mercy_croft

Opened up this thread again to add Singin' in the Rain, but you beat me to it! Seconding that suggestion. I'd also thought of listing Mulholland Drive. I'd definitely be curious how some of the other major films listed above would fare against each other. Agreed, too, with the previous comment that coming back to some older movies would be a lot of fun. A few more ideas: Story of a Three Day Pass (Melvin Van Peebles), Possession (Andrzej Zulawski - which has come up in conversations & forum posts), maybe some Haneke

I'd be curious which way this would go

Also seconding Night of the Hunter. Some other thoughts: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Carrie, Night of the Living Dead, In the Mood for Love, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Lisztomania is the most manic film I have ever seen - which is saying a lot, considering Ken Russell's entire body of work! It was so utterly overwhelming and out there that I could barely absorb it in one viewing. Definitely another one I need to revisit.

One more from Ann-Margret: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5-vnR-XgQ

Was excited to listen to this episode. I'm torn about how to vote (though leaning towards 'yes'), because it's been a while and I need to give Tommy another watch to judge it fairly, but I remember being fascinated by it and the film having incredible moments, visuals, energy, weird song deliveries, and performances, but not totally adding up to a solid whole for me, having a few elements that rubbed me the wrong way, and losing focus by the end. That being said, I love and admire imperfect/messy/chaotic films that go full-energy, I love what Ken Russell does with the style and feel of the film, it is a classic rock opera, and Ann-Margret's performance, in particular, is absolutely wild and amazing and perfect. And the film does have a huge cultural impact. As a quick Ann-Margret aside, I'm a huge fan of hers and there are a lot of great videos of her to watch, including: -Her & Tina Turner performing together on Ann-Margret's TV show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxTCHg0r9uY However, Tommy makes me think about my favorite Ken Russell film, The Devils (1971), which I'd highly recommend in general but which I also think is very Canon-worthy. Maybe it's not fair to compare the two films or spend time on it here, since it doesn't need to be limited to one film per director and because the two films are so different (although they do share the Ken Russell-typical onslaught of non-stop chaotic energy and the themes of celebrity, religious fervor, and tragedy + excess, as well as a wild lead performance by Oliver Reed). The Devils is such a masterpiece and I think it's absolutely Russell's smartest, most effective, and most powerful film. It's horrifying, overwhelming, and entertaining, and a brilliant (and still potent) comment on politics and religion working together to manipulate and control. Vanessa Redgrave, Reed, and the rest of the cast put in incredible, grotesque performances, Derek Jarman's set design is striking and beautiful, and Russell is at his best, wielding his chaos and messiness so elegantly to create something shocking, disturbing, gorgeous, and meaningful. The film is less widely-seen than Tommy for a number of reasons, though legendary, since it has only very recently become available in its entirety, as it was widely banned and censored for decades because of its intense mixture of sexuality, violence, and blasphemy. But again, probably not fair to spend so much time on another Russell film here. I need to give Tommy another proper watch and maybe it will win me over in its entirety more thoroughly this time. Regardless of me having mixed feelings about it, the movie probably deserves a place there. It is very innovative and not quite like anything else.