The Music Lovers (Ken Russell, 1971) wr. Melvyn Bragg
Richard Chamberlain, Glenda Jackson, Max Adrian
The compelling and bizarre story of Tchaikovsky's life and music. In Ken Russell's own words: "It's the story of the marriage between a homosexual and a nymphomaniac."
Chamberlain isn't up to this, but Jackson gets down to it, with a lot of rocking and rolling of her head. The film is not really about Tchaikovsky so much as about Russell (as usual). Memorable moments included Modeste Tchaikovsky firing multiple cannons to remove the heads of various characters. I'm not sure what the plot point was, but by then didn't care. I just wanted it to finish so that I could go to bed and forget about it.
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 9 August, 2018 | Now: 11 July, 2019