VividSimon Simply Perfect

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Armand it is one of most precious memories from my childhood. a history music lesson. correct, precise, magnificent. because, after years, it is a proof of identification, in amazing measure, of an actor with his role. Richard Burton is Wagner and this fact makes all different. it is a precise hard work of a great team. accuracy, impressive acting and an unique actor swan song. so, in many moments, the story of German composer can be reflection of fights, searches, victories of his interpreter. and the atmosphere is that detail who makes the things in right place. it is example of bitter beauty of art. and source for discover traces of a special master of music. it is not a film for his admirers. only a open window to an universe out of death. far from definition. light, rain, cold air, drops of storm. all as bones of a memorable existence. and will of a Welsh silhouette.

adamshl The problem with this epic film is in the decision to use an abstract patchwork quilt approach to the subject matter. A more straight forward narrative would have worked much better.Right from the start there's confusion, entering the biography when the main subject is already a mature 35 years of age. Then the usual jumps in time and situation follow.The screen is not filled with clear narrative, only erratic glimpses of a life that cries out for clarity of design and structure. In the lead, Richard Burton does the best he can, given the script and direction. The photography looks rather ordinary as do the sets. Only the work of Georg Solti on the soundtrack lends dramatic brilliance.Irregardless of the considerable length and scope of this TV work, one looks forward to another film effort on this fascinating subject.

Catharina_Sweden This movie was almost perfect! It was both informative and accurate, and very, very beautiful, suggestive, and romantic. It was a really, really good tribute to Wagner, who was - in my opinion - the greatest composer of all time. He has given so much joy to so many! :-) Richard Burton was also perfect in the role, except for the fact that he looked a bit too old and weary in the scenes where Wagner should still be a man in younger middle-age. But it was worth it to have Burton in the role, I think, because he had that strange quality which drew women even when he looked really worn and haggard towards the end of his life. The same quality that Wagner himself must have had, considered all the young mistresses he had even up to his death.The only flaw - which is the reason I do not give the movie 10 stars - is that one got to see too little of the operas in their finished state. I wish they would have included at least a few minutes of master-pieces such as the love duet between Siegfried and Brünnhilde in the last act of Siegfried, or Siegmund's song to spring in the first act of Walküre, or "Feuerzauber" in the third act of the same.Because as it was, I believe that even if Wagner's music was in the background for most of the score, people who did not know Wagner's great operas before they watched this title, did not get to realize his greatness from it...

rps-2 If you weren't familiar with Wagner's music and his life, you would find this film very tough to follow. Even with that knowledge, it tends to be murky and confusing. Seldom have so many theatrical giants been in a film to so little effect. Burton, Redgrave, Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson. Thats a theatrical galaxy! It should have been a tour de force but it wasn't. The film is never shown and tapes are extremely rare. (I found mine at a flea market in Burk's Falls Ontario.) Still it's an interesting side trip for an opera fan. I wouldn't reccomend it at all for someone who is not.I'm sorry there was not more music and less talking. It was criminal to cut short and talk over Tristan Und Isolde! Mark Twain said that Wagner's music is really much better than it sounds. Unfortunately, this movie is not as good as it looks.