Lisztomania

A disgrace Warner persist on VHS.
Indispensable, cult-status Ken Russel movie (not only for fans of The Who), that masterfully captures and subversively portrays on screen classical piano player/composer Frantz Liszt's personality: a legendary genious of a man whose life and times match that of a Rock star, 100 years before Rock was invented. If Glenn Gould is the flamboyant 20th century classical piano player that rocked an establishment, just watch this movie to compare the original Master on his heyday.

Unfortunatelly however, VHS does not deliver. The movie should've long ago been digitally transfered on DVD. Don't get mislead by Amazon referring to this product as DVD 1992 release, it's default listing manner. If you look closely by the picture it's actually VHS edition only. True, Warner still persist not to release it on DVD, obviously they don't expect a blockbuster out of it. Guess we'll have to wait for Criterion Collection to salvage it. 4* for the movie, 0* for Warner.

Cult Film: For freaks who know their Classical music history
I had the rare and unexpected pleasure of seeing this film in a theater in college and, fortunately not while on drugs. Knowledge of (classical) music history, particularily from the late Romantic period (and if you know about Franz Liszt's life, all the better) helps one to appreciate all the little "in-jokes." An appreciation of mid-70's "stadium-rock" culture also helps. Casting Roger Daltrey as Liszt seems about perfect as he adds that modern rock-star's charm to the salacious fellow.

It certainly takes liberties with interpretation of historic events (as Russell's "biographies" tend to do) but there is a lot of outrageous humor. Witness the scene when exiled in the Countessa's castle, Liszt has this fantasy sequence where she comes riding in on top of a 10-foot penis. Bizarre as it may seem, it's not entirely unrealistic; Liszt was a known philanderer and let's face it, he loved the ladies and they adored him. Wagner, who spends...

Offensove at times but funny
There are many long reviews here analyzing every detail of this film. I will only say that it does become too phantasmagoric and even in its deliberate excess and offensiveness the measure of good taste is a bit lost. I do think that it's great and entertaining that some scenes are shocking, but when the shots become too fixated on the same thing, it feels like a great joke that is being told too many times - it looses its zest. To me, Mahler was a better one in terms of being better balanced. This picture is still a good entertainment, though.

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