The Music Lovers

This film is one of Ken Russell's best dramatic romps. He dashes through late 19th Century Russian history without a care to whether it is all in the correct place or not. But that doesn't matter. It's your typical Russell film: Overstated dramatic acting, madness, mental institutions, frilly frocks and women with low-cut dresses and big boobs. As this film recounts the life of 19th Century Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Russell manages to capture a feeling this is essentially Russian. You could almost swear that the story was straight out of a Checkov play, it has that Russian warmth to it. Far more interesting than a long, drawn-out serious biography, The Music Lovers is fun and entertaining in a dramatic way, worth watching. However, keep to the encyclopaedia if you want a proper history of Tchaikovsky's life.