Richard Wagner Movies
The music of this controversial composer has been quoted in approximately 215 films, discounting numerous newsreels and documentaries. Wagner's music has been appreciated for its transcendentally romantic and noble textures, its innovative orchestration, harmonic and melodic originality, and the Gesamtkunstwerk concept (an artistic effort coordinating all the arts, the very definition of a motion picture), yet his opera plots have been criticized for "paganism," absurdity, and proto-Fascist tendencies.The Ride of the Valkyrie from Die Walküre has occurred in at least 27 films, one of the earliest being D.W. Griffith's controversial The Birth of a Nation (1915) (aka The Clansman), admired for its epic brilliance and innovative techniques, and infamous for its racism. This music underscores other breast-beating heroism (pro and con) in Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) and Apocalypse Now Redux (2001), and Education for Death (1943). The theme comically chimes in as the Chicago police force racing after bluesmen Jake and Elwood are joined by local neo-Nazis in a hilarious car chase in The Blues Brothers (1980). In the cartoon What's Opera, Doc? (1957), Ride of the Valkyrie appears at the onset as Elmer Fudd, in Viking outfit, casts a huge shadow while conducting a storm scene. He finds a rabbit hole and stabs at it with his spear singing, "Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit!" Bugs Bunny inquires, to the tune of Siegfried's Horn Call, "Oh mighty warrior of great fighting stock, might I inquire to ask, eh, what's up, doc?" Bugs later appears as dashing blonde Brunhilde riding a white horse to the tune of the Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhäuser.
The thrilling overture to The Flying Dutchman has accompanied television's Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen (1995), Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949), The Lone Ranger (1949), and the background of a Navy recruitment commercial. The subtle and lovely Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde has graced 18 films (including Romeo and Juliet [1996] and L'Age d'Or [1930]), and the complete opera has received several television productions. The Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride) from Act III of Lohengrin are found in almost any wedding scene, for example, in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) and Andy Hardy's Dilemma (1938).
Wagner's last and most controversial opera, Parsifal, a Grail story mixed with eroticism, was brilliantly interpreted in Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's insightful 1982 production that introduces extra historical and psychological imagery through background and magic lantern-type projections, puppets, scale models, otherworldly lighting, a cavernous set (eventually seen to be a giant death mask of Wagner), alternate male and female Parsifals (with the same voice), and militaristic Christian knights. Wagner's lines concerning the cessation of time and space that Parsifal experiences could describe the viewer's sensations during the film's hypnotic stronghold.
Wagner's opera Tannhaüser is heard in The Gold Rush (1925) and Warhol's Flesh for Frankenstein (1974); Rienzi and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Riefenstahl's notorious Triumph of the Will (1934); Götterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) in Le Bassin de J.W. (John Wayne's Pelvis, 1997); Das Rheingold and Siegfried have also received many full television and film treatments. Visconti's Ludwig (1972), The Architecture of Doom (1989), The Scarlet Empress (1934), Buñuel's Cet obscur objet du désir (1977), Ken Russell's Lisztomania (1975) depicting Wagner as a satanic revolutionary, Markoupoulos' Ming Green (1966), and The Testament of Orpheus (1960) are but a few significant films employing this influential genius' inspirations. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Legendary French conductor Georges Pretre leads this classical concert, mounted on New Year's 2009, with orchestral music by The Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro La Fenice and vocal solos by tenor Massimiliano Pisapia and Mariella Devia. The innumerable selections include compositions by Wagner, Rossini, Verdi, Offenbach, Bellini and Bizet. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariella Devia, Massimiliano Pisapia, (more)
- 2008
February 26, 2008 marked a historic date for music and global culture per se
- Starring:
- Lorin Maazel
- 2007
In the classical performance release New Year's Concert in St Petersburg - shot on New Year's Day 2007 at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall - Russian maestro Valery Gergiev leads the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in interpretations of symphonic works by Wagner, Strauss, Verdi, Rachmaninov and a number of other composers. Two soloists - alto vocalist Yuri Bashmet and concert pianist Yefim Bronfman - provide added musical support. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bashmet, Yefim Bronfman, (more)
- 2007
The legendary Patrice Chéreau (Intimacy, Queen Margot) directed this production of Richard Wagner's moody opera Tristan und Isolde at the Teatro alla Scala in 2007. It stars Ian Storey, Waltraud Meier, Gerd Grochowski and Michelle DeYoung; the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Alla Scala provide musical support, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2007
The Opera National de Paris mounted this production of choreographer Roland Petit's ballet Proust: Or How the Heart Skips a Beat, adapted from Marcel Proust's A La Recherche du temps perdu. The production stars Eleonora Abbagnato, Hervé Moreau, Stéphane Bullion and Manuel Legris and features music by such composers as Beethoven, Debussy, Fauré and Franck. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleonora Abbagnato, Hervé Moreau, (more)
- 2006
Filmmaker Steve Furman captures an event in nature rarely seen by human eyes in this short film detailing the annual ritual of the reclusive Hooded Merganser. This reclusive breed of duck is found exclusively in North America; the female Hooded Merganser lays her eggs in a nest high in the treetops of the Great Lakes region every spring. Later, after the hatchlings emerge, the tiny ducklings have just 24 hours to adjust to their new lives before they are forced by their mother to make the arduous leap to the ground far below. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Furman
This production of Richard Wagner's Tannhauser stars Peter Seiffert in the title role. Franz Welser-Most leads the Zurich Orchestra through the performance that co-stars Alfred Muff, Roman Trekel, and Jonas Kaufman. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2003
