Altered States : The Autobiography of Ken Russell

Rating:
Summary: The Best Film Maker You've Never Seen
Review: Memoirs are probably the riskiest of publishing ventures - if the writer is not at the top of the Fame A-List, or, if famous, insufficiently scandalous, no one, except the aficionado, will buy them, much less read them. Once upon a time, director Ken Russell was famous AND scandalous...once upon a time. And it's a shame that he seems to be forgotten, considering that he gave us some of the most provocative, surreal, dynamic, and controversial films of the period from 1969 to 1980. He was one of the few true artists in the commercial cinema of the period, in the sense of having a vision, of taking his raw material and expressing his own unique interpretation. (He stills works occasionally, but his heyday has passed) Many would say he was self-indulgent - and I have to grant that he is an acquired taste. But there was no one else like him. This memoir, named after his best film (and one of the best science fiction films ever made) grew out of a commission from the BBC in his native Britain for an autobiographical film. While researching locations for the film, Russell slips into an examination of his life, experiences, and career. Like his films, his life itself has had its moments of high art and low comedy, pratfalls and epiphanies, campiness, hallucination, love, and tragedy. Inside looks at the film industry and show biz gossip abound, of course, but there is also the very moving account of the accidental death of his favorite cousin, Marion. It is also, often, very funny. Russell seems to attract odd experiences and people, which may explain the skewed tenor of his films. It's not a great memoir, by any means. Having reread it recently, I found a bit meandering and unfocused, and some of his opinions decidedly un-PC. Still, for those curious about what makes a film director tick, the cinema of the Seventies, or mavericks bucking the mainstream, it is definitely worth a read. For readers who are already familiar with the author's works, the rating goes up another star.