4. Ken Russell
Ken Russell, the great maverick of British cinema - controversial and flamboyant - spent his career treading where few directors fear to go, cutting a swathe through the mundane with his colourful movies. One of the greatest buccaneering quests Ken ever took on was the film adaptation of The Who's rock opera Tommy. Helped by a big name cast of actors and musicians - such as Tina Turner, Elton John and Eric Clapton, Russell made one of the most bizarre, psychedelic spectacles to ever grace the screen. Ken was best known for his 1969 signature film Women in Love which featured a nude male wrestling session between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed. Russell was nominated for an Oscar and carved a niche for himself creating lavish biopics such as Valentino and The Music Lovers (Tchaikovsky) Ken really pushed the Buccaneer boat out with 1971's The Devils - an adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Devils of Loudon. A libertine priest, a deranged hump backed nun, sexual mania and cruel torture combined to make an incendiary film which noted film critic Alexander Walker dubbed 'monstrously indecent'. Ken's film created havoc wherever it was taken and became a real thorn in the side of the BBFC who just couldn't cope with some sex crazed nuns frolicking with a crucifix. Coming into the 1980s, Altered States was another Ken Russell film that went out on a limb in portraying the effects of mind altering substances. The film was a success both critically and commercially but news of Ken's outrageous behaviour on set spread around Hollywood and he became a pariah. Before he returned to Britain, Russell gave Hollywood a final parting shot with Crimes of Passion - a sordid tale of prostitution which featured a rather scandalous scene of a prostitute anally penetrating a cop with his nightstick and Anthony Perkins in a role as an insane pervert preacher. By the 1990s, Russell was a celebrity who was held in great affection by the British public. He was a terrific raconteur and gave tremendously entertaining interviews. Please don't remember the man for his appearance in Celebrity Big Brother in 2007..