Peter Tchaikovsky created some of the most romantic and beloved music ever. Surely he must have a man sensitivities for above human passions and pitfalls. Not so, says Ken Russell (Women in Love, Crimes of Passion), director of the lavish Tchaikovsky bio-pic The Music Lovers. Declaring that he was “fed up with the reverential treatment of musical heroes,” Russell sold his film ...Peter Tchaikovsky created some of the most romantic and beloved music ever. Surely he must have a man sensitivities for above human passions and pitfalls. Not so, says Ken Russell (Women in Love, Crimes of Passion), director of the lavish Tchaikovsky bio-pic The Music Lovers. Declaring that he was “fed up with the reverential treatment of musical heroes,” Russell sold his film to backers by describing it as a “love story between a homosexual and a nymphomaniac.”It’s a love story unlike any other, filled with one bravura visual flourish after another. Matched with the breathtaking sighs are the incomparable Tchaikovsky music selections (“Piano Concerto in B-Flat Minor,” “Swan Lake,” the “1812 Overture” and more), played by the London Symphony Orchestra.Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson star as the ill-matched lovers, but the real star is behind the camera. “With The Music Lovers, Russell emerges as one of the great directors of our era.” (Richard Schickel, Life.)