Savage Messiah (1972)

Hello everybody;I remember watching this film when I was 12 years old in a late night show on a local channel and it blew my mind. Since then I have never found a copy even on VHS (I am sure it is not yet released on DVD). If someone knows where can I buy a copy (used, doesn't matter) I will greatly appreciate the information.About the movie I can say (Sorry for the blah blah but I need to fill the ten lines in order to post this), what I remember the most is the intensity of the performances and the beautifully crafted direction of photography. Russell is a superb director that knows exactly where to look for the right film crew.This is one of the best films I have ever seen and had an ever lasting impact in me as a person and as an artist. Henry Gaudier's story is compelling and dramatic. Although his life as an artist was short and turbulent his work (mostly sculptures and a few sketches) endure.thanks

First I have to admit that I was directed by Ken Russell in this movie. He told me to "get out of the bloody shot" when I was watching the filming at Horsted Keynes station between shots while working as an extra! The movie itself has several excellent parts, many of them well and clearly shown on Helen Mirren's body as she descends the stairs all woman totally disablie! The most moving part (by far) is the last 10 minutes where we see the work of Gaudier-Brzeska after being told of his demise. Back to Russell as a director he was friendly, indeed charming to the cast and even we extras, but scathing to the crew when things went wrong. In one case almost throwing the camera operator off set when he switched off the camera before the director shouted "cut". Suppose Russell had a point, it wasn't for the man with the switch to decide when the scene was over! The sound man received a round of applause - led by Shirly Russell when he performed some sort of audio miracle. Certainly not the best Russell movie,but far from his worst either. Good film that I would have never ever watched had I not been an extra. Glad that I did.

Ken Russell's take on the life of Gaudia Brzeska is irreverant and a little flippant. Perhaps that is just as well, because clearly someone who was able to produce the quantity and quality of work that Brzeska did during his short life, must have had something like mad energy portrayed in this film. Had he lived, he might have been as well known as Picasso. There are flaws, it looks very dated to the 70's, but if this film had not been made, I probably would not have heard of him.

Savage Messiah is perhaps the least famous of Ken Russell's biopics from the early-to-mid 70s. He made films about Tchaikovsky (The Music Lovers), Lizst (Lizstomania), and Mahler (Mahler) during this period, and in this offering his subject is the French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. Gaudier-Brzeska, though not a household name, is certainly an interesting character and this film is a worthwhile experience for anyone who wants to find out more about him, or anyone who has an interest in his career.It is, however, typically erratic and in-your-face, as most of Russell's pictures are. There's sex and nudity, lots of bitter and angry dialogue, and heaps of soul searching. In real life, Gaudier-Brzeska married a Polish noblewoman twenty years his senior and was tragically killed during WW1. Russell revels in exploring the complexity of their relationship, but he makes little of Gaudier-Brzeska's wartime experiences (which in actual fact might have been well worth showing in more detail).I like this film because it is fast-paced, unconventional and witty. Having said that, I wouldn't put it in my list of all time favourites because it lacks warmth and narrative clarity. It's not as intense as Russell's The Devils, but it stands alongside that film of one of his better motion pictures.