Lisztomania (film)

Lisztomania
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ken Russell
Written by	Ken Russell
Based on	Nélida 1848 book by Marie d'Agoult
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 (1975-10-10)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£603,249[1] or £1.2 million[2][3]

Lisztomania is a 1975 British surreal biographical musical comedy film written and directed by Ken Russell about the 19th-century composer Franz Liszt. The screenplay is derived, in part, from the book Nélida by Marie d'Agoult (1848), about her affair with 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 also directed by Russell.

Rick Wakeman, from the progressive rock band Yes, composed the Lisztomania soundtrack, which included synthesiser arrangements of works by Liszt and Richard Wagner. He also appears in the film as Thor, the Nordic god of thunder. Daltrey and Russell wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack, and Daltrey provided vocals. Of the other rock celebrities appearing in the film, Ringo Starr appears as the Pope.

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 sometimes was limited to standing room only.

This film was first to use the new Dolby Stereo sound system.