Top 5: Not So Dumb Blondes on TV

Another top five again I'm afraid, still very busy! However, this one is a little of bit of an unusual one.  I was thinking about an old episode of The Simpsons the other day, where Lisa finds herself being discriminated against because she is blonde. 

The episode had a good point, I've heard a few blonde jokes in my day, but it also made me realise that actually I've seen several blonde characters on TV who are were very intelligent. In fact, I've not really noticed any dumb blonde stereotypes, which hopefully means that certain negative stereotypes are becoming obsolete. 

Then again, when writing this list, two of the characters that came to mind have been on previous top five lists - which means either I have to watch more TV, or there is a small pool of characters to choose from. In the end though I did manage to think of more.

Anyway, here's my list of the top five blonde characters, who definitely are not dumb. Please tell me what you think about this subject in the comments!

1] Lisa Simpson - The Simpsons

The character who inspired this list is of course blonde, not that I really registered it until now thanks to her equally yellow toned skin. Lisa is academically very intelligent, a lover of literature, art and jazz. She is a member of MENSA, and gets involved in a variety of scientific pursuits such as astronomy and meteorology, as well as artistic ones such as music. Basically an all round Renaissance woman! 

2] Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Perhaps not an obvious choice at first, but Buffy has a great variety of skills. She has street smarts, knows alot about the supernatural, and of course, and excels in martial arts and self-defence. On top of this, she proves to be academically above average when she gets a good result on her SAT tests, which gives her a variety of college options in one episode.

3] Seven of Nine - Star Trek: Voyager

A human turned Borg, Seven of Nine is basically a genius who's Borg knowledge gives her a technological edge over her Starfleet counterparts. In fact she is so smart, she is even invited to join a group of genius aliens, a sort of think tank, in one episode. As well as her scientific expertise, she is also an accomplished pianist and singer. She also helped create and run Voyager's astrometrics lab.  


4] Bernadette Wolotiz - The Big Bang Theory

A microbiologist working for a big pharmaceutical company, Bernadette was originally introduced as Penny fellow waitress friend at the Cheesecake Factory. However, it soon transpired she was doing the job to pay off tuition fees, and was working towards a PhD. As well as her study of microbiology, Bernadette proves in one episode to have a good knowledge of physics, and particularly experimental physics, when she shows interest in Leonard's work. 


5] Romana II - Doctor Who

A Timelord who joined the Doctor with the sole purpose of helping him find an ancient and dangerous device, Romana not only matched the Doctor in intelligence but hinted at having left the Timlord's Academy with better test scores - she left with a triple first! Blonde here in her second incarnation, she was also more relaxed but nonetheless still extremely clever. In one episode it turns out she has even built her own sonic screwdriver, with which she helps repair a spaceship, and which the Doctor seemingly tries to nick. In spin-off media Romana continues to do well beyond her travels with the Doctor, and becomes President of Gallifrey itself.

Top 5: Sherlock Holmes TV and Film Adaptions - with a Twist

Its been very busy the last few weeks for me, hence the lack of posts. However, I do have a television review in mind, but as with series reviews it takes longer to watch all the content.

So in the meantime, I have decided to list my top five adaptions of the Sherlock Holmes stories, for television and film, with a twist. It is interesting to note that many of these adaptions are quite recent - the last decade or show - revealing that there has been a revival of interest in the Arthur Conan Doyle stories. 

1] Sherlock (TV) - The Modern Take

The first Sherlock Holmes series to be set in modern day London, as far as I know, rather than the fog and fug of the Victorian era - but Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' adaption is still very much the traditional Sherlock Holmes. Their love and knowledge of the original stories shines though, whilst Benedict Cumberbatch's quirky, serious, well spoken Holmes could easily be placed in either the 1900's or 2000's. This series also stands out with its incredible editing techniques and use of text within the series, which really visualises Holme's thinking in a very unique and active way. 

2] Elementary (TV) - In America

Another modern retelling that sets Holmes and Watson in the present day, and in present day America to boot. Some people might find the removal of Holmes from his native London rather odd, but this series shows he can work perfectly well anywhere in the world. Some very smart changes bring Holmes addiction to the forefront and give Dr Watson, now a woman, a new reason to be there - he is a recovering addict, and she is his sober companion, there to help him through his transition from rehab to living independently again. This gives the Holmes and Watson a fresh new take, one which I think works nicely in the modern setting. 

3] Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (TV) - In The Future

A cartoon series that I watched as a child, this was what first introduced me to Sherlock Holmes - it succeed very well, in that I actually read a few of the stories. Set in a futuristic London of flying cars, this cartoon had a rather concept - that Sherlock Holmes was preserved in honey, and has had to be revived after someone clones Moriarty. He is teamed up with the female descendant of Lestrade and a police robot, that is given nickname, and basically becomes, Watson. Looking back at the episodes it seems a bit clunky now, but the stories were aimed at children and it is nonetheless,  still a great concept. 

4] Sherlock Holmes (Film) - The Action Blockbuster

The first Sherlock Holmes film in years, Guy Richie kept the traditional setting and set up, but altered the tone slightly by making everything faster and more obviously action packed. I think this drew some criticism at the time, making a few argue that Holmes and Watson do actually physically fight in the stories its just rather skimmed over. Nonetheless, these films are not only exciting and epic in the scale which London is portrayed, but despite all the big blockbuster looks Holmes brilliance is still at the centre of it all, with the man himself being played wonderfully by a hyper Robert Downy Jr. 

5] Without a Clue (Film) - Watson is Sherlock 

What you might be asking? Yes, this film may have the traditional Victorian setting, the pipe, the hat, the London cabbies - but then it goes and turns the whole formula upside time with one simple idea. What if Watson was actually the brains? What it creates is an excellent comedic twist on the Sherlock Holmes canon, with Ben Kingsley portraying Watson as the actual genius who has hired an actor, played by Michael Caine, to pretend to be the great detective Sherlock Holmes and draw the limelight away from himself. A light hearted comedy that worth is watch. 

Five of My Favourite: Male Nerds and Geeks from TV

Well, here's my extra post, I'm doing a review this weekend. I thought I'd continue with another fun post, and since I've done the my top five female geeks and nerds, I thought I'd do my five of my favourite guys too. 

Please note as usual, that the list is in no particular order.

1] Sheldon Cooper - The Big Bang Theory

A theoretical physicist, a science-fiction geek and a gamer to boot, Sheldon is probably one of the most famous nerds on television at the moment. 

I have heard that some people in the nerd/geek community do not like the Big Bang Theory because it essential mocks nerds, and though I love the show, I can see what they mean sometimes. The other male characters can seem a little embarrassed about nerdiness, especially with their girlfriends, except for Sheldon. He doesn't apologise for being nerd - or anything really, but that's beside the point. In fact he is often surprised, and pitiful, that more people don't know or care about sci-fi and science - and I personally think that's one of the things that makes him so cool. 


2] Kowalski - The Penguins of Madagascar

You've probably all seen or heard of the four penguins from the Madagascar films who act like they're a special forces unit. Well the characters were so popular they got their own spin-off series - and it is fantastic. 

Kowalski is the genius inventor, scientist and general Q of the team - and probably my favourite character. Known for inventing incredible contraptions, he has a touch of the mad scientist about him. It should also be noted that despite understanding physics and once owning a Higgs Boson - he can't actually read. However, he is a penguin and unlike some other television scientists he can fight and is always involved in missions. 

3] Pete Lattimer - Warehouse 13

Pete Latimer is the goofy, often childish partner of Myka at the Warehouse. He is also a comic-book geek and has collected almost every issue of The Iron Shadow, who his favourite superhero - we even see him wear a Iron Shadow T-shirt. 

4] Dr Rodney McKay - Stargate Atlantis

A physicist and  engineer who has worked with stargates, he is the Head Scientist on Atlantis. He's also the guy who normally ends up solving the team's big problem, whether that's fixing a machine or finding a way to escape a volcano in a spaceship. Hints throughout the series suggest he is also Star Trek and Batman fan. 

5] The Doctor - Doctor Who

I have to admit I was unsure about putting the Doctor on this list, unlike the others who are sort of just ordinary but very intelligent or passionate people, he is an alien. His people are more science based and inherently smarter than us. Then again this list includes a penguin so, I say no criteria applies. 

The Doctor of course has a vast knowledge of science, from astrology to engineering to physics and a myriad of other subjects. I guess he also seems to embody other traits I associate with geeks and nerds - passion for technical stuff, the fact his superpower is his intelligence, the fact he can often be goofy or speak in a load jargon. The Doctor is almost all knowing but also all round brilliant.

