Wagner & Me

Wagnerians are a curious breed...some would call them gluttons for punishment - this film is indeed a curiosity...and, a punishment.

To watch a renowned Humanist declare himself to be Jewish and enthuse over the work of a notorious anti-Semite is, not just perplexing, but...baffling...

Mr Fry, we do utterly love you, but...it's all a little creepy: Here it is, my hand is on the door...I touched a Wagner...CREEPY...and, childlike.

Bayreuth is elitism - pebble-dashed with Nazism...still and always.

Bayreuth, for years , was under the leadership of Winifred Wagner, the English-born daughter-in-law of the composer, wife to his homosexual son and, close chums with Hitler - there was even talk of marriage between this odd couple. These are some of the well-known facts that this film failed to mention...the omissions are too numerous and mountainous to mention.

The final interview with an Auschwitz survivor is excruciating - a failed endorsement...she basically tells him...instead of going to Bayreuth, listen to a record.

Mr Fry, even with your intellect, you have failed - miserably - to justify your attendance at Bayreuth - it is as if you have pissed against the Wailing Wall itself.

We are truly disappointed.

The lunatic has, indeed, taken over the asylum.

Trailer...