If you enjoyed the camp excess of the recent big-screen biopic Behind the Candelabra, then you might also like this 1976 documentary The World of Liberace, which really piles the gloss on as the flamboyant entertainer lets the cameras into his Hollywood home and Palm Springs mansion to show off his collections of clothes, pianos, jewels and cars.
In this age of austerity, it might come across as excessively ostentatious, but given this vintage fare is from the decade that taste forgot, it’s actually a riot to watch: just check out some of the clothes that Liberace wears, especially when he's preparing lasagna and chatting with his family, and you’ll split your sides laughing when you hear his closeted reason for choosing not to marry.
In between shots of yet another piano themed piece of furniture, we do get to see the showman in action performing his brilliant Rachmaninoff/Godfather mash-up and his stunning Three Little Fishes medley to over-excited fans (mainly middle-aged matrons wrapped in fur), and its these scenes that cement his reputation as a consummate and much-loved performer. Now, ‘Aren’t you glad you came?’
The World of Liberace is available on DVD from Boulevard Entertainment
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