Scene 54: Amazon Originals - Vote For Your Favourite Comedy Pilot!

So, if you haven't heard several online companies such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube are planning too or currently airing, original shows produced or commissioned by them - and now Amazon has joined in.

Amazon has just aired a slate of pilot comedies and kids shows online, includng the television version of the film Zombieland and a stop-motion comedy written by the brains between The Big Bang, which are currently free for anyone in the US and the UK to watch online.

However, unlike traditional television or even like the other online channels Amazon is letting the public decide which of these pilots should be kept and turned into full series. It's doing this by not only letting people vote or rate the shows, according to the Los Angles Times, but by looking at which shows are watched all the way through and which are shared most on social media. 

Some have criticised this as gimmicky, but to be honest I think television shows have always been governed by a loose voting system - the audience viewing figures. If you like a show, you watch it weekly and add your number to the viewing figures, effectively voting for that show.

That doesn't mean however that certain shows don't get pulled because viewing figures are 'considered to low' or in the classic Firefly case, the channel fails to give the series a chance by putting it in the right time slot. 

This is what makes Amazon's idea for greenlight programmes so interesting, because it really has given the audience real decision power - and because all the content is online, there's no fear of missing your audience due to bad scheduling because its always available. 

On Amazon you can not only rate and review a programme in real time, but you can share the content through social media, so a few fans could potentially share and encourage a bigger fanbase through social media - and this would help vote that pilot in. 

Meanwhile programmes on BBC, ITV and 4OD channels may be shared and talked about over social media, but because those channels are still relying on television set audience figures, all that viewing time online does make much of an impression. For the Amazon pilots, social media and sharing is their direct link to gaining more viewers, more voters and a place as a full blown series. 

All in all, it'll be interesting to see what happens to the pilots and whether this system of direct audience participation and voting works or not. 

I shall be reviewing Zombieland the TV series pilot and the pilot for Dark Minions, the stop-animation from The Big Bang writers later this week. In the meantime go and watch and vote for yourself at Amazon and for more on the story, check out the BBC report. 

Scene 51: My Top Three Media Websites

Well, its been a busy week for me. I've been editing a short factual film that I also shot. I shall never complain of lack of cutaways again.

I thought I had enough and then before I knew it there were blade lines - I currently use Final Cut Express - and only just enough  shots of random objects to cover them. I also learnt the hard way to manage and clean out my Render Files - I had junk in there from when I first started using my computer! 

Anyway, its been a long week, but I have been looking at gaining more experience out there in the world of media - having been pretty inert the last few months. 

So I've started gathering the cast and crew for a short film I'm going to shoot soon, tried to keep myself motivated with my new script - page 17 at the moment, and I'm wondering whether to keep going and not re-write anything until its finished, or to give into temptation and re-write my second scene now. 

I've also been looking for opportunities to do some freelance writing, and it occurred to me it might be worth doing a list of the websites I use for other media people. 

So here in no particular order here are my three favourite media websites, which I use pretty regularly:

Mandy.com 

A good place I've found, to look for jobs. They advertise not only jobs from independent companies, but the BBC also advertise there. Registration is free, and there is simple form and CV format you can use to apply to a chosen job.

Talent Circle

This site is more for independent and individual filmmakers, and markets itself as the world's filmmaking community. Free to register again, its a good place to look for work experience or collaborations. It also advertises courses and people can pitch their scripts on there too.

BBC Writersroom

One of the top places to go if you're a scriptwriter. It offers lots of advice, including guides to formats, a guide to writing a script and an archive of scripts to read. You can also look at their opportunities page for current competitions and call-outs for scripts. 

Scene 47: A Tribute to Richard Briers

Today I'd like to talk about a great British actor Richard Briers, who died yesterday - please see the wonderful BBC report below - at the age of 79. He is an actor I am particular fond of because he played Tom Good in The Good Life, one of my favourite television shows, and which he is probably most famous for. 

The Good Life is a sitcom from the 1970's, about a couple, Tom and Barbara Good, who live in the suburbs, Tom with his nine to five typical job. On his fortieth birthday however, Tom decides he wants to do something and more and comes up with idea that they should go self-sufficient. I believe the show was popular at the time of broadcast, and is certainly still relevant today - but most importantly, the jokes are just as good and Richard Brier's cheeky performance in it, is wonderfully believable and funny. 

