The Magic Flute (2006)

During World War I, in an unnamed country, a soldier named Tamino is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the supposedly evil Sarastro. But all is not as it seems.

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

Emanuel Schikaneder (libretto), Kenneth Branagh (adapted for the screen by)

Stars:

Joseph Kaiser, Amy Carson, Ben Davis

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Kaiser	...	Tamino
Amy Carson	...	Pamina
Ben Davis	...	Papageno (as Benjamin Jay Davis)
Silvia Moi	...	Papagena
René Pape	...	Sarastro
Lyubov Petrova	...	Queen of the Night
Tom Randle	...	Monostatos
Liz Smith	...	The Old Papagena
Teuta Koço	...	First Lady
Louise Callinan	...	Second Lady
Kim-Marie Woodhouse	...	Third Lady
William Dutton	...	First Boy
Luke Lampard	...	Second Boy
Jamie Manton	...	Third Boy
Rodney Clarke	...	First Officer

Storyline

During World War I, in an unnamed country, a soldier named Tamino is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the supposedly evil Sarastro. But all is not as it seems.

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Plot Keywords:

evil | queen | walking wounded | based on opera | mozart | 

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

A Flauta Mágica

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Idéale Audience, Peter Moores Foundation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of five films directed by Kenneth Branagh in which he does not appear. The others are A Midwinter's Tale (1995), As You Like It (2006), Thor (2011) and Cinderella (2015).

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Quotes

Papageno: [singing] A birdman's work is never done/ From crack of dawn to set of sun,/ In unrewarded servitude/ He labours to protect his brood. /I feed and train my chirping pets, /I lay down traps and cast out nets,/ I speak in fluent 'Pigeonese' /And charm the birds right off the trees.

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Crazy Credits

The overture to the opera is played both at the beginning and the end, but only at the end is it played over the film's credits.

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Connections

Version of NBC Television Opera Theatre: The Magic Flute (1956)

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Soundtracks

The Magic Flute
Based on the opera ("Die Zauberflöte") by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder
Musical Direction by James Conlon
English libretto and dialogue written by Stephen Fry
Performed by Joseph Kaiser, Amy Carson, Ben Davis, Silvia Moi,
René Pape, Lyubov Petrova, Tom Randle, Teuta Koço, Louise Callinan,
, Kim-Marie Woodhouse, Charne Rochford and many others, with Chamber Orchestra of Europe

User Reviews

Ken's Mozart

This is, if I counted correctly, the twelfth version of the Magic Flute to appear on film; this opera is now in the same category of classic as Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. I enjoyed it; it's just not a great version of Mozart's most beautiful opera. Having to follow Bergman's classic version of 1975 when he doesn't have Bergman's genius must have been a little nightmarish for Branagh. The First World War setting does nothing for our understanding of the opera's meaning: Sarastro is turned into a kind of apostle of peace amid the chaos and destruction of war, sort of a New Age Jesus. The Masonic symbolism is missing, Monostatos's part becomes pointless, there is very little theatricality in the production (strange when you think of Branagh's Shakespeare films, especially Hamlet).

The singers are almost all young and fresh. Benjamin Jay Davis impressed me as Papageno, Silvia Moi was pert as Papagena, and Lyubov Petrova was really hard-edged and fierce looking as the Queen of the Night. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe under James Conlon provided much of my pleasure.