Ken Russell on DVD

[MichaelB]

Yes Joyce's trustees, meaning mainly the manic grandson Stephen Joyce, had a 'corrected text' of Ulysses published in 1993, as the then 50 year copyright on the original had run out in 1991, but creating a new version somehow put the clock back to zero and back into copyright on that version of the novel which was then deemed the definitive! ... Then the EU extended the limit to 70 years so put everything back in the clink and the consensus on the 'corrected text' wasn't so good anyway...

You get a similar situation with films - even if a film is nominally in the public domain, a particular version of the film may still be in copyright if it involves any additional elements (a copyrighted score, restoration work, new titles, etc.)

When uploading public-domain material online as part of my job, I often have to be quite careful about silent film music - and generally play safe by removing it altogether.

[Zazou dans le Metro]

Didn't know that 70's groover David Axelrod dedicated a little number to our Ken??
Nor did I till I found this - (For fans of waspish synth wah wahing and wanging around)

[MichaelB]

Actually, just to expand on my last point, a film may be problematic if it contains third-party footage that's owned by someone else - which may well explain why Russell's superb Bela Bartok isn't included in the line-up.

Much of the footage was taken from various Eastern European films, notably George Hoellering's seminal Hortobagy (a Hungarian film shot during Bartok's lifetime) - so any DVD release will have to clear those rights separately. And since Bartok is also still in copyright till 2015 (in Europe), there's an additional expense there too.

By contrast, Debussy and Delius are safely out of copyright, so it's only the performance rights that cause hassle. But Russell's Prokofiev - Portrait of a Soviet Composer is also potentially tricky, as it makes even more extensive use of third party footage, with a fair bit of Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky - and Prokofiev's European copyright won't expire until 2023!

[Cronenfly]

Amazon listing for Russell BBC set, out September 23.

[Àngel Maeztu]

Amazon listing for Russell BBC set, out September 23.

DVD Empire and another link concerning this fantastic next release.

All the best, amigos. Àngel.

[Barmy]

Ken Russell is appearing at Anthology Film Archives on Halloween for a midnight screening of The Devils.

[Narshty]

Still no reviews? I'm paranoid that Dance of the Seven Veils will be pulled at the last minute. And it would be nice to know if Ken's recorded new commentaries, or even if just the ones from the BFI discs for Elgar and Song of Summer are on there (the latter is especially good for what he considers his best film, and I'd agree).

[MichaelB]

Still no reviews? I'm paranoid that Dance of the Seven Veils will be pulled at the last minute. And it would be nice to know if Ken's recorded new commentaries, or even if just the ones from the BFI discs for Elgar and Song of Summer are on there (the latter is especially good for what he considers his best film, and I'd agree).

I've been trying to blag a review copy of this for ages, but BBC America haven't returned my calls.

But there doesn't seem to be any particular reason for Dance of the Seven Veils to be pulled, if my understanding of US copyright law is correct. The BBC owns all the rights aside from the music ones, and if they've expired, the Strauss estate doesn't have a leg to stand on.

(And even if it does get pulled, there's more than enough elsewhere in the box to make it worthwhile - in fact, notoriety aside, Seven Veils is one of the weaker films in the set!)

[Lino]

What's the verdict on this recently released Valentino DVD?

[DiVicenzo]

Dare I say, best british film ever?

I am new here and have a Yahoo Group dedicated to Ken but just found this Forum so, I am way behind.

Lino - you would be very right in saying The Devils is best British film ever! It's stupendous and never been bettered IMO.

I took over a petition that has been on the Internet a couple of years to get the film released on DVD. When I found it - courtesy of Ken - it had 174 signatures on it. Having championed this neglected petition toady I can say that it has 1064 signatures (16 have to be ignored as they are idiots just messing around).

Last year I sent it off by snail-mail to Warner Bros UK and just a couple of weeks ago I sent it off by email to Criterion with a link to Mark Kermode's BBC plea to release it and a link to the IMDB comments on the film.

What I need now is a Warner Bros US address to send it off to as it is they who are dragging their heels!

I still maintain my inicial stance that you only dislike him because you are british.

I am British to the core as is Ken! And, I love his work - the man is a genius!

