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July 03, 2009

12 Awful Rock Films, That Are So Bad They're Good...

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Lisztomania (1975)

Why it blows: Because it has nothing to do with the life of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, allegedly portrayed here by The Who’s Roger Daltrey. Nor does it have anything to do with reality. Director Ken Russell presents fellow composer Richard Wagner as Listzt’s bitter rival (in truth, the two musicians were friends), so consumed by jealousy that he unleashes a cryogenic monster (played by a well-cast Rick Wakeman) along with a bunch of machine-gun toting Nazis. Nutty stuff.

Why you must see it: Well, because it’s nutty stuff, full of endless scenes of excess, orgies and screaming women who faint at Liszt’s concerts. Daltrey and Russell, drunk on the success of Tommy (released earlier that year), embrace the ‘anything goes’ ethos to the point of sheer lunacy. Check your head at the opening credits and it’s wonderful entertainment. Best bit: Ringo Starr appears at one point, looking like he’s wandered in from another movie – he plays The Pope!

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