Funds earned by Pink Floyd’s album “The Dark Side of the Moon” went towards funding The Holy Grail. The band were such fans of the show they would halt recording sessions just to watch Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)
Lisa and Louise Burns were twelve years old when they played the Grady Twins in The Shining. It was the only film appearance for the sisters.
In a June, 2002 issue of JANE magazine, the twins, then 35, recalled running around in the Hedge Maze set, getting lost and forcing crew members to remove panels to let them out. They discussed still owning a pair of the dresses they wore in the film, and Louise recalled, “I got to keep a jar of fake blood. I stored it in the fridge until it congealed.”
‘The Debussy Film’: The making of Ken Russell’s TV masterpiece starring Oliver Reed.
The Debussy Film is Russell developing the style and technique that would make him internationally recognized as one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century. His approach was revolutionary and brilliant, and The Debussy Film changed television and cinematic biography for good. It also revealed another side to Oliver Reed (who is quite brilliant) and Vladek Sheybal, who was usually typecast as KGB agents. The film also contains cameos form artists Duggie Fields and Pauline Boty. —Paul Gallagher
Before gaining worldwide fame for such daring and flamboyant films as The Music Lovers, Tommy and Altered States, English director Ken Russell cut his teeth at the BBC, making groundbreaking documentaries that featured re-enactments, and setting new standards in filmmaking. Ken Russell at the BBC earns an easy Highly Recommended.
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Elgar (1962)
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Always on Sunday (1965)
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Isadora (1966)
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Dante’s Inferno (1967)
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Song of Summer (1968)
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Ken Russell in Conversation
- Ken Russell at the BBC — Ken Russell at Work
The Devils audio commentary with Ken Russell, Mark Kermode, editor Michael Bradsell and Paul Joyce, recorded in 2004.
Director of Devils is a quasi-PR piece made around the time of the film’s release. Running 22-minutes it features Ken Russell, being driven somewhere, talking about the film and its controversy. He talks about the Huxley book, the large amounts of research that went into it, and even goes over the historical facts he unearthed. The film also features behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot, which offers alternate angles to certain scenes, looks at the sets, and even presents footage in the latter half of the film’s score being recorded for the final moments being recorded. Excellent little featurette.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe!”
Roy Batty, Blade Runner (1982)
