Claim: Ken Russell directed a film starring Alan Bates.

Henry Kenneth Alfred `` Ken '' Russell -LRB- 3 July 1927 -- 27 November 2011 -RRB- was an English film director , known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style . Critics have accused him of being obsessed with sexuality and the Roman Catholic Church . His films in the main were liberal adaptations of existing texts , or biographies , notably of composers of the Romantic era . Russell began directing for the BBC , where he made creative adaptations of composers ' lives which were unusual for the time . He also directed many feature films independently and for studios .   He is best known for his Oscar-winning films Women in Love -LRB- 1969 -RRB- , The Devils -LRB- 1971 -RRB- , The Who 's Tommy -LRB- 1975 -RRB- , and the science fiction film Altered States -LRB- 1980 -RRB- . Russell also directed several films based on the lives of classical music composers , such as Elgar , Delius , Tchaikovsky , Mahler , and Liszt .   Film critic Mark Kermode , speaking in 2006 , and attempting to sum up the director 's achievement , called Russell , `` somebody who proved that British cinema did n't have to be about kitchen-sink realism -- it could be every bit as flamboyant as Fellini . Later in his life he turned to making low-budget experimental films such as Lion 's Mouth and Revenge of the Elephant Man , and they are as edgy and ` out there ' as ever '' .   Ken Russell died of natural causes on 27 November 2011 at the age of 84 .