Russel can't seem to pull the elements of filmmaking together.

It's a berserk exercise of demented genius, and on that level (I want to make my praise explicit) it functions and sometimes even works. Most people will probably despise it.

…a deliberate travesty, Lisztomania is arguably peak Russell, packed with striking images and questionable scenes…

I await the day when Russell forgets about drawing crowds, and settles down to serious visualizations of the serious music that has meant so much to his life and career.