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Wagner & Me

Country: UK, Language: English, 89 mins

  • Director: Patrick McGrady
  • Writer: Patrick McGrady
  • Producer: Adam Barker; Astrid Heidenreich

CGiii Comment

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...

The(ir) Blurb...

Actor and writer Stephen Fry explores his passion for the world's most controversial composer - Richard Wagner. But Stephen is Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust, so can he salvage the music he loves from its dark association with anti-semitism and the Nazis? Shot on location in Germany, Switzerland and Russia, the film includes unique behind-the-scenes access to the Bayreuth Festival, the annual extravaganza of Wagner's music held in the composer's own purpose built theatre. Animated by Stephen Fry's trademark wit and intelligence, and featuring a soundtrack of Wagner's extraordinary music, this is a fantastic introduction to the life and legacy of one of the most important composers ever, and a must-see film for those who already know and love his music.

Cast & Characters

Stephen Fry as Himself - Presenter