Wagner

The only thing that would have made Richard Wagner's life complete is for his friend and patron King Ludwig of Bavaria to have become the Kaiser of a united Germany rather than that Hohenzollern bunch from Prussia. He'd have had it made if that was the case.

Wagner was a genius not only in the composition of music, but in the production end as well. He might well be regarded as the Cecil B. DeMille of grand opera, the themes he wrote about were epic in nature requiring productions that were also epic. Wagner was constantly in need of money to support his grand style of living that he felt a genius ought to indulge in, but also for his productions. He searched for years before lighting on the King of Bavaria who had grand ideas about high living and felt it an honor to be the grand patron of the foremost German composer of his time.

Richard Burton in this long mini-series has plenty of time and plenty of dialog to capture the character of Wagner in all its aspects. Good thing the man was a genius because no one else would have put up with his bad behavior. Friends were there to serve him, even giving up their wives for his occasional passion and in one case for his great love, second wife Cosima played by Vanessa Redgrave.

The three classical acting knights, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, and John Gielgud are all ministers to King Ludwig played by Hungarian actor Laszlo Galffi. They turn in fine performances of men driven to their wit's end serving a king who bungles into a war with Prussia that he loses and at the same time bankrupts his country both in creating grand palaces as his ancestors lived and in bankrolling the genius of Wagner.

Richard Wagner's ideas of German superiority of raving anti-Semitism and of the unshakable belief in his own genius for good or ill reflected a lot of the bad in German culture. He was the Nazi's favorite composer and knowledge of that puts many off from his work today. Still his music does transcend the man and the one thing the mini-series Wagner has in abundance is his music. That and the multi-layered performance of Richard Burton is enough reason to watch Wagner even though it does bog down occasionally.

I quickly bought the 300 minute version listed here when it first came available. Although I love Wagner and his music I almost couldn't get through the tapes. Terrible stuff. How could they do this? Then I found the answer.

The original mini-series was 9 hours long. They cut FOUR HOURS out of the story. I've seen the whole series and now I can say -- GREAT STUFF. Well, if your a Wagner fan to begin with, that is. It really is MUCH better than the edited version.

I hope I never get an enemy so evil I want to give them my 300 minute Wagner tape set. I hope I find a real friend who will buy me the 9 hour version as a gift!

With a stupendous cast headed by Richard Burton, this film takes on the life of Wagner and seems to raise the same complaints his audience had regarding his operas: long bacchanals of passion and excess. Art imitates life? You bet! Burton's monologues are brilliant as usual (I'm a long-time Burton fan) full of emotion and brilliantly performed. As to why everyone including royalty continued to support and love his music, chosing to ignore for the most part his despicible life in which he treated everyone shabbily including his wife, lovers, patrons, etc. . . .is it any different today? Don't we love our music/film icons ignoring their dark side? This film also made me want to rush to history books to read more about the era, especially about the young king of Bavaria. Take two nights to watch the video.

it is one of most precious memories from my childhood. a history music lesson. correct, precise, magnificent. because, after years, it is a proof of identification, in amazing measure, of an actor with his role. Richard Burton is Wagner and this fact makes all different. it is a precise hard work of a great team. accuracy, impressive acting and an unique actor swan song. so, in many moments, the story of German composer can be reflection of fights, searches, victories of his interpreter. and the atmosphere is that detail who makes the things in right place. it is example of bitter beauty of art. and source for discover traces of a special master of music. it is not a film for his admirers. only a open window to an universe out of death. far from definition. light, rain, cold air, drops of storm. all as bones of a memorable existence. and will of a Welsh silhouette.

ouff… I made it … a 9 hours series (and I never watch series!) very pompously made about a very pompous Richard Wagner played by an equally pompous Richard Burton.

Produced truly on an epic scale! Wagner composed some beautiful melodies but the majority of his music is just so loud, overbearing and far too aggressive to my taste … he must have been the Motörhead of his generation. Sitting through a full length Wagner Opera is torture to me, so the snippets of his music and arias here and there accompanying the movie/story were just enough. My love for Richard Burton and the historical curiosity kept me going, but to be honest, I only recommend this to hard-core Wagnerians or those who appreciate a good historical period drama.

Sets and costumes are beautifully authentic and gorgeously visualised, although with some abrupt editing. It is historically and biographically lovingly accurate and one does learn a lot about the historical events, the composer's private and professional life and how these influenced his creations. Many other well known actors such as Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Laurence Olivier play key roles. Despite the movies' length, we only enter Wagner's life when he is already in his early 30s. Chronologically starting around the 1848 German Revolution, through his exile in Switzerland, his relationship with his young and romantic but very influential groupie, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who became one of his main patrons, to his travels to Paris and Venice as well as his last triumph in Bayreuth and death. Wagners' radical and revolutionary political ideas, his anti-Semitisim and German nationalism are set in context with his musical dream of grandeur. His ultimate fall out with Nietzsche is interesting to read up on in more detail.

I was never bored nor impatient and actually enjoyed it. Of course, as a balletomane, my favourite passage was the depiction of the quarrels between Wagner and Marius Petipa at the Opera de Paris, concerning that 'every Opera in Paris MUST have a Ballet and that it HAS to be in the 2nd act for the important gentlemen patrons of the town to enjoy' … therefore Wagner calls the 'ballet-master' the 'whore-master' and decided provocatively to put the ballet into the 1st act ... made me giggle.