Ken Russell's ABC of British Music
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music is a 1988 British documentary directed by and featuring Ken Russell. It was broadcast as an edition of The South Bank Show on 2 April 1988. The film presents an A to Z selection of Russell's musical enthusiasms, using alphabetical coincidence to present widely contrasting subjects - Elgar and Elton John, Holst and Heavy Metal, Punk and Purcell.[1] Participants include Russell himself introducing each letter, along with soprano Rita Cullis, Thomas Dolby, Evelyn Glennie, Nigel Kennedy, John Lill, Julian Lloyd Webber, Eric Parkin and the saxophone quartet The Fairer Sax.[2]
Russell said: "Some people said it was the most beautiful film they'd ever seen, and others wrote it was shocking and obscene, because I showed a naked woman in a lake, an image not commonly associated with romantic music."[3] According to Michael Brooke, writing for the BFI's Screenonline website, the film contains "several spellbinding moments - generally those where his obvious love of the subject wins out".[1]
The film won an Emmy for best performing arts programme.[4]
References
- ^ a b Brooke, Michael. "Ken Russell's ABC of British Music (1988)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Joseph Lanza. Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and his Films (2007), p. 348
- ^ Outrageous movie director's wild about Oscar: [FIN Edition] Dan Yakir Toronto Star; 18 May 1988: D1.
- ^ Malcolm, Derek (28 November 2011). "Ken Russell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
External links
- Ken Russell's ABC of British Music at IMDb
- Ken Russell's ABC of British Music at BFI
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Works directed by Ken Russell
- French Dressing (1964)
- Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
- Women in Love (1969)
- The Music Lovers (1971)
- The Devils (1971)
- The Boy Friend (1971)
- Savage Messiah (1972)
- Mahler (1974)
- Tommy (1975)
- Lisztomania (1975)
- Valentino (1977)
- Altered States (1980)
- Crimes of Passion (1984)
- Gothic (1986)
- Salome's Last Dance (1988)
- The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
- The Rainbow (1989)
- Women & Men: Stories of Seduction (1990)
- Whore (1991)
- Mindbender (1995)
- The Fall of the Louse of Usher (2002)
- Trapped Ashes (2006)
- John Betjeman: A Poet in London (1959)
- Gordon Jacob (1959)
- A House in Bayswater (1959)
- Pop Goes the Easel (1962)
- Elgar (1962)
- Watch the Birdie (1963)
- Bartok (1964)
- The Dotty World of James Lloyd (1964)
- The Debussy Film (1965)
- Always on Sunday (1965)
- Don't Shoot the Composer (1966)
- Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World (1966)
- Dante's Inferno (1967)
- Song of Summer (1968)
- Dance of the Seven Veils (1970)
- William and Dorothy (1976)
- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1978)
- The Planets (1983)
- Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait (1984)
- Ken Russell's ABC of British Music (1988)
- The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner (1990)
- The Mystery of Dr Martinu (1992)
- Alice in Russialand (1994)
- Elgar: Fantasy on a Composer on a Bicycle (2002)
- Peep Show (1956)
- Amelia and the Angel (1958)
- Segment "Nessun Dorma" in Aria (1987)
- The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch (1993)
- The Lion's Mouth (2000)
- A Kitten for Hitler (2007)
- Prisoner of Honor (1991)
- The Secret Life of Arnold Bax (1992)
- Lady Chatterley (mini-series, 1993)
- Ken Russell's Treasure Island (1995)
- Dogboys (1998)
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