It is difficult to know what to take away from Lisztomania because of the sheer excess it exudes ? the viewer cannot singularly state if it is a film about organized religion, about fame, about fascism, about rock music, about emasculation as a guillotine for creativity, or any of the other multiple comic book
fantasies it toys with. Regardless it?s tremendous fun; excessive and flamboyant as you would expect from a Ken Russell picture. Forget it's classical trappings - it's as much a rock movie as Tommy. Roger Daltrey is entertainingly theatrical as Franz Liszt, as is Paul Nicholas playing the constantly metamorphosing creep Richard Wagner. Russell exhibits all of the themes his other work shows ? namely spirituality, hypocrisy and futility as a sort of unholy trinity, but that doesn?t mean he doesn?t have time to make this a fabulously fun, campy experience.
October 12, 2010
