Julian Sands had recently made "A Room with a View" with James Ivory and compared that director with Russell saying, "If James Ivory had done a film about Shelley, it would be a much more lyrical and soothing piece of work, whereas Ken's treatment is much more symphonic and mesmerizing. With James Ivory you are on a carousel, but with Ken Russell you are on a roller coaster. James Ivory is like an Indian miniaturist, and Ken Russell is a graffiti artist. James Ivory is like an ornithologist watching his subjects with a pair of binoculars from afar, whereas Ken Russell is a big-game hunter filming in the middle of a rhino charge."