I grew to maturity with Ken Russell's films. His Monitor extravaganzas for BBC were the first films I saw that excited my desire to be a film-maker and they still stand out as something so exactly 1960s yet in tune with the characters they portrayed—Debussy, Elgar, the PreRaphaelites, Isadora Duncan, and more. The week's obits portray him as something between a wayward genius and a delusional idiot. For me, he was so much more of the former than the latter, though no denying that, as his own worst enemy, he alienated the studios and bankers…but hardly any of the pantheon of actors who worked willingly for him, or the crews that lined up to be on one of his pictures. We've heard endlessly that "Russell was perhaps best known for… The Music Lovers, The Boy Friend, The… forgetting entirely amazing productions like The Savage Messiah, Mahler, Altered States, and Crimes of Passion (a personal favourite with the amazing Kathleen Turner). And, of course, the hated The Devils (brilliant movie). There was A Billion Dollar Brain (not my favourite, but a camp-up of the Ipcress File/Bond movies of note with some great scenes and lines) and Tommy. In fact, a filmography too long to mention here (did I forget Valentino—one he said himself was a load of rot, but just watch it).

Yes, his later output became increasingly impenetrable, but he never lost his sense of outrage and fun—a fiery combination.

Well done, Ken. Now let's hope those bastard distributors cash in on your demise by releasing so many of your unavailable movies. NOW!

And…thank you for giving that ass Alexander Walker a good drubbing on the telly.