The Magic Flute (1975)

The Queen of the Night offers her daughter Pamina to Tamino, but he has to bring her back from her father and priest Sarastro. She gives a magic flute to Tamino and magic bells to the bird ... See full summary »

Director:

Ingmar Bergman (uncredited)

Writers:

Emanuel Schikaneder (libretto), Ingmar Bergman (screenplay)

Stars:

Ulrik Cold, Josef Köstlinger, Irma Urrila

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

The Queen of the Night offers her daughter Pamina to Tamino, but he has to bring her back from her father and priest Sarastro. She gives a magic flute to Tamino and magic bells to the bird hunter Papageno, who follows Tamino and wants to find a wife. The duo travels in a journey of love and knowledge.

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Plot Keywords:

magical instrument | flute | priest | journey | queen | 

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Taglines:

We only see Bergman, we only hear Mozart

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

1 January 1975 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Magic Flute

Filming Locations:

Drottningholm Castle Theater, Drottningholm Castle, Drottningholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

$650,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sveriges Radio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #71.

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Crazy Credits

There are no onscreen credits in this film, other than the title.

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Connections

Version of The Magic Flute (1978)

User Reviews

One of my favourite ever opera films

Of all of Mozart's operas, I cannot decide which is my favourite out of Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro(Le Nozze Di Figaro) and Magic Flute(Die Zauberflote), though I have a fondness for Cosi Fan Tutte too. I love the stories and characters of these operas, and the music in all of Mozart's operas(even those with stories not as strong such Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail) is magnificent.

I have seen several opera productions, and a number of opera films. My favourite opera films prior to seeing this Magic Flute were the 1976 Tosca, Losey's Don Giovanni, Zeffirelli's La Traviata, Rossi's Carmen, Ponelle's Le Nozze Di Figaro and Ponelle's Rigoletto. I saw this Magic Flute for two primary reasons, one that Magic Flute is one of my favourite operas, and the other being the great Ingmar Bergman.

The Magic Flute didn't disappoint. Bergman's direction was accomplished as always, the cinematography was gorgeous and the largely symbolic images looked amazing and enhanced the compelling story. The only ones that didn't quite work for me were the shots of the audience in the overture, which were a little distracting and unnecessary for me. The sets are suitably lavish and the costumes while different than one would expect are good.

As for the orchestral playing and conducting, they were superb, with the orchestra playing with power and clarity, and the conducting rock-solid with well-judged tempos. The acting and singing are very good generally, the best being Hakan Hagegard's hilarious Papagaeno and Birgit Nordin's imperiously chilling Queen of the Night. Josef Kostlinger is excellent as Tamino too, which is surprising in a sense since I have often come across some dashing, beautifully-sung but very bland tenors in the role.

Irma Urrila is very poignant as Pamina, and the three ladies and three boys are very well blended. Ulrik Cold's Sarastro is firm in the acting, but part of me would have liked a darker and perhaps more powerful voice, but he does do very well. Ragnar Ulfung's Monosatos is rather over-played for my liking.

As for staging, I liked it, especially the two trials and the delightful Papagaeno-Papagaena duet. The decision to especially move Papagaeno's second aria to the second trial was actually a very good one. Only the first scene with the dragon struck a false note with me, the dragon looked decent but Kothlinger's acting could've been much more panicked.

Overall, despite the few flaws I had with it, it is a great film and one of my favourites to do with opera. 9/10 Bethany Cox