The story of a homosexual who fell in love with a nymphomaniac! At least that's how the publicity department tried to sell Ken Russell's Tchaikovsky biopic "The Music Lovers". Russell was never known for his subtlety and "The Music Lovers" certainly isn't subtle. It's a kind of 'Tchaikovsky's Greatest Hits' and since Nina, the nymphomaniac he marries, is given pride of place it more often than not verges on hysteria and purists are going to find it a hard pill to swallow but it's also hugely entertaining, even when it's terrible, and as Tchaikovsky Richard Chamberlain, previously known as the boyishly good-looking Dr. Kildare, is surprisingly good while as Nina, Glenda Jackson chews the scenery and everything else in a wildly over-the-top performance. It looks fantastic and if, in the musical sequences, Russell is playing to the gallery, (wait until you get to the 1812 Overture), it's certainly never dull. Of course, the composer deserves a lot better than this but as biographies of the great composers go, it's definitely a step up on "A Song to Remember" and the blandness of Cornel Wilde.
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