| | |  | AUSTRIA | Home » » Wagner - The Complete Epic | | | | | | | Description: | | Over a hundred years after his death, Richard Wagner remains an enigma. His was a rags-to-riches saga with a fairy tale ending. He was loved, yet hated; admired, yet despised. He was a heroic villian who was worshipped and whose fame and exploits were the gossip of Europe. Above all, he was an incurable romantic whose affair with Liszt's illegitimate daughter rivals that of Romeo and Juliet. But he was also a dangerous political revolutionary whose influence penetrated the fabric of German society in the nineteenth century. He was a legend in his own lifetime, and he was one of the greatest composers to ever live. Only an actor of the stature of Richard Burton could measure up to the titanic character of Wagner, and this proved to be his final film role. Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave co-stars as Cosima, Wagner's second wife, a woman who had a dramatic impact on German history until her death in 1930. The incredible supporting cast also includes screen legend Sir Laurence Olivier. Filmed in wide screen 35mm Dolby Stereo, this major drama production is one of the largest East West coproductions ever undertaken. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Vanessa Redgrave, László Gálffi, John Gielgud | | Format:
| Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Subtitle:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 4 | | Studio:
| Kultur Video | | Run Time:
| 540 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| April 26, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 44 reviews |
| | | | Used and New: | | | |
| All | |
| $89.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $98.50+ $4.59 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $98.50+ $4.59 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $98.50+ $4.34 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $319.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | |
| New | |
| $319.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | |
| Used | |
| $89.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $98.50+ $4.59 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $98.50+ $4.59 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $98.50+ $4.34 *Shipping | Used
- Good | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 44 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
135 of 141 found the following review helpful:
 The mini-series IS definitely uncut on this DVD!Sep 23, 2005
By Volker Wehrkamp-Lemke
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.)
92 of 96 found the following review helpful:
Wagner, The Complete EpicNov 02, 2000
By Mark Marcus
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.
54 of 59 found the following review helpful:
 complete but...Sep 29, 2005
By Ballet Boy
"Isis14"
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
24 of 25 found the following review helpful:
A film no less a Wagnerian operaDec 13, 2005
By Breyel
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.
24 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 A Great Epic Destroyed by Poor ManufacturingJun 04, 2005
By Eugene Parisi III
I recently purchased the Wagner epic on DVD. It seems as though the manufacturers are sloppy these days. The sleeves on the DVD cases indicate that DVD's 1 & 2 contain parts 1 - 5 of the movie when the labels on DVD's 1 & 2 indicate 1 - 3 and 1 - 6, respectively!
Another troublesome finding is that the total the number of minutes of the epic, including credits, is 470 minutes and not the 540 minutes as advertised.
The most important thing of all -- I found it funny that scenes which I remembered from the VHS version were not on the DVD version so I performed a little experiment. I compared a few portions of the tapes to the DVD's and lo and behold discovered that parts were edited out! For example, those of you who are familiar with the epic will remember the part where Von Bulow is writing a letter to Cosima indicating that he wants to drink prussic acid. (This scene follows the one where Nietzsche is in the war against France and is sitting under a tree contemplating his Will to Power.) This scene is not on the DVD version. Another edited scene is where Wagner and Cosima are at dinner with Nietzsche who tells Wagner that there is published proof of his (Wagner's) insanity. (This scene follows the one where Wagner is at a Wagner Society meeting, rises from his chair and walks out onto the balcony. On the VHS version, the dinner scene follows; on the DVD version it is lost.)
These are just a few of the problems I found. I have no doubt there are more. I do not blame Amazon but I do blame Kultur for not having the quality control necessary to catch such inexcusable flaws in the production.
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