The Magic Flute - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Magic Flute



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Ever since Mozart’s final opera piece The Magic Flute first was shown in 1791 it has become a sort of a holy grail Operatic piece for music lovers everywhere, giving birth to countless stories, stage plays, and even a 1975 Swedish fantasy take with Ingrid Bergman starring. And of course the very weird English version directed by Kenneth Branagh set during the first World War. Now Shout Factory is releasing the 2022 version from Florian Sigl (who both wrote and directed this adaptation) which uses a much more modern “in two worlds” fantasy take on the classic Opera.

The story follows young Tim Walker (Jack Wolfe) as he goes to the Austrian Alps to attend the legendary Mozart academy musical boarding school. The boy is struggling with the loss (or near loss) of his father, and in his wallowing of self pity and pain stumbles upon a long thought lost passageway through his father’s book of “The Magic Flute” that transports him to the world of the story. There he is tasked by the Lady of the night (played Sabine Devieilhe, an acclaimed opera singer who has played the same role with the Royal Opera of London. Her singing is absolutely the highlight of the film) to rescue her daughter, leading the boy out on the adventure of his life.

The 18th century creation is translated loosely into English and turned more into a “The CW” esque angsty teen drama instead of a magical adventure. The elfin looking Jack Wolfe does a good job as Tim, but most of the songs are given a more modern Pop tone to them instead of classic Opera. About the only true Operatic bits come from the Lady of the Nigh herself, as her classical training shines through with gusto.

The story leaps back and forth between Tim’s struggles in the real world, and the realm of the Opera, in a sort of herky jerky manner that leaves both sides wanting. I liked the allegorical nature of the fantasy epic, with its flowery language and habit of dropping into song at a moment’s notice. There’s some absolutely amazing period set pieces and costuming there, but the CGI can be a bit cheap looking too (which is kind of to be expected, this was a low budget foreign musical, not a Hollywood blockbuster). The bits in the real world is much more of a traditional coming of age story, but also sets it apart from all of the other adaptations as well. The two have a hard time meshing together and while it’s fun to see F. Murray Abraham in the film (as a nod to him playing opposite Mozart in Amadeus), the veteran actor is barely in the film at all, and leaves a bit of a dry taste in your mouth even at the end.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Shout Factory’s Blu-ray release of The Magic Flute is quite nice, with a digitally shot production finished in 2K, and looking rather sparkly clean in it’s 2.39:1 AVC transfer. The digitally shot film is glossy and shiny, with a sort of warm haze over the entire film. The bits in the “real” world are sepia based, with warm highlights and very strong detail levels. The world inside of the Magic Flute are more natural looking, with really bright and vivid colors, with incredibly brilliant reds of the king, or the pastel tones of the Lady’s dress. Darker bits come and go, and show a little bit of the typical banding with heavy CGI use. All in all, a good image.









Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is rich and varied, showing good simple front heavy audio for much of the real world bits, while expanding out with the incredible songs of the Opera on the other side. Surrounds are active at various times, ranging from backing rumble to the crowded classrooms at the boarding school, to the hubbub of a Bazaar as our heroes make their escape from the guards. Subs fill out the music nicely, but for the most part are rather subdued when the musical numbers are put away. Again, like the video, nothing that’s going to awe and amaze you, but a technically well done track that really shines when the singing starts.












Extras:

• The Making of The Magic Flute
• Visual Effects Presentation
• A Visit to the Premiere
• Previews

Final Score: ​

The Magic Flute is interesting, but ultimately a rather tame and tepid rendition of the legendary Opera’s story. Out of all the Magic Flute interpretations, the best is easily the Ingrid Bergman variation, and not by a small margin. Shout Factory’s Blu-ray looks and sounds very nice though, with a mild smattering of extras thrown in for good measure. The Magic Flute isn’t a bad film, but it is odd with it’s tone and rather timid in scope. Rental in my personal opinion.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Iwan Rheon, Greg Wise, Jack Wolfe, Jeanne Goursaud, Niamh McCormack
Directed by: Florian Sigl
Written by: Andrew Lowery, Florian Sigl, Jason Young
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 124 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 16th, 2023

Recommendation: Decent Rental

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will see if I can find it on streaming.