The Music Lovers (1970)

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Melvyn Bragg (screenplay)
Catherine Drinker Bowen (book) ...

Release Date:

12 February 1971 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Plot:

The compelling and bizarre story of Tchaikovsky's life and music. In Ken Russell's own words: "It's...

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Tragicomedy | Nudity | Insane Asylum | Incest

Cast

Richard Chamberlain	...	Tchaikovsky
Glenda Jackson	...	Nina (Antonina Milyukova)
Max Adrian	...	Nicholas Rubinstein
Christopher Gable	...	Count Anton Chiluvsky
Kenneth Colley	...	Modeste Tchaikovsky
Izabella Telezynska	...	Madame Nadedja von Meck
Maureen Pryor	...	Nina's Mother
Sabina Maydelle	...	Sasha Tchaikovsky
Andrew Faulds	...	Davidov
Bruce Robinson	...	Alexei Sofronov
Ben Aris	...	Young Lieutenant
Xavier Russell	...	Koyola
Dennis Myers	...	Von Meck, twin
John Myers	...	Von Meck, twin
Joanne Brown	...	Olga Bredska

Also Known As:

Ken Russell's Film on Tchaikovsky and the Music Lovers
Opus 74 (UK) (working title)
The Lonely Heart (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

UK:123 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Company:

Russ-Arts

Trivia:

The extras playing (miming) the orchestra in the scene featuring Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky playing the 1st Piano Concerto were mostly from the Bristol University Music Department Orchestra. They were paid 7 guineas a day (£7 and 7 shillings) each - the extras in the audience were only on 5 guineas. The scene was filmed in the Music Room of Bath Spa.

Quotes:

[in insane asylum]
Antonina Milyukova: My husband's a most famous man. I'm Madame Tchaikovsky from Moscow. My husband, he really did love me! Oh, Peter, my love...
[pauses, expression changes]
Antonina Milyukova: He hated me. He hated me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Remington Steele: Steele in Circulation (#1.22)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

STRING QUARTET No. 3

A Visceral Punch

"Music Lovers" has long been labored over as another of Ken Russell extravagant excess baggages. Seeing it again has made me realize that the film is rather brilliant--not in cinema style but in conception. From the very start it seems to capture the schizoid world of Tsaichovsky and the social milleau he was forced to grip with. The point of view shots and the subsequent dream sequences in the early portion of the film capture this in brilliant colors and sharp editing. As the musician falls into his double life the scnes build to the scarring climax. Performances are excellent. The film may not be totally accurate, but who cares?