Mahler (1974) and Tommy (1975) | Ken Russell’s wild musical excursions have never been bettered

Love him or loathe him, British director Ken Russell (1927-2011) was a true maverick. His canon of films – the most well-known being 1969’s Women in Love, 1971’s The Devils and The Who’s Tommy in 1975 – polarised audiences and critics alike with their flamboyant and outrageous sexual imagery and not-so subtle attacks on church and state, but they remain testament to one’s man’s unique artistic vision – the likes of which we will never see again.

Passionate about classical music Ken Russell wrote books on famous composers and directed a string of highly individual biopics on the likes of Elgar, Liszt, Delius, Tchaikovsky and Mahler. In his dazzling 1974 film about the life of Gustav Mahler, Russell sets the 19th-century Austrian composer’s music to his own blood-soaked visual interpretations, against a background of flashbacks on a train journey when the composer (Robert Powell) has only a few days to live. One naked girl emerges from a mummy-like chrysalis; another performs a striptease with Nazi soldiers; Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries turns into a Busby Berkeley routine; and there’s a wild horse ride through moonlit woods. It’s all quite surreal and pure Russell excess. But, above all, it makes you want to search out more of Mahler’s music.

Russell followed Mahler with the Oscar-nominated rock opera Tommy, written by The Who’s Pete Townshend, about a deaf, dumb and blind boy (Roger Daltrey) who becomes a Messiah-like figure. With its wild visuals (a sea of baked beans anyone?) and amazing cast – including Ann-Margret (who scored an Oscar nod), Oliver Reed as a chillingly-effective teddy boy, and Tina Turner camping it up as the Acid Queen, it’s no wonder Russell’s feature-length pop video has since become legendary.

Tommy (Blu-ray and DVD) and Mahler (DVD) releases are available from Odeon Entertainment in the UK 

Tommy also screens today on BBC2 HD at 12.35am