Salome's Last Dance

I know that Ken Russel was put under fire so to speak from the critics for his scatological portrayal of the play "Salome", however, this is one version of the play that people just don't forget. With shocking yet theatrical effects, it captures the mysterious and intriguing mood of the play, pouring drama. I mean, I watched the Opera version of Salome...and...needless to say, it had me wishing I was watching the movie instead of the opera!

I love this film! But, it seems to evoke strong reactions from people. I've recommended it to friends who absolutely hated it. Oh well. Look for the scene where Salome tries to convince John the Baptist to kiss her. "Kiss me with your lips, John the Baptist." It's a beautiful poem and so perfectly done.

There's too much to say about this film. I'll just highly recommend it and leave it at that.

Oscar Wilde, who wrote the stage play "Salome", was one of the greatest wits of his time, but lived a lifestyle that created continuous controversy in the society in which he lived. Today he is perhaps best known for authorship of "The Ballard of Reading Jail", which was written during one of the times when he was in prison following a direct confrontation with the government of the time. When he wrote "Salome" it was banned for a time by the English stage censorship and, even though it can be a most rewarding performance to watch, stage productions of it are still relatively infrequent. Consequently many people today are more familiar with the bowdlerised opera which was based on the play and was composed by Richard Strauss. The opera has been filmed by at least two major directors, but for the cinematographic enthusiast there is also this very noteworthy film, directed by Ken Russell, which is much more closely based on Wilde's play. In my opinion this film is dramatically far superior to the rather pathetic opera, and is very worth while seeking out by anyone interested. Basically it exploits the psychological tensions which may have existed in King Herod's court, and which could have accounted for the demand by Salome for the head of John the Baptist on a platter; the story that is so baldly reported in the Bible.

The scenario of this film is set in a brothel where Oscar Wilde is treated to an illegal birthday performance of his play, acted by friends who include some of the employees of the host establishment. This choice of venue has upset many critics but it is totally irrelevant to the play - it is helpful for a modern viewer to remember that, at the time in which this film is set, Oscar Wilde and his literary friends would meet regularly to present impromptu performances of works they had written, basically as a quality control procedure for the final product they eventually published; and this film simply exploits the practice. It is essentially a film of a play, with the story associated with the presentation of the play added to maintain cinematographic interest.

Ken Russell is a controversial director but although the film is not without faults, the overall quality is outstanding, the cast is superb, and there are particularly memorable performances by Glenda Jackson as Queen Herodias and by Imogen Millais-Scott (who shows the capability of looking any age between thirteen and thirty) as Princess Salome. Both the play and the film effectively capture the decadence, which was characteristic of the royal courts of petty despots at this point in history, better than any other works I have seen. It should be a must for anyone who has the opportunity to see it.

In the latter years of his career is was obvious that Ken Russell had to work under conditions and budgetary constraints that forced him to scale back on the wild style his exalted in with his previous films. But even a scaled down Ken Russell was oftentimes better than other directors are their best. However Salome's Last Dance is among his weakest films and you can literally feel the straitjacket limiting his creativity. Being set in a single setting as the play is performed for Oscar Wilde himself it feels very stilted and never allowed to grow. It was only recently that I discovered that the young actress playing Salome was stricken blind by an illness just before filming was to begin but Ken Russell kept her in the part. The first time I watched the film in '88 I felt that there was something peculiar about her eyes that I could not quite define. It is not a bad film by any means but within his filmography it might rank low among his best works. It has moments of silliness that cannot be mistaken for any other director. Those who are fans and familiar with his style will be more forgiving of these moments. Ken Russell is a fascinating character and, for good or ill, he made films his way and never conformed to any modern trends. He is missed.

Late on Guy Fawkes Day, 1892, Oscar Wilde arrives at a high-class brothel where a surprise awaits: a staging of his play "Salome," with parts played by prostitutes, Wilde's host, his lover Bosey, and Lady Alice.

The film was shot for $800,000 over a four-week period in London. Director Ken Russell had been signed by Vestron to a three picture deal after the success of "Gothic", of which this was the first. Imogen Millais-Scott went blind three weeks before filming after contracting glandular fever, but Russell insisted on still using her. This was the right choice.

This film met with modest critical acclaim. The review in the New York Times called it "a perfumed, comic stunt," but noted that "Russell forces one to attend to (and to discover the odd glory in) the Wilde language, which, on the printed page, works faster than Valium." And seriously, how can you go wrong with Jewish midgets, flatulence and Biblical sexuality?