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4 DVD discs contain a complete, unedited, 9 hour mini-series biopic of Richard Wagner. It's also Sir Richard Burton's final film performance. In all, this is the big picture of Wagner's life & work: before the Revolution of 1848, his exile to Switzerland, rescue by King Ludwig II of Bavaria & triumph at Bayreuth. The film shows how Wagner's German nationalism & supremacism shaped him, not his music. Wagner was more than a typical anti-Semite & racist: he was a total supremacist without much of a conscience. Wagner over-spent his art patrons' money, left enormous debts, fled to Vienna during the 1860s & escaped prosecution. Burton plays Wagner well, with mental strength & moral weaknesses: a supremacist who shaped European culture for 7 decades. Sir John Gielgud narrates & plays Pfistermeister, a Munich govern-minister who both confronts & deals comically with Wagner. Wagner's ardent ally, eccentric King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Lazlo Galfi), is also comical, especially during a scene when he arrives in Switzerland incognito throwing himself at the feet of the perplexed maestro & his shaken mistress, Cosima von Bülow (Vanessa Redgrave), who's at a loss pondering how to host a lunatic royal. Ludwig even created the Bayreuth Festival Center especially for performances of Wagner's operas. To date, the Bayreuth flourishes, as do Ludwig's 3 Bavarian Castles. Wagner had a marvelous patron & ally in this otherwise wacky king. Men were to be supermen. Perhaps this partly explains why Wagner, an over-achiever & nymphomaniac, was adulterous numerous times during his 1st marriage to Minna (Gemma Craven). However, a sore lack of moral conscience seems to have driven Wagner to betray his best friend, conductor Hans von Bülow (Miguel Herz-Kestranek), by seducing his wife, Cosima, into his bed. As supremacist & nationalistic as Wagner, Cosima seemed like his soul mate, for a spell. But, Wagner's character was too unstable to be faithful & he betrayed Cosima, too. Friedrich Nietzche (Ronald Pickup) & Wagner's relationship is explored. Nietzche, being somewhat more tolerant than Wagner, drifted away from him. Although Nietzche was anti-Semitic, Richard & Cosima's ideals of mass murder of 'inferior' races, caused Nietzche to denounce Wagner's supermacist nationalism, months before Wagner suffered a stroke & died, in 1883. Nietzche was one of the last on the long list of Wagner's colleagues who denounced his supremacism. At first, after viewing this biopic of Wagner, I felt like I'd never listen to his music again. Being an activist for nonviolence & noncooperative with every form of supremacism, I was turned off by the politics of the man. However, I learned a valuable moral lesson from this film. People with great talent oft times have tragic flaws. Wagner's musical compositions can't be dismissed because his politics seem unconscionably dark & evil to me. Wagner's music reveals a different facet of him. The sensitive, passionate, lover of music is obviously what I consider the better part of his human character~ Sir Richard Burton (Richard Wagner, 3 episodes) Vanessa Redgrave (Cosima von Bülow, 3 episodes) László Gálffi (King Ludwig II of Bavaria, 3 episodes) Sir John Gielgud (Narrator & Pfistermeister, 3 episodes) Ralph Richardson (Pfordten, 3 episodes) Andrew Cruickshank (Minister Bär, 3 episodes) Sir Laurence Olivier (Pfeufer, 2 episodes) Gemma Craven (Minna, 2 episodes)Read full review
I was only able to see the first disc. So far it is very good.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Scenery, costumes etc very good
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
My aunt's grandfather, Dr. Hans Richter, is portrayed in this movie by actor Stephen Oliver. I was not aware of this movie's existence until gifted to me by a friend in Cakmakli Turkey.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
If you like Richard Burton then you need to add thi to your collection
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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