Before this writing this post I only knew about a few of the television shows Richard Briers had been in - though I guessed he would turn up in alot of television shows, being a such a well respected actor. 

Looking at CV though and the range of work he has done, the treasured shows and classics he has been in,  he really had a fantastic career.  

I knew he had another sitcom after the Good Life, in which he starred, called Ever Decreasing Circles - where he played a less charming, and more annoying character than Tom Good. However I had forgotten he had been the narrator of the old cartoon Roobarb, which returned in in 2005, and was the voice of Fiver in the animated classic in Watership Down. 

I am amused to find he has been in three of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare films, but perhaps that is not surprising as he was a theatre actor too, and played Hamlet himself in his younger days. More recently he was of course, in The Monarch of the Glen, and appeared in cameos in all sorts of television shows from Torchwood, to detective dramas like New Tricks and Marple. 

Finally, his last film, is a comedy called Cockneys vs. Zombies, where he plays a pensioner caught up in a zombie apocalypse - which showed that not only was he not afraid to do something really different, but if you watch the trailer, you can see he was still great  comedy actor, even in his seventies.

In summary, in my opinion, Richard Briers was a national treasure of British television, and I think the best way to pay tribute to his brilliant and varied work over the years is to go and watch it. 

Richard Briers, thank you, and rest in peace. 

Scene 38: Doctor Who and the Christmas Round Up

Ah, Christmas, and the annual Christmas television - the Christmas specials, the 'classic' Christmas films and the Queen's Speech, which this year  is in 3D, for some reason. 

So, here's my brief round up of some of the Christmas specials - those one-off episodes of popular television series centred around the Christmas holiday itself.

As usual the BBC has a Doctor Who Christmas special, which is - I think for the second time in the reboot's history - acting as a bridge for the series into the New Year. 


It's interesting to note that the last two specials have both been inspired by Christmassy stories - A Christmas Carol and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - and wonder if it'll turn out that the coming special gives a nod to another literary classic this year. Though so far the trailer does not seem to suggest it - though the Doctor in a top hat does remind one of the Madder Hatter somewhat. These specials can be a bit hit and miss, and I wasn't to keen on last year's. However this year looks like it might be rather good - with deliciously creepy looking snowmen and the addition of Richard E. Grant and Ian McKellan doing some voice-acting. 

There's also going to be plenty of period drama from Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and The Making of a Lady.

There's plenty for young children as well, with the sequel to The Snowman - The Snowman and The Snow Dog on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve. Whilst on Christmas Day, there is the animation Room on the Broom on the BBC, which features a whole host of voice talent that adults will enjoy recognising - including Gillian Anderson, Simon Pegg and Sally Hawkins. 

Well that's a quick look at what's on telly, for more Christmas listings and reviews, check out the Radio Times site.

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Scene 35: Five Scriptwriting Tips

Scriptwriting, its a tough business trying to write forty-five to ninety pages, depending on whether its film or television, of something that's good - or even brilliant.  

Then there's so much to consider - character, the whole structure, dialogue, scene structure, story arcs, the meaning behind it all!  So, I thought today I'd share a few bits of advice on scriptwriting that I think are useful. 

First though, here's a quick little re-fresher from the American Film Institute that describes what a script is and how to format it, hosted by Sean Astin from Lord of the Rings. 

1] Write it and finish it!

Whilst doing some research for this, I came across Joss Whedon's Top Ten Writing Tips and the first one on the list was - finish the script. 

Although I don't think this is technically advice it is something that's worth repeating. As sitting down  and starting, and then finishing a script can be difficult. 



2]  Write Three Pages a Day

This is a nice idea for making sure you finish that script, bit by bit, and one I have always liked - though not yet managed to stick too.

It's a simple plan - you sit down and write three pages of script a day, no matter what. The three pages don't have to great either - you can go back and revise it later - and if you can write more, that's great, but make sure you stick to the minimum. 

By doing this you should end up with thirty pages of script in ten days. So by the end of a month, you could have a first draft of a script. 


3] Show don't tell

This is a classic rule for screenwriting. It's important for two reasons. First of all television and film are visual mediums. Secondly, it also helps reduce the need for unnecessary dialogue and to much explaining. 

