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The Definitive ‘What the F**k?’ Movies: 10-1

10. Altered States (1980) Directed by: Ken Russell Is it a horror film? Many of Ken Russell’s films could be argued as such, but there’s enough in Altered States that makes it less horror and more science fiction/psychological thriller. Based on the novel by Paddy Chayefsky, Altered States introduced the world to William Hurt (and …

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Ken Russell’s ‘The Boy Friend’ stands out as a novel, landmark take on musical adaptations

Ken Russell pictures have a way of sneaking up on you. Many a young and not-so-young filmgoers have experienced a kind of shocked dry heave of wonderment after their first, or even seventh, Ken Russell experience. I recall a young man for whom the joy of first seeing The Devils nearly induced an anxiety attack. Talking in tongues is not altogether unlikely, either.

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31 Days of Horror: Ken Russell imagines classics’ inception in ‘Gothic’

Gothic Written by Stephen Volk Directed by Ken Russell UK, 1986 Natasha Richardson (in her leading role debut) plays Mary Godwin, later Mary Shelley, in Ken Russell’s fictionalised take on the inception of both her classic novel Frankenstein and John Polidori’s The Vampyre. It is based on the Shelleys’ visit with Lord Byron at Villa …

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Fantastic Fest 2012: ‘Here Comes the Devil’, erotic, violent and mysterious

Here Comes the Devil Directed Adrián García Bogliano Screenplay by Adrián García Bogliano 2012, Mexico Argentinian filmmaker Adrián García Bogliano returns with Here Comes the Devil, a coming of age tale of demonic possession, sexual awakening and suspected child abuse. Staying clear of the typical traps of exploitation, Bogliano takes a low-key, less graphic approach …

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Supporting Actors: The Overlooked and Underrated (part 1 of 5)

With the Academy Awards for the 2011 film year in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take a look at one of the event’s most consistently fascinating categories: Best Supporting Actor. The most interesting story in the category this year isn’t who got nominated, it’s who didn’t. More specifically, Albert Brooks was completely robbed of …

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Memento Mori: Remembering those we lost in 2011

In October of 2010, Sound on Sight asked me to do my first commemorative piece on the passing of filmmaker Arthur Penn. I suspect I was asked because I was the only one writing for the site old enough to have seen Penn’s films in theaters. Whatever the reason, it was an unexpectedly rewarding if …

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Ken Russell Retrospective: Video: Martin Scorsese Speaks About Ken Russell’s Death

Ken Russell, the British director of Women in Love and The Devils, has died at the age of 84. We will be doing a retrospective on Russell throughout the month of December with reviews, articles and one special podcast dedicated to the provocative film maker who passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday afternoon. …

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Ken Russell Retrospective: ‘The Devils’ a brash and daring film from one of England’s most underappreciated filmmakers

The Devils Directed by Ken Russell Nearly forty years after its release, The Devils remains shocking. It is both unabashedly critical of establishment while also refusing to adhere to the commonly accepted conventions of “serious” cinema. Stylistically, the film employs an unconventional score, an overzealous use of zoom (to be fair, it was the 70s) …

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Fantasia 2010: The Devils

The Devils Directed by Ken Russell Nearly forty years after its release, The Devils remains shocking. It is both unabashedly critical of establishment while also refusing to adhere to the commonly accepted conventions of “serious” cinema.  Stylistically, the film employs an unconventional score, an overzealous use of zoom (to be fair, it was the 70s) …

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