#0000A/#71: BERGMAN, Ingmar: The Magic Flute (1975)

BERGMAN, Ingmar (Sweden)

The Magic Flute [1975]

Spine #0000A/Spine #71

Blu-ray

2000 synopsis

Ingmar Bergman puts his indelible stamp on Mozart's exquisite opera in this sublime rendering of one of the composer's best-loved works: a celebration of love, forgiveness, and the brotherhood of man. The Magic Flute (Trollflöjten) stars Josef Köstlinger as Tamino, the young man determined to rescue a beautiful princess from the clutches of parental evil. Criterion's edition features the film's glorious soundtrack in its original stereo format.

2018 synopsis

This scintillating screen version of Mozart’s beloved opera shows Bergman’s deep knowledge of music and his gift for expressing it in filmic terms. Casting some of Europe’s finest soloists — among them Josef Köstlinger, Ulrik Cold, Håkan Hagegård — the director lovingly recreated the baroque theater of the Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm to stage the story of the prince Tamino (Köstlinger) and his zestful sidekick Papageno (Hagegård), who seek to save a beautiful princess (Irma Urrila) from the clutches of evil. A celebration of love, forgiveness, and the brotherhood of man, The Magic Flute is considered by many to be the most exquisite opera film ever made.

135 minutes
Color

Stereo

in Swedish

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2000/2018

Director/Writers

Based on the opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.

Ingmar Bergman was 57 when he directed The Magic Flute.

Other Bergman films in the Collection:

#0000A/Eclipse Series 1: Crisis (1946)

#0000A/Eclipse Series 1: A Ship To India (1947)

#0000A/Eclipse Series 1: Port Of Call (1948)

#0000A/Eclipse Series 1: Thirst (1949)

#0000A/Eclipse Series 1: To Joy (1950)

#0000A/#613: Summer Interlude (1951)

#0000A: Waiting Women (1952)

#0000A/#412: Sawdust And Tinsel (1953)

#0000A/#614: Summer With Monika (1953)

#0000A: A Lesson In Love (1954)

#0000A: Dreams (1955)

#0000A/#237: Smiles Of A Summer Night (1955)

#0000A/#11: The Seventh Seal (1957)

#0000A/#139: Wild Strawberries (1957)

#0000A: Brink Of Life (1958)

#0000A/#537: The Magician (1958)

#0000A: The Devil’s Eye (1960)

#0000A/#321: The Virgin Spring (1960)

#0000A/#209: Through A Glass Darkly (1961)

#0000A/#211: The Silence (1963)

#0000A/#210: Winter Light (1963)

#0000A: All These Women (1964)

#0000A/#701: Persona (1966)

#0000A/#961: Shame (1968)

#0000A: Hour Of The Wolf (1968)

#0000A: The Passion Of Anna (1969)

#0000A: The Rite (1969)

#0000A: Fårö Document (1970)

#0000A: The Touch (1971)

#0000A/#101: Cries And Whispers (1972)

#0000A/#229: Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

#0000A: The Serpent’s Egg (1977)

#0000A/#60: Autumn Sonata (1978)

#0000A: Fårö Document 1979 (1979)

#0000A: From The Life Of The Marionettes (1980)

#0000A/#262: Fanny And Alexander — The Theatrical Version (1982)

#0000A/#263: Fanny And Alexander — The Television Version (1982)

#0000A/#264: Fanny And Alexander — The Making Of Fanny And Alexander (1982)

#0000A: After The Rehearsal (1984)

#0000A: Saraband (2003)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

#0000A: Essay by Alexander Chee.

#71: Six-page wraparound featuring an essay by Peter Cowie.

Commentary

None.

#0000A:

Interview 1

With Bergman, recorded in 1967 for Swedish television (4 minutes).

Interview 2

With film scholar Cowie on The Magic Flute, recorded in 2018 (18 minutes).

Tystnad! Tagning! Trollflöjten! (1975)

A documentary produced for Swedish television about the making of The Magic Flute (65 minutes).

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
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