"Wagner" (1983) TV series

Director:

Tony Palmer

Writer:

Charles Wood (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music

Plot:

A huge panorama of Wagner's life and work, from before the 1848 Revolution, through his exile in Switzerland...

Plot Keywords:

Musician | Composer | Character Name In Title

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 8 of 97)

Richard Burton	...	Richard Wagner (3 episodes, 1983)
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Cosima von Bulow (3 episodes, 1983)
László Gálffi	...	King Ludwig II of Bavaria (3 episodes, 1983)
John Gielgud	...	Pfistermeister (3 episodes, 1983)
Ralph Richardson	...	Pfordten (3 episodes, 1983)
Andrew Cruickshank	...	Minister Bär / ... (3 episodes, 1983)
Laurence Olivier	...	Pfeufer (2 episodes, 1983)
Gemma Craven	...	Minna (2 episodes, 1983)

Runtime:

USA:300 min

Country:

UK | Austria | Hungary

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Hungarofilm

Trivia:

This production represents the only time that the three great British theatrical knights, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson all appeared together on screen. As their characters appear to be fictional, and all have names which begin with "Pf", this does not appear to be fortuitous casting, but a deliberate whim of the director. The three knights were all in the casts of Richard III (1955) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), but they were never together on screen at the same time in those films.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Ludwig is wading into the water to drown himself, automobiles are seen driving on a highway on the far shore.

Unedited it works much better

I quickly bought the 300 minute version listed here when it first came available. Although I love Wagner and his music I almost couldn't get through the tapes. Terrible stuff. How could they do this? Then I found the answer.

The original mini-series was 9 hours long. They cut FOUR HOURS out of the story. I've seen the whole series and now I can say -- GREAT STUFF. Well, if your a Wagner fan to begin with, that is. It really is MUCH better than the edited version.

I hope I never get an enemy so evil I want to give them my 300 minute Wagner tape set. I hope I find a real friend who will buy me the 9 hour version as a gift!