The Preservation Man

The Preservation Man

16 mins | May 20, 1962

Ken Russell's third Monitor documentary from 1962 is both a development from and inversion of the first, Lonely Shore. In that, an alien presence surveys a stretch of coastline strewn with assorted objects from early 1960s British lifestyles and tries (and mostly fails) to divine their meaning or purpose. The Preservation Man is also set in a series of object-strewn settings, but here they're part of the artist Bruce Lacey's collection of random junk, and their original function is irrelevant. Sensibly, Russell and commentator Huw Wheldon keep analysis to a minimum, preferring to use the film as an excuse to spend quarter of an hour in Lacey's amiable company.

The Preservation Man

16 mins | May 20, 1962

The Preservation Man
Ken Russell's third Monitor documentary from 1962 is both a development from and inversion of the first, Lonely Shore. In that, an alien presence surveys a stretch of coastline strewn with assorted objects from early 1960s British lifestyles and tries (and mostly fails) to divine their meaning or purpose. The Preservation Man is also set in a series of object-strewn settings, but here they're part of the artist Bruce Lacey's collection of random junk, and their original function is irrelevant. Sensibly, Russell and commentator Huw Wheldon keep analysis to a minimum, preferring to use the film as an excuse to spend quarter of an hour in Lacey's amiable company.
Producers
Original title The Preservation Man
Directors Ken Russell
Writers

Cast

Huw Wheldon

as Commentator