Customer Reviews

Wagner: The Complete Epic [VHS]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

To make things once and for all clear: The exact running time of this set is 470 minutes. I own this set and it's totally uncut. I also taped a tv-broadcast almost 15 years ago (here in Europe they definitely aired it uncut!), so I was able to compare both formats.
It would have been the mistakingly advertised 540 minutes, if KULTUR had put every bit of repeating credits at the beginning and at the end of each episode, since those repeating credits run - believe it or not - 7 minutes for each episode. Now you could do the math: 7 x 10 = 70 minutes. And what a surprise: 470 + 70 = 540.
So folks, don't you worry anymore, this DVD-set contains every bit of the epic mini-series.
(A fan writing to you from Germany.)

I was fortunate to have seen a big screen presentation of "Wagner The Complete Epic" at the San Diego Opera House (nine hours in one day), many years ago. Richard Burton really captures both the vindictiveness and creative genuis of this man, whose immoral personal life is so difficult to reconcile with his amazing compositions. From his fecund mind sprang over a dozen great music dramas, culminating in the mythological trilogy "Der Ring des Nibelungen", arguably the apex of artistic expression in the western world. In addition to Richard Burton, the huge cast includes Vanessa Redgrave as Cosima Wagner, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier, and a few opera stars who have actually sung in Wagner's music dramas, including Gwyneth Jones, Peter Hofmann, Jess Thomas, Manfred Jung and Heinz Zednik. Tony Palmer, who directed this movie, has created an epic of Wagnerian proportions.

This is a marvelous look into the life of Wagner, one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time who was an absolute monster of a person, but none the less brilliant. Although I believe this an acting tour de force for Burton and the other fine actors, it unfortunately falls short in several ways. The transfer is awful. If they did anything to enhance it, it certainly doesn't show. The sound is lousy as well. With the amazing panoramic views and beautiful settings, there really should have been more care and time spent cleaning up the original recordings. Oh well...still worth seeing and the musical overlay are brilliant. 3 stars for poor transfer, 5 for the scenery, settings, music and acting

I recently purchased the Wagner epic on DVD. It seems as though the manufacturers are sloppy these days. The sleeves on the DVD cases indicate that DVD's 1 & 2 contain parts 1 - 5 of the movie when the labels on DVD's 1 & 2 indicate 1 - 3 and 1 - 6, respectively!

Another troublesome finding is that the total the number of minutes of the epic, including credits, is 470 minutes and not the 540 minutes as advertised.

The most important thing of all -- I found it funny that scenes which I remembered from the VHS version were not on the DVD version so I performed a little experiment. I compared a few portions of the tapes to the DVD's and lo and behold discovered that parts were edited out! For example, those of you who are familiar with the epic will remember the part where Von Bulow is writing a letter to Cosima indicating that he wants to drink prussic acid. (This scene follows the one where Nietzsche is in the war against France and is sitting under a tree contemplating his Will to Power.) This scene is not on the DVD version. Another edited scene is where Wagner and Cosima are at dinner with Nietzsche who tells Wagner that there is published proof of his (Wagner's) insanity. (This scene follows the one where Wagner is at a Wagner Society meeting, rises from his chair and walks out onto the balcony. On the VHS version, the dinner scene follows; on the DVD version it is lost.)

These are just a few of the problems I found. I have no doubt there are more. I do not blame Amazon but I do blame Kultur for not having the quality control necessary to catch such inexcusable flaws in the production.

What I enjoyed about this epic series on the life of Richard Wagner was the composer's music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Wagner: Opera Scenes), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (The Vienna Philharmonic Plays Wagner) and Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Masters of Classical Music, Vol. 5: Wagner) under the baton of Sir Georg Solti. The backdrop of political and social intrigue in the Prussian and Bavarian states of the 19th century piqued my curiosity for the history of this period as well. No less fascinating were the characterisations of the people who played significant roles in his life, including Franz Liszt, Frederick Nietzsche, Hans and Cosima von Buelow, Minna Planer, Mathilde Wesendonck and King Ludwig II.

Equally memorable were the excellent performances of Richard Burton as Wagner, Gemma Craven as Minna (his first wife) Vanessa Redgrave as Cosima (his friend's wife and second wife), Laszlo Galffi as The Swan King: Ludwig II of Bavaria, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud. Richard Burton's performance is indeed superb in so far as depicting the arrogance, megalomania, amorality and musical genius of Richard Wagner.

While "Wagner" depicts a vile and self-centred man, especially with regard to the callous disregard he had for friends, wives, benefactors and peers, the film projects a balanced assessment of his contribution to the world of music and influence on German politics. On viewing "Wagner", one might actually have more sympathy for the people he used, particularly the romantic and generous benefactor King Ludwig II.

