Lisztomania (film)

For the song titled Lisztomania, see Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

Lisztomania
Promotional poster for Lisztomania
Directed by	Ken Russell
Written by	Ken Russell
Produced by	Roy Baird David Puttnam
Starring	Roger Daltrey Sara Kestelman Paul Nicholas Ringo Starr Rick Wakeman
Cinematography	Peter Suschitzky
Edited by	Stuart Baird
Music by	Rick Wakeman Franz Liszt Richard Wagner
Production companies	Goodtimes Enterprises Visual Programme Systems Ltd.
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	10 October 1975
Running time	103 min.
Country	U.K.
Language	English

Lisztomania is a 1975 film by Ken Russell, drawn from a biography of Franz Liszt.

Depicting the flamboyant Liszt as the first classical pop star, Lisztomania features contemporary rock star Roger Daltrey (of The Who) as Franz Liszt. The film was released the same year as Tommy, which also starred Daltrey and was directed by Russell. The film is derived, in part, from an actual "kiss-and-tell" book, Nélida, by Marie d'Agoult, about the couple's affair.

The term "Lisztomania" was coined by the German romantic literary figure Heinrich Heine to describe the massive public response to Liszt's virtuosic piano performances. At these performances, there were allegedly screaming women, and the audience was sometimes limited to standing room only.

Rick Wakeman, from the progressive rock band Yes, composed the Lisztomania soundtrack, which included synthesizer arrangements of works by Liszt and Wagner. He also appears in the movie as the Nordic god of thunder, Thor. Daltrey and Russell wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack, and Daltrey provided vocals.

Of the other rock celebrities appearing in the movie, Ringo Starr, drummer of The Beatles, appears as the Pope.

This movie was first to use the relatively new Dolby Stereo noise reduction sound system.

Availability

Since the original video release of Lisztomania, available copies of the movie have declined. Available copies of the movie were bolstered by a 1990s release of the 2.35:1 letterbox format with Dolby Surround sound on Laserdisc. Warner UK has recently come to an agreement with former special interest label Digital Classics to release Lisztomania on DVD. Lisztomania will be available on May 4, 2009, on the Digital Classics label.

A trailer for the film can be found on YouTube at Digital Classics' YouTube page.

Lisztomania in Pop Culture

French alternative rock band Phoenix released a song of the same name on their 2009 album entitled "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix".

External links

• Lisztomania at IMDb
• Lisztomania at AllMovie