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A British Picture: An Autobiography Paperback – 20 Jul 2008

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Ken Russell (Author)
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Ken Russell (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 6 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 296 pages
  • Publisher: EXHIBITIONS INTERNATIONAL NV; 01 edition (20 July 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1904915329
  • ISBN-13: 978-1904915324
  • Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 2.5 x 22.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 603,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 starsHighly Recommended
By Numero Uno on 6 Oct. 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Autobiographies written by celebrities can be very flat and prosaic, starting out dutifully with the origins of the parents before moving step by step through schooling and career to the triumphs of the author's career spiced up with a few portraits of great people he or she has met.

This is very much not the case with Ken Russell's book: he plunges into the heart of his story, using flashbacks to tell of his parents and childhood. He has a strong visual sense, as one might expect of a film-maker, and this makes his prose very vivid. He knows exactly when to cut to another scene so that one is never bored and has a fine sense of humour.

Though generally considered something of an 'enfant terrible', he explains that many of what are perceived as excesses in his films were in fact imposed by producers. It is also interesting to see how a film grows from the first draft of a script.

Russell has a very deep love and knowledge of classical music. There are some particularly fine pages evoking the spirit of Elgar while on a visit to the Malvern Hills. On another occasion he is inspired by a violent thunderstorm to put on a record of Bruckner's Eighth symphony, which sheds new light on the piece.

Another highlight is of climbing a peak in the Lake District with his second wife. It is so vivid as to be almost frightening as the climb turns out more perilous than either of them expected.

Russell is touchingly, and unexpectedly modest, speaking with complete frankness of failures and disappointments. Reasons for his enduring shyness may be found in the awful experiences he had as a thirteen-year-old in the army cadets and later in the navy.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsShow Us Your Legs, Ken!
By Nicholas Casley TOP 500 REVIEWER on 4 Sept. 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is a review of the revised 2008 edition of a book that was originally published in 1989. It has an additional eighteenth chapter, in which Ken Russell brings the story of his life up to the millennium, ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, and his last film ‘Boudicca Bites Back’. It comes with an awful foreword by Melvyn Bragg, clearly written in a hurry, and in sharp contrast to the engaging, witty, and well-formed prose of Mr Russell.

Russell’s writing style is further enhanced by his employment of memorable metaphors, but the structure of this autobiography is like that of the London tube-map: we might start and end on life's Central Line, but expect to change midway onto the Northern Line with diversions too to the likes of Cockfosters, Shepherds Bush, and Wapping. It’s an interesting ride!

And it’s a bit of a rollercoaster too in terms of detail, for as he himself tells us, “Just as I pack a person’s life into ninety minutes of celluloid, so I’ve just packed the activities of several months into a few minutes. You don’t want a second-by-second account of my life, surely? You’d be sitting there for sixty years and, heaven knows, we’re all pushed for time.”

Many will want to learn more about the films he made, both on screen and behind the camera, but I found his reminiscences of early childhood and adolescence of much value too. There are clearly gaps in his coverage, but whether this is because he did not want to hurt his family, or it was too painful for him to relate is not known.

Alas, there are no illustrations, so we don’t get sight of his young “gorgeous bronzed legs” that so entranced the ship’s captain, legs that shifted “languorously from one foot to the other, day after day in the tropical heat.” But we do get a filmography. However, what is truly inexcusable for a book of this nature is the lack of an index.
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5.0 out of 5 starsGreat read!
By I. Shepherd on 13 Jan. 2012
Format: Paperback
I picked this book up for a pound in Poundland (!) just before Russell died. Some biographies are hard work but this is very well-written and is an enjoyable read. I get the feeling that this is a slightly 'toned down' version of his life but it still enthralls and gives a good insight into his creative mind.
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