Well, I have to say that the new Lisztomania DVD is a bit of a missed opportunity. Don't get me wrong: it's fantastic to finally have access to an official release of that movie on DVD with the extra bonus of getting to see the original theatrical trailer and on top of that, hearing Russell himself talking through (most) of its duration.
The thing is, more care should have been applied to what are to me the key faults of this DVD. For starters, the transfer is not that good for a 2009 DVD: murky, dark and full of speckles, it's clear that a full restoration was not made. For comparison sake, I'd say it's only a notch up from the Laserdisc, which is not saying too much, as you can see. Also, subtitles are not included which is a common practice in the UK as far as home video is concerned but a sad one, as far as I'm concerned.
But what I felt was really lacking was the audio commentary. Russell is always an interesting person to listen to but let's not forget he is getting old and he really needs someone to keep him talking. There are lots of dead time and most of the time Russell simply describes what he's saying. Guess he haven't seen this one in a long time. Top marks go for the wonderfully written booklet that is filled to the brim with interesting trivia and anecdotes.
Still, it's the best you can get for now because Warner Bros. still refuses R1 users of a home video release.
(the image above is for a japanese single for Peace at Last/Orpheu's Song taken from the Lisztomania soundtrack)
