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Ken Russell portrays Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky (Richard Chamberlain) as a closet homosexual who is haunted by the past and present. In order to obtain social acceptance, he marries a nymphomaniac(Glenda Jackson). Their marriage, proves to be a disaster and Peter flees from his wife, isolating himself in the countryside to compose music for Madame Von Meck (Isabella Telezynska), a rich aristocrat and widow. When Madame Von Meck is informed of his sexual past she immediately distances herself from him. Tchaikovsky's past comes back to haunt him several times before the film's ultimate conclusion.
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The Devils, Altered States, Tommy, Mahler, Women in Love, Gothic, Lisztomania, Crimes of Passion, Whore, The Rainbow,
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Ken's mythic biopic of Tchaikovsky is a glorious affair; oppulent, crazed, intense, full of great music and fantastic performances; it treads a fine line between commercial cinema and the flat-out poetic as Richard Chamberlain pulls out the stops to give us a passionate performance (probably not too far from his own life) as the tortured artist struggling with his sexuality and desire to be 'normal' in the face of public opinion that could destroy him. Glenda Jackson (looking remarkably beautiful, save for the last act where she undergoes a massive transformation) offers fine support and goes completely Tonto as a Tchaikovsky's sexually frustrated wife. Chamberlain and Jackson spark together quite nicely.
The film looks amazing and this DVD edition (in widescreen, NOT 4:3 as stated on the back cover) offers up a pretty good print. Sadly it is lacking any extras or subtitles for the hard of hearing.
If looking for a 'serious' film on Tchaikovsky then - be warned - THIS IS NOT IT. Ken Russell wanted to create a mythical interpretation of the man. It was pretty much reviled upon release, but I think it ranks as one of Ken's best films - not THE best (that dubious honour goes to the beserk and beautiful 'Lisztomania') - but it's well worth checking out and the 2 hour running time simply zips by. It should have been boring, but in Ken's more than capable hands, it is a great british film.
The film looks amazing and this DVD edition (in widescreen, NOT 4:3 as stated on the back cover) offers up a pretty good print. Sadly it is lacking any extras or subtitles for the hard of hearing.
If looking for a 'serious' film on Tchaikovsky then - be warned - THIS IS NOT IT. Ken Russell wanted to create a mythical interpretation of the man. It was pretty much reviled upon release, but I think it ranks as one of Ken's best films - not THE best (that dubious honour goes to the beserk and beautiful 'Lisztomania') - but it's well worth checking out and the 2 hour running time simply zips by. It should have been boring, but in Ken's more than capable hands, it is a great british film.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This film has so much going for it that you should stop and think twice before dismissing my claim.
First of all it is a genuine Tragedy in the Aristotelian sense.
Secondly, it is the tragedy of a major musical genius who is also a popular 'romantic artist'.
Thirdly, he is treated by Russell as the representative Romantic Artist who tries but fails to live up to his ideals, or, to put it another way, it's about the distance between the life and the art. This has always been Russell's main theme as a filmaker but you need to have his films about Debussy, Rossetti, Isadora Duncan, Richard Strauss and Delius, all made for BBC television, to put alongside the more familiar feature films to see this pattern as a whole.
It also touches profoundly, especially at the climax, on the subject of shamanism and genius.
Fourthly, the expressionistic visual style of the film is an attempt to create a visual equivalent of Tchaikovsky's kind of Romantic music as an art form. In this it is nothing less than an experimental arthouse film - and a successful experiment at that.
What other film in the 'all time great' category has this sort of grand universality of subject matter including Art, genius, Tragedy, the Romantic Artist, failed ideals of the highest kind? None at all with the possible exception, stretching my categories a bit, of 'Les Enfants Du Paradis' or perhaps the Russian film of 'War And Peace'. Neither of them is British so I nominate this film as the best British feature film on the grounds of subject matter combined with its powerful treatment in what is an undoubtedly non-naturalistic and original way - sometimes even Expressionistic - stamped in every frame with the director's vision: I give points for this because it is more of a purely cinematic aesthetic than naturalism is.
I must admit, however, that to be fair, I should also give a very honourable mention to that other great film about Isadora Duncan called simply 'Isadora' directed by Karel Reisz and which starred Vanessa Redgrave in her finest performance. In many respects this should be considered along with 'The Music Lovers' as their style and intention is similar. It is much underrated, mainly I imagine because it isn't very well known.