A great example of  this I found in a book describes  a scene between a girl about to leave home to be with her boyfriend, and her older brother who's trying to stop her. The writer wants to get across the idea that the girl is just a child really, and doesn't know what she's doing.   

So, in the first example of the scene the brother and sister argue and the brother tells her quite obviously - "You're just a kid. You're not old enough to understand." - sort of dialogue, which takes up a lot of the page. 

The second example, using the rule of showing not telling, shows the brother arguing with his sister in her bedroom - but this time the script describes the room, the soft toys on the shelves, the band posters on the wall and the old Barbie suitcase the girl packs her clothes in. All this tells us straight away that this girl is still just a kid, without her brother having to say it out loud. 

I've attempted to do this in one of my scripts. I have a character who's into history. How do I get this across? Have him reading historical novels and history books of course! 


4] Formatting, grammar and spelling 

This is really two pieces of advice I've thrown in together, but both are important if you want to make your script clear and easy to read. 

First, checking grammar and spelling is an obvious one. It can be easy to forget to do this, for example I was a few minutes from a script competition deadline, sent off the script - and then remembered I had not re-read it, so I did not know if there was any redundant words or spelling mishaps the spell check had missed. 

Second, make sure you use the right format. There are different formats of script for different types of medium - television, radio and film. To find out what they are, go to Formatting your Script at the BBC Writersroom. 



5] Read your script out loud

This is a tip from an article called Screenwriting Tips from a Screenplay Contest Judge, written by Gordy Hoffman, who runs an American screenplay competition. 

His explains that dialouge can sound fine in your head, but as soon as you hear it out loud, you may feel like jumping in front of a bus - his analogy.  So he suggests you either read your script out loud by ourself, or get your friends to read it.

I once wrote a short radio piece for a community/university station, which had a line that sounded fine in my head,  but sounded like an innuendeo when read out - as my friend kindly pointed out to me. 

So in future I intend to get my friends to read my scripts, as it sounds like good fun as well as a good re-writing exercise. 

Scene 20: Examples of Documentary

It's very late, so I am not going to write a full proper post tonight. However, I have seen a lot of interesting  TV today that I shall review tomorrow. For the moment though, may direct you to two excellent documentaries I've just seen on BBC4:


Pandemic: A Horizon Guide - which uses the conventional documentary style of voice-over, cutaway clips and talking heads with captioned names below.


Surviving Progress - which uses more artistic and stylistic approach in the way it shows its clips, and does not use the traditional captioning of someones name on-screen when they're first shown.

Scenes 18: The Artist Returns

I saw something rather exciting in a shop this afternoon -  The Artist (2011) is finally out on DVD and for sale! 


For those who may have forgotten, The Artist was the black and white tribute to silent films of the 20's and 30's that won loads of awards at the beginning of the year - including five Oscars, one for Best Picture, one Best Director and one for Best Actor, according to  this BBC article.


I saw the film when it came out in The Kinema in the Woods, which is an old kinema that has been around since the 20's - the perfect setting for a silent black and white film!

The film is directed by Michel Hazanavicius and stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo; and tells film the story of how a silent film actor is affected when the film industry moves into sound, whilst a young girl he accidentally bumps into gets into the movies and rises in fame. 

Michel Hazanavicius has worked with Jean Dujardin before on a couple of films about a French secret agent called OSS 117 - France's answer to James Bond, but without much of a clue, according to the trailer - which rather funny. Check out the trailers below. 

Just one more thing before I finish this post though. I am afraid I was wrong about Doctor Who series 7 being broadcast late this summer. I have just found out the next series starts on the 12th of September! I have no idea why its starting so late, they are filming the Christmas episode now after all, so the 7th series should be in the can. Oh well, just have to wait a bit longer than expected. My brother is counting down - 100 days to go! 

Scene 17: Doctor, Who's that Girl?

Just a quick post to say that photos are now out of Jenna-Louise Coleman playing the Doctor's companion in the Mail Online. 


Jenna-Louise Coleman is going to be taking over the role as companion to Matt Smith's Doctor during the Christmas episode, and this article hints that her character may be called Clara, though most of the information is being kept a secret. 

Meanwhile of course, we are still waiting for the seventh series of Doctor Who to appear (I almost said materialise there...) later this summer. Normally the series is broadcast in late spring, early summer. 


