Choose a creative artist in any field, alive or dead, to be the protagonist in a major motion picture and explain why their story should be told on the big screen. Perhaps no movie about them exists, or they are the subject of a film (s), but you want to see a better one.
I choose Hungarian composer, pianist, and teacher, Franz Liszt
I’d like to see a well-produced bio-drama about the life and times of Liszt, with A-list actors and a great director (Stanley Kubrick, directing in the style of Barry Lyndon would be my first choice, but he’s dead).
The only non-documentary film I can find tangentially about Liszt is Lisztomania (1975, starring Roger Daltrey), but that doesn’t count as a serious biographical drama. The man and subject deserve a well-researched, attention-to-detail treatment—in the vein of Amadeus (1984), but more historically accurate.
Liszt is on a short list of my favorite composers, but that’s not my reason for my wanting to see a proper movie made about him. Few historical figures have lived as colorful a life as Franz Liszt: child prodigy, unequaled virtuoso, game-changing Romantic era composer of both piano and orchestral work, mania-inducing performances (Lisztomania was a real thing and predated Beatlemania by a century), and a life filled with high drama and major accomplishments. The screenplay practically writes itself.
If you’re unfamiliar with the life of Liszt, this Britannica article gives a good overview. For a more in-depth view, I highly recommend the Great Courses lecture series (available on the streaming service Wondrium): Great Masters: Liszt, His Life & Music by composer/musicologist Professor Robert Greenberg. Greenberg puts flesh on Liszt’s bones. “Liszt created one of the most enduring archetypes of the Romantic era: the artist ‘who walks with God and brings down fire from heaven in order to kindle the hearts of humankind’."
Liszt lived well, but he was also very altruistic. He performed most of his concerts for free (for worthy causes) and taught many of his students (some of whom became renowned virtuosos/composers in their own right) for free, often staking them money, room, and board. He championed artists he believed in, both unknowns and great (including Beethoven).
Liszt’s love life and family life were complicated (and intriguing). He was a romantic to the core, but certainly had flaws.
Liszt was loved by many (including royalty and great composers) and vilified by others. He had many critics, mostly clueless hacks who abhorred change and couldn’t recognize talent if it bit them on the ass. But Franz didn’t suffer fools lightly. He responded to his critics, but always took the high road, often complimenting even his harshest critics, which infuriated them.
Liszt would make a great drama.
Your turn.