We also need to have Russell's films about Wordsworth, Coleridge, Bruckner, Vaughan Williams and Martinu, and the early one about Prokoviev, all made for television, but for ITV this time, like the missing films still not released on DVD in this country on PAL, which I mentioned above.
First of all it is a genuine Tragedy in the Aristotelian sense.
Secondly, it is the tragedy of a major musical genius who is also a popular 'romantic artist'.
Thirdly, he is treated by Russell as the representative Romantic Artist who tries but fails to live up to his ideals, or, to put it another way, it's about the distance between the life and the art. This has always been Russell's main theme as a filmaker but you need to have his films about Debussy, Rossetti, Isadora Duncan, Richard Strauss and Delius, all made for BBC television, to put alongside the more familiar feature films to see this pattern as a whole.
It also touches profoundly, especially at the climax, on the subject of shamanism and genius.
Fourthly, the expressionistic visual style of the film is an attempt to create a visual equivalent of Tchaikovsky's kind of Romantic music as an art form. In this it is nothing less than an experimental arthouse film - and a successful experiment at that.
What other film in the 'all time great' category has this sort of grand universality of subject matter including Art, genius, Tragedy, the Romantic Artist, failed ideals of the highest kind? None at all with the possible exception, stretching my categories a bit, of 'Les Enfants Du Paradis' or perhaps the Russian film of 'War And Peace'. Neither of them is British so I nominate this film as the best British feature film on the grounds of subject matter combined with its powerful treatment in what is an undoubtedly non-naturalistic and original way - sometimes even Expressionistic - stamped in every frame with the director's vision: I give points for this because it is more of a purely cinematic aesthetic than naturalism is.
I must admit, however, that to be fair, I should also give a very honourable mention to that other great film about Isadora Duncan called simply 'Isadora' directed by Karel Reisz and which starred Vanessa Redgrave in her finest performance. In many respects this should be considered along with 'The Music Lovers' as their style and intention is similar. It is much underrated, mainly I imagine because it isn't very well known.
We also need to have Russell's films about Wordsworth, Coleridge, Bruckner, Vaughan Williams and Martinu, and the early one about Prokoviev, all made for television, but for ITV this time, like the missing films still not released on DVD in this country on PAL, which I mentioned above.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Firstly when you get this DVD & read the back cover & it says 4:3, don't worry, that's wrong- it's in the original 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. The print is lovely but there are sadly no extras (-not even the trailer-) hence one star less for that. A classic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
At long last
Finally this is now out on DVD - one of Ken Russell's best films! My wife has been wanting to see this again for years.
Published 4 months ago by sotonian
A real find
This is an excellent film, I think one of Ken Russell's finest...I have been searching for it for ages. It seems it has been unavailable for several years. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Christine D. Swann
Tempestuous music demands a tempestuous drama.,
Wow! All the dramatics of Amadeus - and then some! That was Mozart, this is Tchaikovsky.
To say Mr Russell had a vivid imagination is an underestimation and a half. Read more
To say Mr Russell had a vivid imagination is an underestimation and a half. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Tim Kidner
Watch this film
Last saw this film about 30 years ago. Someone bought it for me for Christmas, just watched it - still brilliant.
Published 5 months ago by D. W. Benson
At Last!
At last an official DVD release for this extraordinary film. Ken Russell knows his classical music, and here presents a personal view of the life of Tchaikovsky. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Steve
Fine movie, great actors, sad story, of. A great composer
I first saw this film when it was first released all those years ago, and the storyline and acting stayed with me. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Megsy
The Music Lovers DVD
Good transfer in proper anamorphic widescreen format (ignore the incorrect sleeve info that states 4:3). Read more
Published 9 months ago by CitizenZod
Fantastic
The impact of this superb movie after ten year breaks of viewing it is quite mind boggling.
I had to think was Ken russell a genuis or a mad man. Read more
I had to think was Ken russell a genuis or a mad man. Read more
Published 10 months ago by P. J. P. Stuart
Finally on DVD!!
First, about the disk itself: it's a single layer, anamorphic DVD (even though the box and data says it's 4:3). Read more
Published 10 months ago by R. Gale
Finally on DVD!
This semi-factual biopic about Russian composer Tschaikovsky is admittedly over the top, but given Ken Russell's stylistic preferences and given the extreme drama of its subject... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Giancarlo Stampalia
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