On this episode, hosts Christopher Funderburg & John Cribbs are joined by Lisi Russell to discuss her husband Ken Russell’s BBC biopic of Richard Strauss, The Dance of the Seven Veils. The controversial film, suppressed since its premiere in 1970, recently screened for the public for the first time in five decades.

Russell’s angry and uncompromising film mixes a Monty Python-esque sense of satire with a harsh critique of cultural institutions across the spectrum for a depiction of Strauss that absolutely refuses to forgive the influential composer for his strained and tense collaboration with the ruling Nazi party.

The conversation explores whether this is a fair portrayal of Strauss (who lost family in the holocaust), how the film may serve as an auto-critique of Russell himself, the slippery nature of campy comedy, and the ways in which an artist may take a intransigent position in their artwork as a way of exploring the most difficult aspects of an ambiguous situation.

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Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

Broadcast on:

18 Sep 2020