With regard to Kultur's pan and scan presentation of this acclaimed series, I concur with the previous reviewers. I wish Kulture had made a genuine effort to digitise and include some historical write-up on Wagner and the film's making. Nevertheless, this 4-DVD set is testimony to Burton's talent, the lavish sets, the detailed costumes and marvellous scenery shot in more than 200 locations around Europe.

Whether the scenes purportedly snipped from the original series make a difference is a matter of personal preference. I for one found the footage viewed on this DVD set did not disturb the overall story. However, parents viewing this with children, be warned; the film is rated 'R' for some frontal nudity and sexual situations (3 scenes). Regardless, "Wagner" is a film worth watching, if not owning.

+++++

This mini-series on DVD is a dramatized biography of one of most celebrated opera composers of all time, Richard Wagner (1813 to 1883) played by the late, great Richard Burton. The movie begins when Wagner was just beginning to be known for his works (at age 35 or in 1848).

Despite its long length, this movie can be roughly divided into two parts: (1) the time Wagner was essentially poor and with his first wife, Minna (Gemma Craven) (2) the time Wagner met "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Laszlo Galffi) and met his second wife Cosima (Vanessa Redgrave), the illegitimate daughter of his friend, famous composer and pianist, Franz Liszt (Ekkehardt Schall).

Be aware that this movie is interested in spectacle not introspection. And what a spectacle it is!

Richard Burton gives what some say is his best performance. (Contrary to what other reviewers say, this was his third to last movie role.) Wagner was a scoundrel, joker, philosopher, con man, womanizer, poet, refugee, virulent political orator, and one of the greatest composers who ever lived. Burton conveys all these characteristics in his exceptional performance.

The star-studded supporting cast (Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Ralph Richardson, etc.) have bit parts. The narrator (Andrew Cruickshank) does a good job with his unique voice of providing continuity between the ten parts of this mini-series/movie. There are standout performances from Gemma Craven as Wagner's first wife and Laszlo Galffi as King Ludwig.

The music (all by Wagner) is fantastic. (The music was conducted by the great Sir Georg Solti.) Unfortunately, we only get to listen to bits and pieces of it. However, this is in accordance to what Wagner would have wanted.

Wagner called his operas "music dramas." This means that music should not dominate drama. And this is exactly what occurs in this movie.

This mini-series was filmed in more than two hundred separate locations, over seven months and in seven European countries.

Do you have to be a Wagnerian fanatic to understand this movie? No. However, I read a short biography of his life before viewing this movie and had a list (with dates) of his thirteen principal operatic works while viewing this movie. I especially found helpful the brief printed part summaries that are included with this DVD set. These items aided my understanding of the movie and, as well, made it easier to follow.

The picture and sound quality of this DVD, I felt, were acceptable. (Part #9 has occasional flickering). All interior photography is fantastic. All costumes are authentic and magnificent.

There seems to be some confusion as to the true length of this movie/mini-series. Here are the times my DVD player obtained for each of the four DVDs respectively:

136 min, 38 sec (written as 136:38), 131:24, 96:54, and 104:38.

Adding these times up, the total time of this DVD set is:

468:54 or about 469 min (7 hr, 49 min).

Now the original TV mini-series length was 540 min (9 hr).

Does this mean that this DVD set presents a cut version of the original TV series. Answer: Yes and no. The only thing that's cut is the opening credits for each part (except part #1) as well as the closing credits for each part (except part #10). All acting scenes that were presented on TV are UNCUT.

Proof: The opening credits for part #1 take 4:58. The closing credits for part #10 take 3:26. Doing the math:

540 - [(9 x 4:58) + (9 X 3:26)] = 469 min.

Finally, this mini-series focuses on Wagner's operas giving the impression that he only composed these. Not true! He also composed beautiful orchestral, piano, vocal, and choral music. He also wrote important literary works.

In conclusion, this is a spectacular mini-series/movie. Be sure to see it so as to learn more about the man who said, "Poetry is the reason for music and drama is the reason for both!!"

