Trollflöjten (1975) (TV)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Writers:

Emanuel Schikaneder (libretto)
Ingmar Bergman (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 January 1975 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

We only see Bergman, we only hear Mozart

Plot:

The Queen of the Night offers his daughter Pamina to Tamino, but he has to bring her back from her father and priest Sarastro...

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Journey | Queen | Filmed Opera | Bird Catcher

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Josef Köstlinger	...	Tamino
Irma Urrila	...	Pamina
Håkan Hagegård	...	Papageno
Elisabeth Erikson	...	Papagena
Britt-Marie Aruhn	...	Första damen - First lady
Kirsten Vaupel	...	Andra damen
Birgitta Smiding	...	Tredje damen
Ulrik Cold	...	Sarastro
Birgit Nordin	...	Nattens Drottning
Ragnar Ulfung	...	Monostatos
Erik Sædén	...	Talaren
Ulf Johansson	...	Andra prästen - Second Priest
Gösta Prüzelius	...	Första prästen
Jerker Arvidson	...	Vakt i Prövningarnas Hus
Hans Johansson	...	Vakt i Prövningarnas Hus

Also Known As:

The Magic Flute (Europe: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Drottningholm Castle Theater, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Sveriges Radio

Trivia:

Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Sven Nykvist and Ingmar Bergman can all be seen in the audience during the Overture.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Last Alchemist, or How Wynn Albright Got His Comeuppance (2004)

Probably the greatest movie of an opera ever

I first saw this movie when I was in my teens, and it was the first opera experience I truly loved. Since I now work in opera, that was ultimately a very important event in my life! Bergman manages to achieve the impossible--a perfect synthesis of drama and music, the visual and the aural. (Years ago someone told me he thought that opera--the art that combines drama with music--ended up by denigrating both forms, and I don't completely disagree with that.) But in this almost magical movie, all of the flaws inherent in the piece (and there are many--poor dramatic structure, confusing story line, nonsensical plot elements) are ironed out, or somehow don't matter. Visually, it's sumptuous, thanks to Sven Nykvist's usual gorgeous cinematography, and aurally it's quite pleasing, despite some pretty mediocre singing--but thanks to Bergman's genius, that doesn't matter, either. Because of his careful work with the singing actors, every intention and dramatic impulse is realized, all motivations are clear--something you never see on an opera stage. Of course, much of it is impossible on an opera stage.....Bergman can use close-ups where opera can't. And a little ways into the opera, one realizes that gradually, imperceptibly, the stage has "opened out", and we're on sets and in places that would never be possible in a theater. He makes it all work, seamlessly.

In a way, the beautiful 18th-century Drottningholm Court Theater is a secondary star--one can't imagine a more perfect place for this opera to be performed. But the real star (among the singer/actors, at least) is Håkan Hagegård. There is no more beautiful and charming (both physically and vocally) Papageno imaginable--he became an international opera star a few years later. He more than compensates for all the other weak vocal links in the cast.

You'll never see a better "Magic Flute" than this.