Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World

Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World is a BBC TV film based on the life of the American dancer Isadora Duncan first broadcast on 22 September 1966. The film was directed and produced by Ken Russell and written by Sewell Stokes and Russell. It starred Vivian Pickles and Peter Bowles.

For the Karel Reisz feature film, see Isadora.
Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World
Directed byKen Russell
Produced byKen Russell
Written byKen Russell and Sewell Stokes (Scenario)
Sewell Stokes (Dialogue)
Starring
CinematographyDick Bush
Brian Tufano
Edited byMichael Bradsell
Roger Crittenden
Production
company
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Distributed byBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1966) (UK) (TV)
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1978) (USA) (TV)
BFI Video (UK) (DVD)
Release date
  • September 22, 1966 (1966-09-22)
Running time
65 minutes
63 minutes (DVD version)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The film is a biopic of American dancer Isadora Duncan.

Cast

Production

Sewell Stokes became friendly with the dancer towards the very end of her life when she was penniless and alone. In 1928 he wrote a memoir of his conversations with her, shortly after her death, entitled Isadora, an Intimate Portrait. Two years after the first broadcast of the TV film, Vanessa Redgrave played the role of Isadora Duncan in the big-screen biopic Isadora.

Russell's biographer Joseph Lanza believes that "of all his television work, Isadora is his most accomplished". It explores his "ongoing theme of art being a thing of both glory and vulgarity"[1]

Reception

Bill Gibron from DVD Talk gave the film a very good review and stated: "Herself trained as a dancer, Pickles lights up the screen when she's onstage, Duncan's inflated ego disappearing into a series of carefully choreographed interpretations. Still, some might find the constant confrontations and shouting matches tiring. After all, Russell makes it clear that this was one artist who could have had it all had she just kept her mighty yap shut. Because she didn't, however, we see her downfall in all its brazen glory."[2]

References
  1. Joseph Lanza Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films p.48
  2. Gibron, Bill. "Ken Russell At The BBC". DVD Talk. Retrieved 12 November 2018.


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