Wagner The Complete Epic DVD with Richard Burton, Gemma Craven, Vanessa Redgrave (NR) +Movie Reviews

The mini-series IS definitely uncut on this DVD!

Volker Wehrkamp-Lemke | Osnabrück, Germany | 09/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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.)"

Wagner, The Complete Epic

Mark Marcus | Los Angeles, CA USA | 11/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Complete but...

Ballet Boy | USA | 09/29/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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"

A film no less a Wagnerian opera

Breyel | MALAYSIA | 12/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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.

"

Wagner's Life was better than a Soap Opera!!

Stephen Pletko | London, Ontario, Canada | 07/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"+++++

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)

+++++

"

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