One of the best-respected artists of his generation, David Hockney is well known for his paintings, prints, and portraits, but he's also developed a reputation as a set designer for some of the world's leading opera companies. A passionate enthusiast of classical vocal music, Hockney's interest in opera has helped to transform the visual aspect of how the pieces are presented, from his bright use of color to his insistence on making lighting cues an integral part of his design. However, there's also an irony to Hockney's success in opera -- at the age of 67, Hockney began losing a significant amount of his hearing, which would not only impact his ability to create for a medium that has earned him so much acclaim, but rob him of his ability to appreciate the music that means so much to him. David Hockney: The Colors of Music is a documentary which examines the artist's unique approach to set design, how the music informs his life, and his feelings as he becomes aware each design project could well be his last. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hockney, Max Charruyer, (more)
- 2002
This performance of Wagner's opera Das Rheingold was recorded live at the Staatsoper Stuttgart in September and December of 2002. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Germany's unique and beloved Waldbuhne ampitheater, with its natural setting and seating capacity of 22,000, serves as the milieu for this classical concert from 1999. In it, the eminent James Levine conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in interpretations of pieces by Strauss and Wagner. Selections include: Strauss's Don Juan, Op. 20 and Der Rosenkavalier - Di Rigori Armato and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod and Lohengrin - Prelude to Act 3. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Heppner
Richard Wagner's operatic retelling of the story of the search for the Holy Grail receives a lavish production in this video, which records performances held in Bayreuth, St. Petersburg, and Ravello, Italy. Internationally renowned tenor Placido Domingo leads the distinguished cast; Tony Palmer directs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Sullen teenage orphan Johnny Miles (Josh Albee) is wrongfully accused of stealing from his foster parents. Running away from home, Johnny forms a bond with another youthful "runaway"--this one a leopard who has escaped from a nearby wild-animal compound. Both fugitives are sheltered by a harsh but lovable kennel owner, Angela Lakey (Dorothy McGuire), who senses that neither boy nor leopard are as bad as they're cracked up to be. Assuming the responsibility of caring for the animal, Johnny risks being captured by the authorities--and while his punishment will be relatively benign, the leopard might well be destroyed. Adapted from a novel by Victor Canning, The Runaways premiered April 1, 1975, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Irène Jacob, (more)
- 1994
- Add Tannhäuser (Bayerische Staatsoper) to QueueAdd Tannhäuser (Bayerische Staatsoper) to top of Queue
Composer Richard Wagner's romantic three-act opera is performed at the National Theater Staatsoper in this 1994 production captured over the course of a three-day closed-session and directed by David Alden and featuring René Kollo and Jan-Hendrik Rootering. Music is provided by the Chorus of Bayerische Staatsoper under Chorus Master Udo Mehrpohl. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- René Kollo
- 1992
Shortly after his 1970 success with the film Stille Dage i Clichy (Quiet Days in Clichy), director Jens-Jorgen Thorsen started trying to get Jesus Vender Tilbage (The Return) made. For the next twenty years, he kept at it when the money was available but had to cope not only with shortages of money, but an legal ban on the film in his native country of Denmark which was not revoked until 1990. In the face of these obstacles, he has put together a smoothly professional-looking film which seems to be intended to offend the religious sensibilities of a great many people. This satirical drama follows Jesus' career after he returns to earth to save it from environmental pollution. After a little exploration, he decides that Paris suits him just fine as a base of operations. When he gets entangled with a group of terrorists attempting to hijack a plane, he gets into serious trouble with the authorities, but one compensation for his troubles is that Jesus, the still-virgin Demiurge, finally gets to sample feminine carnal delights, which are offered to him by a lovely hijacker (Atlanta). When the authorities capture the hijackers, they assume that Jesus is their leader, and he is condemned to death. However, somehow the Pope (a despicable child molester) and Billy Graham (a bewildered fool) hear of his presence on the planet, and they scheme for his release, in return for a few miraculous favors. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marco di Stefano, Jed Curtis, (more)
One of Richard Wagner's typically epic-scale operas, this tale of a naïve man who makes his way into the world and joins the search for the Holy Grail is given an impressive production in this home-video release. Parsifal documents the Metropolitan Opera's 1992 staging of the opera, featuring Siegfried Jerusalem in the title role and Waltraud Meier, Kurt Moll, and Bernd Weikl highlighting the supporting cast. James Levine directs the orchestra. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- PG13
Meeting Venus is based on a play cowritten by the film's director, Istvan Szabo. Glenn Close plays a celebrated Swedish opera star Karin Anderson who is slated to appear in an internationally-telecast production of Tannhauser. Ms. Anderson balks at the notion of working with obscure Hungarian conductor Zoltan Szanto. The much-anticipated production may never get off the ground, thanks to labor-management difficulties, intramural jealousies, and clashing egos. Admidst all this chaos, the mismatched Anderson and Szanto fall in love. Filmed in Budapest, Meeting Venus was far from a box-office hit thanks in great part to an inadequate advertising campaign; hopefully it will gain the wide audience it deserves on videocassette. (PS: Glenn Close's singing is dubbed by real-life opera luminary Kiri Te Kanawa. We tell you this because the lyp-synching is done so well that you might actually believe that Close is performing those arias herself). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Close, Niels Arestrup, (more)
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