La flûte enchantée

No magic rings? A magic flute? If you liked "The Lord of the Rings" and "Moulin Rouge", you might like "The Magic Flute". The music and the landscapes are beautiful. The singers look strangely like real people, since they are opera singers, not Hollywood actors. There's a war, but not a lot of blood because everybody's singing most of the time. Why not a fantasy without orcs? Why not a story without a lot of video game battles and trials? There are some female characters, more than you usually see in a fantasy. When the Queen of the Night threatens with all her powers, there are some great moments. Although the lyrics are sometimes difficult to hear, the overall feeling is fun and uplifting. Unfortunately, it only lasts two hours.

Now Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute is not my favourite opera film- then again this is a list that includes the 1976 film Tosca, Losey's 1979 Don Giovanni, Bergman's 1975 Magic Flute, Zeffirelli's 1982 La Traviata and 1986 Otello, Rossi's 1984 Carmen, Friederich's 1975 Salome and 1981 Elektra, and Ponnelle's 1982 Rigoletto, 1975 Le Nozze Di Figaro and 1981 La Cenerentola- but being someone who loves Mozart's opera I found myself very impressed by it.

It does look stunning visually. Despite the first world war setting, the film still maintains the opera fairy-tale feel, and the setting is evoked to poignant effect. On top of that, the costumes and sets do look beautiful, the effects dazzle and the cinematography shows a lot of skill. Mozart's music alone is worth the watch, with gems like the Overture, Papagaeno's Birdcatcher song, the Act 1 quintet, Dies Bildnis Ist Bezaubernd Schön, the duet between Pamina and Papagaeno, Ah Ich Fuhl, the Isis Und Osiris chorale, Der Halle Roche, In Diesen Heil'Gen Hallen, the scene between Pamina and the Three Boys and Papagaeno and Papagaena's duet, it is one of his best scores. Stylishly played and conducted, the film is a musical treat.

Stephen Fry's writing I quite liked, a lot of it is very witty and poetic. There are a couple of scenes where the writing doesn't quite work, such as in Sarastro's Isis Und Osiris, but overall I was entertained. The story, although the librettos of Cosi Fan Tutte and Don Giovanni are perhaps stronger and more compelling, is still powerful and moving to me, if missing some of the themes of the opera to make it even more gripping(ie. the whole Masonic idea). Of the characters, I was thrilled by Queen of the Night and Sarastro is noble and firm. However I was disappointed with Monostatos. Now here is a character that can either way, from overplayed, under-characterised or just right, and is perhaps the opera's most controversial character. But this is perhaps for me the first time where Monostatos' role is somewhat pointless.

Of the leads, Lyubov Petrova is the dramatic standout in a thrilling, hard-edged and often chilling performance as the fiendishly challenging role of Queen of the Night, especially with those eyes. Vocally, I have to say Rene Pape stood out by a mile. Not only is his Sarastro firm, noble and also comforting, but his voice is one of the warmest and most beautiful basso voices of recent times. He alone makes Isis Und Osiris worth watching, though as I've said I don't consider the scene in this film among the best versions of that aria, but I actually found In Diesen Heil'Gen Hallen to show off his vocal and character strengths more effectively.

Benjamin Jay Davis is a fun and charming Papagaeno, and Silvia Moi is suitably pert in the role of Papagaena. Together, they(and the older version of Papagaena) are a hoot. Joseph Kaiser is a dashing and not too stiff Tamino, and Amy Carson's Pamina is radiant and moving. These two really convince together. The Three Ladies are wonderfully kinky, the Three Boys shine with their simple charm and the chorus work is very well balanced. Branagh on the whole directs beautifully, I could tell even by the interviews and featurette of this Magic Flute that he had put a lot of thought and care into the film. It shows.

All in all, a very good, well sung and acted and magical film. I personally don't consider it the best version or production of the opera that I've seen(2003 Covent Garden, 1978 Glyndebourne, 1982 Salzburg, 1975 Bergman film and 1971 Peter Ustinov-directed version) and it is not perfect, but for any opera or Kenneth Branagh fans it is worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I think it's sad that this movie got such a low IMDb grade. I just wanted to say that this film is not for people who has an abc list of criteria each film has to fulfill to be a "good" film.

I do not watch much TV and film, and it's getting even less as I've started to work in the business myself.

This movie is for people like me, who've seen enough to see they need something different. AND it's for Magic Flute fans. I you don't like things being different or Mozart, you won't like this film either.

But IF you like Mozart and things that are different (call it "original" if you'd like). Then this is a MUST SEE. Branaugh has captured ALL the important details i this movie, and by IMPORTANT I don't mean whether the coloratura can hit the F sharp in a special way. I mean captured the true FEEL of the original play.

The libretto is silly and full of love, so is this movie. I've seen so many different versions of the opera, but only in this film have I seen truly fitting singers in the different roles. Most casts have a dull Tamino -> in this he's brilliant. Pamina is brilliant. Papageno is brilliant.

Mozart would be proud of himself and the performers and Branaugh if he'd watched it. Congratulations!

If The Lord Of The Rings trilogy has showed us anything, it showed that myth and fantasy have a place in modern cinema. I have long & will still firmly believe that my favorite Mozart piece, Die Zauberflöte, can & should receive a properly reverent modern cinematic treatment, while respecting the original Mozart vision, & adding fantasy aspects that could appeal to the modern masses.

This presentation however, is not that treatment I still hope for, primarily due to what I consider to be an unnecessary & unfitting portrayal, in an awkwardly placed period. Plus, The direction tends to be as misplaced as the screen adaptation itself, though still a thoroughly picturesque visage.

In & of itself, it's a very enjoyable film to watch. The English adaptation by Fry is suitable, the performances from the cast are wonderful, the casting itself was splendid, & of course, the music is beyond beautiful.

I can only criticize the film for being something I'd rather it not be, as I don't believe The Magic Flute belongs set in this way. Why wouldn't you just present this piece in a more reverent way, as an entity belonging purely to the fantasy realm, the way one would expect from A Midsummer Night's Dream or the like? I would expect that someone with such respectable Shakespearean credits to his name would be thoroughly capable of rising to that challenge. The intrusion of a WWI theme only steals from the wonder of a would be mythical experience, in my opinion

You get an A+ for effort, an A for execution, & a B- for intention, which would have been lower had you not tried so very well to make the style & period work. Nonetheless, an enjoyable view, that leaves me to still want for the version I desire, & believe we all deserve

A man behind me commented at the end, 'What a bizarre idea', which I suppose it was, if he was expecting a filmed version of the staged opera. What we get, however, is a proper movie, with all the tricks and all the realism that can offer. The plot is - always was - nonsense, which suits this semi-fantastic treatment perfectly. Branaugh uses his CGI with drama and humour as well as the poignancy of the First World War to hold the story together. The principals were ideal - they looked right as well as sounding perfect. Papageno was a comic delight. Liz Smith - not a singing role - was enjoying herself as much as the audience where I saw the film enjoyed her. The singing would be enough to hold an audience on its own.