Lisztomania (1975)

A send-up of the bawdy life of Romantic composer/piano virtuoso Franz Liszt, with ubiquitous phallic imagery and a good portion of the film devoted to Liszt's "friendship" with fellow ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Russell

Writer:

Ken Russell

Stars:

Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Daltrey	...	Franz Liszt
Sara Kestelman	...	Princess Carolyn
Paul Nicholas	...	Richard Wagner
Ringo Starr	...	The Pope
Rick Wakeman	...	Thor
John Justin	...	Count d'Agoult
Fiona Lewis	...	Marie d'Agoult
Veronica Quilligan	...	Cosima
Nell Campbell	...	Olga Janina
Andrew Reilly	...	Hans Von Buelow
David English	...	Captain
Imogen Claire	...	George Sand
Rikki Howard	...	Countess
David Corti	...	Daniel
Anulka Dziubinska	...	Lola Montez

Storyline

A send-up of the bawdy life of Romantic composer/piano virtuoso Franz Liszt, with ubiquitous phallic imagery and a good portion of the film devoted to Liszt's "friendship" with fellow composer Richard Wagner. The film begins during the time when Franz would give piano performance to a crowd of shrieking teenage fans while maintaining affairs with his (multiple!) mistresses. He eventually seeks Princess Carolyne of St. Petersburg (at her invitation), elopes, and, after their marriage is forbidden by the Pope, he embraces the monastic life as an abbé.

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Plot Keywords:

pope | composer | richard wagner | franz liszt | piano | 

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Taglines:

The erotic, exotic electrifying rock fantasy... It out-Tommy's TOMMY.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 January 1976 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Fed musik og sex på drengen

Filming Locations:

Bluebell Railway, East Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goodtimes Enterprises, Visual Programme Systems

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (3 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Andrew Faulds.

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Quotes

Princess Carolyn: You and the Tsar are just different sides of the same coin: false gods worshiped in different ways. Dress the Tsar as a peasant and you have a peasant.
[searches for Liszt]
Princess Carolyn: Stop skulking behind that screen!
[continues]
Princess Carolyn: Dress Liszt in a crinoline and what do you have? The same thing: a sham. Rather than walk naked through the world, he chooses to play the imposter. What do you say?
Liszt: Bollocks!
Princess Carolyn: "Bollocks"? I don't speak Hungarian.

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Crazy Credits

Music by Rick Wakeman Assisted by Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner

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Connections

References Mahler (1974)

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Soundtracks

"Rienzi/ Chopsticks Fantasia"
Composed by Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt

User Reviews

collector's of The Who will love it!

As a collector of Who memorabilia, I found this movie to be quite interesting and entertaining, what's more, if one pays attention they can see that this truly is the work of Ken Russell. Though it could also fit into the category of "soft porn" and is in no way to be taken as strict fact of Franz Liszt's life it is a great movie for those who like the bizarre (Who fan's will note cameo appearance by Townshend) If you like this movie, check out Ken Russell's Mahler, starring Robert Powell (Capt. Walker in Tommy) thank you