Lisztomania

Lisztomania (1975)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Ken Russell (no relation, I swear)

Starring: Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicolas, Ringo Starr (yes)

From: Warner Brothers

This is the movie I referenced recently with the recent passing of British director Ken Russell. He is probably best known for directing Tommy, the movie about the Pinball Wizard. From what I knew, a lot of his films were just plain strange. Awhile back I found it online and downloaded it (I know, I know) as at least in the United States it never made it to DVD. It turns out that probably because Russell passed away, more than one person uploaded it to YouTube. This is the best copy. However, if you do watch it, it may be best if you ingest various psychotropic drugs beforehand!

This motion picture is allegedly a biopic of Franz Liszt, a Hungarian pianist in the 1800’s who for a short amount of time was the Justin Bieber of his day! No, really. When he performed there was mass hysteria a la when The Beatles first performed in America. That hysteria was known as Lisztomania, explaining the title. However, what this movie actually is… it seems like it came from the mind of a deranged lunatic. I mean, I’m talking Naked Lunch or Forbidden Zone level of WTF-ness. And, Russell even took liberty with the facts. In real life Liszt and Richard Wagner were pals, which is far from the case as presented here.

The movie… wow. Let me tell you how it starts off. Literally, the first thing you see after the Warner Brothers logo is a metronome, and Daltrey uses it to rhymically kiss the bare breasts of a woman! Then, Richard Wagner (yes, the composer) busts in and wants to kick Liszt’s ass, as Franz was diddling around with his woman. They fight to what sounds like ragtime music, then it gets narrated (?!) in a wacky fashion. He and the wife then get locked in a piano, which gets run over by a train! Then, Liszt wakes up… I think. Who knows for certain.

Anyhow, the opening credits appear, and here’s some of the really strange things I saw:

• A LOT of phallic imagery. I mean, Daltry literally rides on a giant penis at one point.
• A bearded dude in a sailor’s outfit who proves to be a vampire… but it’s a dream sequence… maybe. I know for certain that Wagner IS a vampire.
• The Pope appears, and it’s Ringo Starr!
• Wager is resurrected and he’s a cross between Frankenstein and Hitler; yeah, it’s too weird to even be offensive, even when he fires a machine gun shaped like a guitar.
• Also appearing is a cryogenic Viking named Thor (!) played by Rick Wakeman (!!), of Yes keyboarding fame. He drinks beer and belches.
• By the way, I swear that all I’m saying actually appears in this movie. I could say more but I wouldn't want to ruin any surprises for anyone brave enough to watch this.

The music itself fits the film, I’ll put it that way. Synthesizer stuff and what have you.

I can’t even say that the movie’s good or bad. Like with Naked Lunch or Forbidden Zone, you can only watch in amazement at what you’re seeing.

I'll be back Tuesday night with a new review.