Now, someone mentioned Pasolini above - utter amateur rubbish. I can't get on with Derek Jarman's work either but his sets for 'The Devils' were something else.

[ellipsis7]

Director Bernard Rose on Ken in today's Guardian

[colinr0380]

Great piece!

He tells me about a planned biography of Russian composer Scriabin. "I want giant bells hanging from clouds. A couple making love on a giant bed. Of course, it's too expensive to do. I did it as a radio play with Oliver Reed. I'd love to make it as a film." I ask if he ever applied to the Film Council for a grant and Russell replies sadly: "I did, but they just treat me like some kind of joke." It's a shame they don't recognise Russell's importance. If the UK Film Council don't want to fund his work, they should at least put him forward for a knighthood.

Strange, some people would have the same attitude to the UK Film Council!

And don't put Mr Russell up for a knighthood. The last thing I want to see is him kowtowing in front of the Queen after a political decision has been made to honour him - unless he wears the same costume he wore on going into the Big Brother house and is allowed the orchestrate the whole ceremony into a kind of maniacal orgy scored to Mahler, of course!

[DiVicenzo]

Director Bernard Rose on Ken in today's Guardian

Thanks for this - loved it! And, yes Ken deserves a Knighthood - I created a petition at the 10 Downing Street website. Ken's wife has signed it - of course and he said he would accept one. Here's the link.

Unfortunately, only British residents can sign it but if you have British friends just use their address

[Lino]

I took over a petition that has been on the Internet a couple of years to get the film released on DVD. (...)

Last year I sent it off by snail-mail to Warner Bros UK and just a couple of weeks ago I sent it off by email to Criterion with a link to Mark Kermode's BBC plea to release it and a link to the IMDB comments on the film.

What I need now is a Warner Bros US address to send it off to as it is they who are dragging their heels!

Hi, and first of all, welcome to the forum! It's always great to see some Russell enthusiasts and lovers coming out of the woodwork now and then as it keeps my passion for all things Russellian very much alive!

Now, about you trying to get Criterion to release The Devils on DVD: no fat chance, I'm afraid as it is widely known that Warner doesn't license ANY of their titles to third parties. What you really need is a Warner address that I'm sure that someone on this board will manage to get to you pronto.

Meanwhile, does anyone have any info on the recently released Valentino DVD that I mentioned above? Oh, and before I go, here's DVDTalk's review of Ken Russell at the BBC, a clear must-have if you ever doubted.

[DiVicenzo]

Hi, and first of all, welcome to the forum! It's always great to see some Russell enthusiasts and lovers coming out of the woodwork now and then as it keeps my passion for all things Russellian very much alive!

Now, about you trying to get Criterion to release The Devils on DVD: no fat chance, I'm afraid as it is widely known that Warner doesn't license ANY of their titles to third parties. What you really need is a Warner address that I'm sure that someone on this board will manage to get to you pronto.

Thanks for the welcome! I have been an admirer since I saw 'Women in Love' way back in 1969. And, I have attended his last two birthday parties I am very glad to show off about.... it's taken me *that* long...

... it's funny you should say that about Warner Bros but they have, I believe recently issued a third party title - the name of which escapes me at the moment. But, I will check and get back to you...and, I am not one to give up on things that I believe in

Anyway, it's very late and I must unto my bed until the morrow

[luridedith]

Oh, and before I go, here's DVDTalk's review of Ken Russell at the BBC, a clear must-have if you ever doubted.

Shit, either the reviewer didn't get the complete, finalized set or Dance Of The Seven Veils HAS been pulled at the last minute. It not mentioned at all in the review.

[DiVicenzo]

Oh, and before I go, here's DVDTalk's review of Ken Russell at the BBC, a clear must-have if you ever doubted.

Shit, either the reviewer didn't get the complete, finalized set or Dance Of The Seven Veils HAS been pulled at the last minute. It not mentioned at all in the review.

I know I have just read this and I am devastated. Let's see if Ken knows anything.

I did get to see it the once at the BFI in London and it was typical Ken Russell and I loved it!

[MichaelB]

Shit, either the reviewer didn't get the complete, finalized set or Dance Of The Seven Veils HAS been pulled at the last minute. It not mentioned at all in the review.