I am also looking forward to next year, which will be the Fiftieth Anniversary of Doctor Who, which should hopefully mean something big! Though so far the BBC has done a very good job of keeping a tight lid on what they'll be doing, though there are rumours abound of course - the latest one to be panned was whether Benedict Cumberbatch would be the next Master - have surfaced. Meanwhile some people have been wondering if they'll do a multi-Doctor episode like they did for the Five Doctors. 


I guess we'll have to wait and see...

Scene 14: A Review of Medieval Lives

So, a couple of things, first of all this blog post is very late and I am sorry, but I have been very busy. Secondly, I have just realised that I managed to skip from post eight to ten in my scene numbering system, so technically this is post thirteen! 


Last weekend I watched the entire series of called Terry Jones' Medieval Lives hosted, obviously, by the former Python Terry Jones. 

It was an excellent series, I think, for several reasons. First of all it had a good series premises/structure, which was to take a stereotype of the medieval era, such as the Monk or the Knight, and then challenge the viewers preconceptions. Taking each role in this way gave each episode a strong focus, and at the same time meant Terry Jones could then use the lives of each character to explore the aspects of the medieval world related to them - for example when he looked at the Philosopher he also explored the general medieval attitude to science. 

Secondly, the series was played with a good balance of visual fun and actual historical information. Terry Jones' dresses as each role for the beginning introduction to each episode, and his dressed-up antics are then used as cut aways during later scenes. There are also cut aways using animated medieval pictures that move in jerky cut out movements - giving the programme a little bit Monty Python-esque feel. 

However, at the same time Terry Jones does know what he is talking about, yes there is humour in his presenting style, but he also come across as someone who knows his subject, and he is interested in it. 

On the whole I found the series a very accessible way to learn about the period. The only minor complaint being that I thought one or two of the cutaways seemed a bit quick and a bit unnecessary. 

For those of you studying media/film/tv I'd like to mention another medieval documentary, called Inside the Medieval Mind, that I have now started watching, which makes a good comparison point for Medieval Lives in terms of what each documentary is aiming at in terms of style and audience. 

Inside the Medieval Mind, though I have only seen five minutes of it so far, is obviously aimed at a more adult audience, and comes across as serious and dramatic. The cutaway footage used is tinted in darker shades, there are shots of threatening skies and shadows are used several times. Meanwhile the approach of Medieval Lives of course is one of fun, and therefore more suitable for a family. It has a light-hearted approach, without loss of information. 


In summary, a good example of a fun, family-friendly documentary that does teach you something. 

Scene 11: The Music Lover, Ken Russell

Yesterday I was writing a post on my other blog A Lady of Literature, about the famous night when Byron challenged his guests to write a ghost story, when I was reminded that several films had been done about the event - including Gothic (1986), by the late director and writer Ken Russell. 

[Warning some trailers may include scenes of nudity and in the case of Gothic, above, fantasy horror.]


I surprisingly know quite a bit about Ken Russell, despite having only seen one of his films, the beautifully shot, The Rainbow (1989). 

I learnt alot about him from a cinematographer friend of mine, and then later through watching a BBC documentary, Ken Russell: A Bit of a Devil. 


Ken Russell began his film career  the culture programme Monitor at the BBC back in the early sixties, shooting short documentary films about musicans and poets, where he broke new ground and achieved recognition with his film on musican Edward Elgar. 

Russell was a great lover of music, particularly classical, and music plays a big part in many of his films, much as Mahler (1974), Lisztomania (1975) and Tommy (1975).


However he was also controversial for his nudity, sexual references. In particular his film The Devils (1971) was given an X-rating in Britain, and has only recently that film has been released on DVD by the BFI.  


Russell's most well-known film though is the Oscar-nominated Women in Love (1969), based on the DH Lawrence novel, with the famous scene of Oliver Reed and Alan Bates fighting nude infront of a fire-place. 


He also directed a tribute to the 1920's and musicals called The Boyfriend (1971) starring the model Twiggy, and a music video for Elton John. 

Sadly Ken Russell died last November, just when he had started pre-production on a new musical version of Alice in Wonderland. 


Obviously Ken Russell will not be for everyone, but nonetheless he has made a lasting impact on British film and I look forward to watching more of his movies.


For more on Ken Russell check out the BBC documentary or a rather excellent  short introduction to his films called On Ken Russell.