful girl fighting a futile battle against art AND temperament; every achievement, gain and much, much pain - the eye on the lens and the ear at the stylus is Russell's.
'Ken Russell at the BBC' is the ultimate review. A legacy that will last and expand in appreciation, even when we're all as long dead and gone as the subjects of Russell's splendid mini-masterpieces.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Yes, it is ridiculous that I have to buy a box set import to get these BBC programmes. The BBC are so short of money that they are considering cutting back on TV and radio broadcasting. Yet they are sitting on a positive goldmine of archived material. Their excuse for not releasing these products are the residuals they would have to pay. Surely a deal can be made with actors so that they are paid a reasonable sum when DVDs are released, so that both actors and viewers are happy. At the moment, nobody wins. Russell made 17 programmes for Monitor and 5 for Omnibus. The potential audience for this material is huge. Someone do something. To be at this stage in 2012 with so much unreleased material in the BBC archives, far more than just Ken Russell's work, is just ridiculous.
It goes without saying that this set contains, at the very least, some indispensable work by Russell. And those that are not indispensable are, at the very least, interesting. And £30 is not an unreasonable amount to pay for the quality contained in this box set.
I set out below what is contained on each DVD.
DVD1
Elgar 1962 (55") (IMDB says, incorrectly, 50 minutes)
The Debussy Film 1965 (82")
Always on Sunday 1965 (45")
Ken Russell In Conversation 2008 (30")
DVD2
Isadora Duncan 1966 (62") (IMDB says 67")
Dante's Inferno 1967 (87") (IMDB says 90")
Russell At Work 1966 (30"). This is a Late Night Lineup special and the first documentary made on Russell.
DVD3
Song Of Summer 1968 (72")
You will have noticed that DVD3 could easily have had more programmes on it. Indeed there is the rumour that The Dance Of The Seven Veils was supposed to be on the set. If it was dropped, why wasn't it replaced with another one of the rare programmes. So many wasted opportunities. Someone at the BBC should be moving heaven and hell to get all those programmes released.
It goes without saying that this set contains, at the very least, some indispensable work by Russell. And those that are not indispensable are, at the very least, interesting. And £30 is not an unreasonable amount to pay for the quality contained in this box set.
I set out below what is contained on each DVD.
DVD1
Elgar 1962 (55") (IMDB says, incorrectly, 50 minutes)
The Debussy Film 1965 (82")
Always on Sunday 1965 (45")
Ken Russell In Conversation 2008 (30")
DVD2
Isadora Duncan 1966 (62") (IMDB says 67")
Dante's Inferno 1967 (87") (IMDB says 90")
Russell At Work 1966 (30"). This is a Late Night Lineup special and the first documentary made on Russell.
DVD3
Song Of Summer 1968 (72")
You will have noticed that DVD3 could easily have had more programmes on it. Indeed there is the rumour that The Dance Of The Seven Veils was supposed to be on the set. If it was dropped, why wasn't it replaced with another one of the rare programmes. So many wasted opportunities. Someone at the BBC should be moving heaven and hell to get all those programmes released.
A great DVD collection to buy for someone who knows about Ken Russell's movies and who wishes to learn more about his television work for the BBC. Although made for a television documentary program called Omnibus, Ken Russell's work show both documentaries on famous musician composers, but also pioneering biopics.
Though I loved all of these documentaries, the most fascinating is The Debussy song for various reasons. For one, it is made like two films within a film, both on the composer and on the crew filming the documentary which seems to have the same traits and stories than the characters they play. For the other part, it also made me impressed by Oliver Reed's incredible acting talent and persona. For in the two documentaries that he played, Dante Rosetti and Debussy, traits of his real-life personality emerged on the screen.
An excellent choice to buy for those who want to see more of Ken Russell, a great way to discover that director, and a great way to fall in awe with the amazing artists covered on those dvds.
Though I loved all of these documentaries, the most fascinating is The Debussy song for various reasons. For one, it is made like two films within a film, both on the composer and on the crew filming the documentary which seems to have the same traits and stories than the characters they play. For the other part, it also made me impressed by Oliver Reed's incredible acting talent and persona. For in the two documentaries that he played, Dante Rosetti and Debussy, traits of his real-life personality emerged on the screen.
An excellent choice to buy for those who want to see more of Ken Russell, a great way to discover that director, and a great way to fall in awe with the amazing artists covered on those dvds.
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