British director and novelist (1927 - ), 'enfant-terrible' of the 70's, who started his career in the BBC producing art films. He creates movies with bombast and fury, garish sets and costumes, blatant in-your-face symbolism, and wildly excessive flights of fancy became his trademark. He is still making films at 75 (2002). He has directed many cinema and TV films, including 'Women in Love', 'Tommy', 'The Lure of the White Worm', 'Gothic' and 'The Devils'. Some of his films feature the lives of famous musicians including Mahler, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt.