This film is part of Rentals
The Boy Friend
A timid actress is forced to cover for the injured star and falls for the leading man, in Ken Russell's thoroughly British variant on the MGM musical.
Director: Ken Russell
Overview
Sandy Wilson, creator of 1954’s smash-hit salute to innocent Twenties musicals The Boy Friend, was scandalised by Ken Russell’s iconoclastic film adaptation that put the ‘vamp’ into ‘revamp’. Watching a clapped-out English stage production, Hollywood producer Mr. De Thrill reimagines it as a Busby Berkeley spectacular. Twiggy is disarmingly charming and the supporting cast is wonderfully bizarre. Russell's jaw-droppingly over-the-top dream sequences prove that nothing succeeds like excess.
Related
Oh... Rosalinda!! Oh... Rosalinda!!
Musical 1956 99 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Like the gloriously camp, all-singing, all-dancing cousin of The Third Man, the Archers’ take on Strauss’s operetta of infidelity is as frothy as the champagne it celebrates.
Singin' in the Rain Singin' in the Rain
Comedy 1951 103 mins Director: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen
Hollywood’s troubled transition from silent to talking pictures at the end of the 1920s provided the inspiration for this greatest of movie musicals.
Babymother Babymother
Musical 1998 77 mins Director: Julian Henriques
Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.
Lisztomania Lisztomania
Biopic 1976 103 mins Director: Ken Russell
Ken Russell's characteristically spectacular biopic of Liszt, with Roger Daltrey portraying the composer as a rock god, is a heady brew complete with garish Freudian symbolism, Hitler, spaceships and Ringo Starr as the Pope.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Musical 2001 92 mins Director: John Cameron Mitchell
The trailblazing cult musical about a transgender punk from East Germany who reinvents herself as a rock diva.
Mister Cinders Mister Cinders
Comedy 1935 69 mins Director: Friedrich Zelnik
Jolly gender-swapped musical version of Cinderella, featuring a play within the film in which the characters star in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
La La Land La La Land
Comedy 2016 128 mins Director: Damien Chazelle
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone channel old-school Hollywood glamour in this bright and playful romantic musical from director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash).
I've Gotta Horse I've Gotta Horse
Musical 1965 92 mins Director: Kenneth Hume
Great British rock and roller Billy Fury buys himself a racehorse in this colourful musical for all the family.
Chi-Raq Chi-Raq
Musical 2015 127 mins Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s bold and vivacious hip-hop musical restages an ancient Greek battle-of-the-sexes in 21st-century Chicago.
Bride & Prejudice Bride & Prejudice
Musical 2004 107 mins Director: Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha’s Bollywood retelling of Austen’s classic romance is an all-round joy, adding colour and song to Austen’s evergreen wit.
Sing Street Sing Street
Drama 2016 106 mins Director: John Carney
The third in John Carney’s trilogy of musical films is the utterly charming story a boy who escapes his troubles through fronting a pop band.
Hairspray Hairspray
Comedy 1988 92 mins Director: John Waters
‘Pleasantly plump’ teen Tracey Turnblad (Ricki Lake) dances her way onto Baltimore TV using the opportunity to send up the absurdity of segregation in John Waters’ commercial hit.
Lisztomania Lisztomania
Biopic 1976 103 mins Director: Ken Russell
Ken Russell's characteristically spectacular biopic of Liszt, with Roger Daltrey portraying the composer as a rock god, is a heady brew complete with garish Freudian symbolism, Hitler, spaceships and Ringo Starr as the Pope.
A Taste of Honey A Taste of Honey
Drama 1961 102 mins Director: Tony Richardson
Rita Tushingham delivers a BAFTA-winning performance as a resilient Salford schoolgirl making her way in the world in this classic of 1960s British cinema.
The Devils The Devils
Drama 1972 107 mins Director: Ken Russell
Ken Russell’s bold account of religious hysteria, political persecution and the corrupt marriage of church and state.
Lisztomania Lisztomania
Biopic 1976 103 mins Director: Ken Russell
Ken Russell's characteristically spectacular biopic of Liszt, with Roger Daltrey portraying the composer as a rock god, is a heady brew complete with garish Freudian symbolism, Hitler, spaceships and Ringo Starr as the Pope.
The Rainbow The Rainbow
Drama 1989 106 mins Director: Ken Russell
Ken Russell returns to D. H. Lawrence for the story of a young girl’s sexual awakening and immersion in a love triangle with both a man and a woman.
Kensuke's Kingdom Kensuke's Kingdom
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 84 mins Director: Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry
Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel is brought to life in this delightful, animated tale of a young castaway who discovers he’s not alone.
Unicorns Unicorns
Romance 2023 120 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd
Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.
Call Jane Call Jane
Drama 2022 90 mins Director: Phyllis Nagy
Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver star in this confident directorial debut from Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy about a network of women providing safe abortions in 1960s America.
Kill Kill
Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.
Together with Lorenza Mazzetti Together with Lorenza Mazzetti
Documentary 2023 55 mins Director: Brighid Lowe
Brighid Lowe’s intimate documentary about the Italian-born artist and filmmaker who became a vital part of the Free Cinema movement in '50s Britain.
Phantom Parrot Phantom Parrot
Documentary 2023 85 mins Director: Kate Stonehill
A top-secret surveillance programme is revealed in this razor-sharp analysis of technology, human rights and structural racism.