Rent Wagner (1983)
3.8 of 5 from 65 ratings
7h 49min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death in 1883, Wagner is the epic production of the life of one of the most extraordinary figures of the 19th Century. Richard Wagner remains an enigma. His was a rags-to-riches story with a fairytale end. He was loved yet hated, admired yet despised, a villain yet a hero who was worshipped, a man whose fame and exploits were the gossip of Europe. Above all, he as an incurable romantic whose love affair with Liszt's illegitimate daughter rivals that of Romeo & Juliet in excitement and drama. But he was also a dangerous political revolutionary whose influence penetrated the whole fabric of German society. He was a scoundrel, joker, philosopher, orator, con-man, poet, refugee, political orator, a legend in his own lifetime and one of then greatest composers who has ever lived. - Actors:
- Richard Burton, Vanessa Redgrave, László Gálffi, John Gielgud, Miguel Herz-Kestranek, Gemma Craven, Ralph Richardson, Richard Pasco, Laurence Olivier, Ronald Pickup, Marthe Keller, Ekkehard Schall, Niall Toibin, Mátyás Usztics, Arthur Denberg, Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Oliver, Jess Thomas, Daphne Wagner, Felix Franchy
- Directors:
- Tony Palmer
- Narrated By:
- Gyula Benkö, Andrew Cruickshank, Donald Moffat
- Studio:
- Metrodome
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Music & Musicals
- Collections:
- Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Vanessa Redgrave
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Reviews (1) of Wagner
An epic Biography - Wagner review by CV
This epic production is as lavish and expansive as Wagner's Ring itself and so appropriate for the subject of his colourful and self-obsessed life and music. There is a cluster of great English classic actors who play minor characters with masterful twitches, nods and laconic utterances. Richard Burton is well chosen for the character of Wagner and looks right: I have often wondered what the physical attraction was about Wagner looking at contemporary paintings and sketches.
I have given five stars on the strength of the final disc as I found it particularly powerful: the long speech given by Schopenhauer towards the end on the condemnation of Wagner's character and effect of his music was classic theatre and the death of Wagner, despite who he was, was quite touching. Also there were some splendid shots of the building of the Bayreuth Theatre.
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