It's not the sort of film that's easy to ignore!

I have to say it doesn't surprise me - I'm not familiar with US copyright law, but the film is definitely unreleasable until 2019 in Europe (i.e. 70 years after Richard Strauss's death), and I'm under the impression that the same 70-year rule applies in the US in certain circumstances thanks to the notorious Sonny Bono clause - though I may be misreading things totally.

And if it is a music rights issue, then the film is effectively unreleasable in the US as well - the soundtrack is quite literally wall-to-wall Strauss, and while Russell documentaries have been showing clips with Johann Strauss' music, that approach wouldn't work with the whole film.

So it looks as though the only legal option is to book a viewing at the BFI National Archive, which is what I had to do.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The 70-year rule applies in all cases of individual authorship, so long as the copyright was still valid in 1998. The pre-1998 U.S. copyright term was the life of the author plus fifty years, so Strauss' works wouldn't have entered the public domain until 1999; the Bono Act extended the term to 2019, i.e. same as the EU.

[MichaelB]

The 70-year rule applies in all cases of individual authorship, so long as the copyright was still valid in 1998. The pre-1998 U.S. copyright term was the life of the author plus fifty years, so Strauss' works wouldn't have entered the public domain until 1999; the Bono Act extended the term to 2019, i.e. same as the EU.

Thanks for that. So the only possible way round this is for the Strauss estate to change its mind - but I have to say the chances of that make the proverbial cat in hell look like a dead cert for a miraculous rescue!

Incidentally, the Debussy estate raised a stink over The Debussy Film when it was first broadcast in 1965, but Debussy died in 1918, so his work has been out of copyright for decades.

[DiVicenzo]

The 70-year rule applies in all cases of individual authorship, so long as the copyright was still valid in 1998. The pre-1998 U.S. copyright term was the life of the author plus fifty years, so Strauss' works wouldn't have entered the public domain until 1999; the Bono Act extended the term to 2019, i.e. same as the EU.

Bar Stewards!

[GaryC]

Or to be precise, 1 January 2020, as under British law works go public domain at the end of the expiry year.

Ken Russell will be 92 then...

[MichaelB]

The only time I ever met him, I told him that I slipped a couple of clips from Dance of the Seven Veils into a talk I gave on his work at BFI Southbank last year.

Not too surprisingly, he was delighted.

[DiVicenzo]

I asked Ken and even he is not sure if Seven Veils has been pulled...

How strange! On BBC 4 (TV) there was a trailer for a new Arts programme and there was a quick clip of 'The Dance of the Seven Veils'- the scene where Ken is conducting the orchestra above Strauss' bed...how very topical...the programme is called something like 'Art v Art'...can't remember exactly...

I have just emailed BBC America to see if they can give us a definitive answer about what is included on their DVD release - fingers crossed

Edit Here it is:

The Art Of Arts TV Sunday 28 September 2008, BBC4 – Three-part history of television arts programmes. Contributors include Sir David Attenborough, Joan Bakewell, Melvyn Bragg, Matt Collings, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Mike Hodges, Jonathan Miller, Jonathan Meades, Ken Russell, Brian Sewell and Alan Yentob

This is what I have just received from BBC America! Hallelujah!

sic friat crustulum

Barry

Thank you for your email. Ken Russell at the BBC is being released by BBC Home Video and includes the following:

Elgar (1962) - A partly dramatized account of the life of classical composer Sir Edward Elgar.
The Debussy Film (1965) - An impression of the music and life of the French composer Claude Debussy.
Always on Sunday (1965) - An interpretation of the life of French primitive painter Henri Douanier Rousseau.
Isadora: The Biggest Dancer in the World (1966) - A dramatized biography of the American dancer Isadora Duncan.
Dante's Inferno (1967) - A film showing the private life of the emotional poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Song of Summer (1968) - A biography of the last five years of Frederick Delius, the blind and paralyzed composer. Based on Eric Fenby's 1936 memoir.
Dance of the Seven Veils (1970) - A subjective impression of composer Richard Strauss's life.

For more information on this title please visit: http://www.bbcamericashop.com/video/ken ... 14696.html

Best Regards,
Corin

[Barmy]

Subjective? Hardly.