British film director Ken Russell dies

Iconoclastic British director Ken Russell died at age 84, it was announced Monday. The director made films that blended music, sex and violence in a potent brew.

Only a few of his movies were commercial successes. The best known were "Women in Love," an Academy award-winning adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's novel, and "Tommy," which turned The Who's rock opera into a psychedelic extravaganza featuring Elton John, Eric Clapton and Tina Turner.

Critics could be sniffy -- Pauline Kael once wrote that Russell's films "cheapen everything they touch."

But many in the industry felt he was underrated. Supermodel Twiggy, who starred in Russell's 1971 film "The Boy Friend," said directors like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas "say that as a kid they would watch Ken Russell movies."

Glenda Jackson, who won a best actress Academy Award for "Women in Love," called Russell an "incredible visual genius." -- AP