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Hi to the experts on film minutiae here!
Does anyone know when the Ken Russell film The Music Lovers starring Richard Chamberlain & Glenda Jackson premiered? Not first previewed, but premiered for a paying audience. I've come across both December 1970 and January 1971 dates, but never a confirmation on which is correct. I thank you in advance! 
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Ken Russell's The Music Lovers is a HUGE favorite of mine!
I watched it at the theatre in the spring of 1971 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
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Posted: |
Mar 27, 2015 - 8:59 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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The IMDB gives a “December 1970” date for what it terms THE MUSIC LOVERS’ “(London) (premiere),” but beyond that it gives no specific date. Nor does it indicate whether that was a one-time showing, or the opening of the film’s regular run. The best information that the British Film Institute can offer is that the film was released in 1970, which it also gives as its copyright date.
It’s fairly well established from reviews and other sources that the film opened in New York on 24 January 1971. The earliest written review of the film that I could find is on the Roger Ebert website, which gives a date of January 1, 1971 for his review. Unless the film happened to open weeks earlier in Chicago, or Ebert somehow caught the “London premiere,” I suspect that the website date of that review may be in error. The publication Filmfacts, in a late 1971 issue, stated that “as of September 7th, [the film] has played 27 reserved-seat weeks in London”. If that was correct, that would put the London opening date at 3 March 1971.
Given the lack of a specific 1970 London premiere date for the film and the lack of any 1970 reviews for the film, I would put my money on the documented 1971 New York opening date and the Filmfacts citation, which also puts the London opening in 1971.
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Wild movie. Nobody films artistic passion like Ken Russell!
He was able to capture that ferment of artistic creativity and drive.
MUSIC LOVERS is wonderful, over the top at times (See Glenda Jackson laying on a grate in an insane asylum, with various hands reaching up all around her.)
However, my favorite Russell is still SAVAGE MESSIAH, about WWI-era sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, a brilliant, self-taught painter and sculptor. Certainly the best Russell film of them all, eschewing the wild antics of much of his other work, to concentrate on the art-making process, and what artists do to survive an oblivious society.
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The IMDB gives a “December 1970” date for what it terms THE MUSIC LOVERS’ “(London) (premiere),” but beyond that it gives no specific date. Nor does it indicate whether that was a one-time showing, or the opening of the film’s regular run. The best information that the British Film Institute can offer is that the film was released in 1970, which it also gives as its copyright date.
It’s fairly well established from reviews and other sources that the film opened in New York on 24 January 1971. The earliest written review of the film that I could find is on the Roger Ebert website, which gives a date of January 1, 1971 for his review. Unless the film happened to open weeks earlier in Chicago, or Ebert somehow caught the “London premiere,” I suspect that the website date of that review may be in error. The publication Filmfacts, in a late 1971 issue, stated that “as of September 7th, [the film] has played 27 reserved-seat weeks in London”. If that was correct, that would put the London opening date at 3 March 1971.
Given the lack of a specific 1970 London premiere date for the film and the lack of any 1970 reviews for the film, I would put my money on the documented 1971 New York opening date and the Filmfacts citation, which also puts the London opening in 1971.
Thank you for your research, Bob! I have seen "January 1" used on several older Ebert reviews, so I suspect that's a default date given to reviews of his in which the initial date of publication is unknown or unclear.
The 3 March '71 London general release date is about right. I read somewhere that The Music Lovers was due to open there 25 Feb.
I have a reference to a 13 November 1970 review in a Rolling Stone-like London magazine ("Friends" no. 18), but it's entirely possible that that citing is a mistake and/or it's a piece on the making of The Music Lovers. The movie was probably screened for critics circa December 1970, but I would never count that as a premiere. So for now I'm sticking with the Jan. '71 US premiere date until I get confirmation one way or the other re a 1970 premiere.
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However, my favorite Russell is still SAVAGE MESSIAH, about WWI-era sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, a brilliant, self-taught painter and sculptor. Certainly the best Russell film of them all, eschewing the wild antics of much of his other work, to concentrate on the art-making process, and what artists do to survive an oblivious society.
I agree! This film is stunning and needs to be rediscovered.
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For those who are interested, there is a souvenir program for THE MUSIC LOVERS, usually available on e-bay.
That's where I found it. Quite nice. I would presume it was only available in the U.K., as the film was certainly not a roadshow in this country.
There are also programs for TOMMY, THE BOY FRIEND, MAHLER, which I also have. Not really expensive, either.
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However, my favorite Russell is still SAVAGE MESSIAH, about WWI-era sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, a brilliant, self-taught painter and sculptor. Certainly the best Russell film of them all, eschewing the wild antics of much of his other work, to concentrate on the art-making process, and what artists do to survive an oblivious society.
I agree! This film is stunning and needs to be rediscovered.
FYI: SAVAGE MESSIAH is available on DVD from Warner Archive.
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I envy you guys who were seeing Ken Russell films when they were new in the 1970s.
I first discovered Russell in early 1981 when Altered States went into general release, and that was really the last of his "big" movies. Thereafter, he dabbled in smaller films, TV, and stage productions - some of them good, but none of them quite up to his 1965-1980 run of outstanding television and feature films.
I have been able to see The Music Lovers twice on screen here in Seattle though. Once in 1986, the second twenty years later.
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Ok...Here we go with an original magazine ad for the first London run.
As you can see, it opened at the Odeon, Haymarket on Thursday, February 25th, 1971.
There is no reference for a special Premiere.
I found an article about the making of the film in Films & Filming from late 1970.
Ken Russell still hadn’t decided on a title for it, and is still referring to it as “The Lonely Heart”.
I have both that interview and this ad, and that's a good point about there not being a confirmed title as late as that magazine's publication. I'm sticking with the early '71 premiere for TML unless this mythical December 1970 London premiere is made an absolute fact. Thank you for all of your help, guys. I knew I could count on you.
Current personal faves of 1971: https://markrussyoung.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/favorite-films-of-1971/
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