(1982; 7 hr, 49 min; 4 discs; 10 parts; made for TV; closed-captioned; full screen)

+++++

I cannot specifically comment on the entire 9 hour unedited version, but I did watch the abridged 5 hour version. To be candid you have to be a great lover of epic books or movies to enjoy this. Perhaps it is too long in relation to the dramatic content, even the abridged version; but then again, Wagner's operas generally have the same problem. Nonetheless it is worth the effort. For the record, in spite of the movie not having a rating, there is some profanity, much of it uttered by Burton. The production has many spectacular and controversial moments, such as the burning of the Dresden Opera House during the 1848 Revolution, during which Wagner is laughing heartily. Somewhere he mentions to Bakunin that such a calamity was the best thing that could have happened to the place. The rehearsals for the inaugural 1876 Bayreuth Ring were also skilfully handled. Much of the film was shot in Hungary, and Sir Georg Solti conducts, throughout the film, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra (as I recall). Those who enjoy the forceful, dramatic style of his Wagner will love this soundtrack. I thought Richard Burton played the title role reasonably well, even if the make-up artists did not successfully capture the unsightly skin texture - caused in part by erysipelas. Burton allegedly read almost every Wagner book in print, which would be no small feat, prior to assuming the role. Vanessa Redgrave as Cosima does very well, and looks even closer to her original. The huge cast is filled with very prominent actors, notably among them Sirs John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, who act as disgruntled members of King Ludwig's government. These actors speak in their normal English accents, which I found a little humorous in the context of their Bavarian roles (granted, the movie was somewhat wanting in humor too). Laszlo Galffi as Ludwig was credible enough, and his ostentatious building projects were interesting to see on film. The singing where employed was effective (including Peter Hoffmann, as I recall). The costumes, designed by Shirley Russell, were outstanding. The resolution quality of the original film, dating from 1983, was good but unexceptional. I cannot comment whether or not Wagner's true personage was presented fairly, but he was presented as a self-absorbed, money-grubbing, two-faced, opportunistic, polygamous, over-opinionated, xenophobic, racist musical genius. At the very least, it makes for an entertaining movie. If you don't mind the length, this can be recommended.

I have been waiting years for this epic to come out on DVD. I have about worn out my VHS tape, and having recently built a new home, WITH a dedicated home theater, I couldn't wait to view this monumental production on a LARGE screen with a sound system to match. True, everything in this film is Wagnerian in size . . . the actors, the sets, the cinematography, the locations, and most of all the music! Sadly, I was very disappointed to find that I now possessed a reduced, pan-&-scan, made for TV (circa 20 years ago) 4:3 aspect ratio. I have been spoiled by wide-screen, where I have been able to view films in their original aspect ratio. I probably would not have objected to this one if I have not already been acquainted with what I am now missing.

If Kulture can display still photos on the cover art of the album box in the original width, it would imply that they could also tranfer the film accordingly. Nowhere in their advertisement does it state that the picture is 4:3, Full Screen.

I should have read the reviews.

Perhaps the finest movie ever produced - but only for Wagnerians. Fantastic scenery (all shot on location in Europe) and, of course, the music - Wagner. The film assumes the viewer is familiar with Wagner's haunts and is thus of particularly value to those familiar with places where Wagner lived and worked. The film is also slanted somewhat - against Germany, and over emphasizes Wagner's anti-Semitism. Still the acting is very fine. The fact the movie did not do well in the US is a very high endorsement.

Can't get away from his opera's so I was very courious to this biopic. The life and times of Richard Wagner. Now available in an almost 8 hours edit (was the original 9 hours?) on DVD. I haven't seen the video from this production but it seems to me that the transfer to DVD is not expecially well done. Personally I don't mind but from a production this big a better effort on the image enhancement might have been expected.

Richard Burton plays Wagner from the age of 35 to his last days in 1883. Burton has certainly the weight as an actor to give life to the enormous ego that Richard Wagner was. This works expecially well with Wagner in his old age. The presence of Burton there really fills the screen. The rest of the cast is also impressive: Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier.

What I do miss in this stellar cast driven mammoth production is that it fails to bring you back in time like for instance "Ludwig II" from Visconti does. It stays a, well, "stellar cast driven mammoth production". Not in the last place by the way Wagners' music is used as soundtrack. With the music Richard Wagner has written you have literally the soundtrack of a lifetime. Alas, in the soundtrack of this movie that music is used as Solti conducted it: bombastic and one-dimensional. With its excessive use of Nibelungen-motives throughout the whole movie you don't get a clear view of the chronology of the music written by Wagner in his life. This is a pity because you want to get a cut on the relationship between life and music written. Another important thing: the music fails to move you, to create beauty (with an exception for the instrumental version of Isoldes Liebestod). The way Solti pushes the brass section through the roof (Siegfried's Trauermars!) is an ordeal for the ears and ruins some of the most beautifull music ever written.

It was Mark Twain who said that Wagners' music is actually better then it sounds. In this movie Wagner looks better then he sounds.