Lisztomania (1975) Warner Bros./Musical-Comedy RT: 103 minutes Rated R (graphic nudity, sexual content/imagery, violent war images) Director: Ken Russell Screenplay: Ken Russell Music: Rick Wakeman Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky Release date: October 10, 1975 (US) Cast: Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas, Ringo Starr, Rick Wakeman, John Justin, Fiona Lewis, Veronica Quilligan, Andrew Reilly, Nell Campbell, Murray Melvin, Andrew Faulds, Kenneth Colley, Otto Diamant, Ken Parry, Imogen Claire. Box Office: N/A
Rating: *** ½
As an avid moviegoer for more than half my life, I truly believed I’d seen everything. I was proven dead wrong when I saw Roger Daltrey affixed with a giant rubber penis in Ken Russell’s Lisztomania. And that’s not even the weirdest thing in this movie, one that I can only describe as like something written, staged and performed by inmates at an asylum. It is the very definition of “out there”.
The title Lisztomania refers to a term coined by German literary figure Heinrich Heine to describe the hysteria accompanying composer Franz Liszt’s public piano performances. He allegedly drew large crowds of screaming women, some of whom fainted while he played the piano. It’s similar to Beatlemania right down to the mop-haired musician at the center of it all. Writer-director Russell (The Music Lovers) paints Liszt, played by The Who’s Roger Daltrey, as a 19th century variant of a rock star in his rendition of a biopic. Instead of a straight telling of the composer’s life and music, it starts and remains firmly rooted in the realm of the surreal. It’s more like a bizarre impressionistic portrait by a demented artist. There’s nothing conventional, rational or logical about it. It makes little sense if any. On that level, it’s positively brilliant.
Lisztomania opens with Liszt and his lover Marie d’Agoult (Lewis, The Fearless Vampire Killers) being strapped inside a piano by her jealous husband, The Count (Justin, Island in the Sun), which is then placed on railroad tracks as a train speeds towards it. CRASH! The scene then cuts to backstage just before one of Liszt’s concerts as he’s besieged by photographers, adoring fans and lustful women. Several of his contemporaries like Rossini, Chopin, and Sand are also in attendance. He’s approached by a young, eager composer named Richard Wagner (pop star Nicholas) who wants to get his name out there. He allows Liszt to play one of his pieces at his concert. He becomes enraged when Liszt publicly mocks him during the performance.
Things get really weird when Liszt leaves his family (again) to perform for the czar in Russia at the invitation of Princess Carolyn (Kestelman, Zardoz). It’s here that his wish to be prolific once again is granted at a cost, namely his sex drive hence the giant penis being guided towards a guillotine in one of many hallucinatory scenes. He later runs into Wagner again. Now a political revolutionary on the lam, he still holds a grudge against Liszt. He’s about to take revenge in a way only a madman could conceive.
I’m going to stop describing the “plot” at this point. It’s better you see for yourself the madness that follows. I will, however, give you a few minor details to pique your curiosity. It holds Wagner directly responsible for Nazism. There are allusions and references to Nietzsche, Frankenstein and Thor. Vampirism is involved. There’s an exorcism by a piano that shoots flames from the front. Ringo Starr shows up as The Pope. It ends with Liszt piloting a spaceship. If that doesn’t make you want to watch Lisztomania, it’s probably not your cup of tea to begin with.
Lisztomania marks the second Daltrey-Russell pairing in a year; the rock opera Tommy came out earlier in ’75. The two movies share several stylistic similarities and while Tommy is the one that endured, Lisztomania holds a secure place among films too strange to forget. I first heard of it in the book The Golden Turkey Awards (by Michael and Harry Medved). I knew I had to see after I read their description of it. I finally found a copy in ’94 at Movies Unlimited and snatched it right up. I thought it was cool and I wasn’t even stoned. I purchased the DVD a few years ago and finally got around to rewatching it this week. It’s still cool. What you have to remember while watching it is that it’s NOT a traditional biopic. It’s nowhere close to that. It’s an exercise in wretched excess that entertains precisely because it doesn’t stop at pushing boundaries. It breaks right through them and keeps going.
Given the non-traditional nature of Lisztomania, I will follow suit and not offer up a traditional review. It doesn’t seem fitting to make comments about the acting, writing and directing. It’s Ken Russell, what more do you need to know? The synthesized music score is perfect for a movie filled with anachronisms. On a purely artistic level, Lisztomania is impressive. The set design is mighty imaginative. But those are things I’d normally say in reviews so I’ll take an alternate route. Can anybody name the three cast and crew members Lisztomania has in common with The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Give up? They are actress Nell Campbell (aka “Little Nell”), cinematographer Peter Suschitzky and special effects coordinator Colin Chilvers. Hey, I found this tidbit of trivia interesting.
I’ll close by saying that Lisztomania is definitely NOT for everybody. The straight-laced demographic is advised to steer clear. The midnight movie crowd, on the other hand, will probably love it. It satisfies my taste for the weird and unusual.
