Scarecrow Press Ken Russell: Re-viewing England's Last Mannerist

For more than 40 years, Ken Russell has directed some of the most provocative, controversial, and memorable films in British cinema, including Women in Love, The Music Lovers, Tommy, and Altered States. In this anthology, Kevin Flanagan has compiled essays that simultaneously place Russells films within various academic contexts-gender studies, Victorian studies, and cultural criticism-on the one hand and expand the foundational history of Russells career on the other. Ken Russell: Re-Viewing Englands Last Mannerist recontextualizes the directors work in light of new approaches to film studies and corrects or amends previous scholarship. This collection tackles Russells mainstream successes (Tommy, Altered States) and his seldom-seen masterpieces (The Debussy Film, Mahler), as well as his critical flops (Salomes Last Dance, Lady Chatterleys Lover). The book also includes information on Russells most obscure television films, insights on his controversial films of the 1970s, and a new consideration of Russells career in light of his recent return to amateur filmmaking. Representing a significant collaboration among scholars, Ken Russell: Re-Viewing Englands Last Mannerist reflects a newly revived interest in the work of this important filmmaker.