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Wagner & Me

Play trailer Poster for Wagner & Me 2012 1h 29m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Actor-writer Stephen Fry explores his passion for the works of controversial composer Richard Wagner and tries to separate his love for the music from its associations with anti-Semitism and Nazi Germany.

Critics Reviews

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Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 01/24/2013
3.5/4
Ultimately, the music that Fry first heard as a child "on my father's gramophone" comes first for him, and much of the pleasure of "Wagner & Me" is that Fry lets us see how art transforms him. Go to Full Review
Ty Burr Boston Globe 12/11/2012
2/4
The passion that Fry and company feel for Wagner's work keeps them from the measured appraisal this film needs. They hear him, but they don't see him. Go to Full Review
Farran Smith Nehme New York Post 12/07/2012
3/4
In addition to the magnificent music, the movie takes its rumpled charm from Fry's unfeigned fanboy manner. Go to Full Review
Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com 09/26/2020
3.5/4.0
It's a film that warrants being added to your personal collection if you are a devotee of Wagner. Go to Full Review
Maryann Koopman Kelly Paste Magazine 12/07/2012
7.1/10
Through the infectious enthusiasm of host Stephen Fry [the film] might even light the flame for others unfamiliar with Wagner. Go to Full Review
Kent Turner Film-Forward.com 12/06/2012
3/4
The composer has no better advocate than Fry. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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05/16/2014 Wagner's dark side leaves Fry, both a Jew and classical music fanatic, torn in his super-fandom of Wagner. In Wagner & Me Fry explores this conflict while visiting the sites of Wagner's greatest musical triumphs and discussing it with historians, musicians and family members. See more 04/10/2014 A wonderful introduction to Wagner's opera and his life's work. See more 12/30/2012 Anything with Stephen Fry is worth watching. This is a wonderful look at Wagner, his beautiful music, his place in history, and a gay, Jewish man's conflicted feelings over his love of music that has been associated with anti-antisemitism and the Nazis. See more 12/11/2012 [?/12] Stephen Fry könnte von mir aus auch das Telefonbuch von Oer-Erkenschwick vortragen - es wäre trotzdem herzergreifend. :) See more 10/28/2012 A pleasant little documentary about Wagner and the taint that Hitler's love of Wagner's music has stained it with for many. Could have been either more substantial or shorter, but Fry is always pleasant to "hang out with." See more 10/21/2012 You can really feel Frey's passion for Wagner. I'm not sure I'm quite as big as he is in forgiving Wagner's anti-Semitic sentiments because the music is bigger than the man. The music came out of the man and the man was a card carrying nazi. Maybe he didn't kill anyone but hitter probably didn't physically kill anyone either. See more Read all reviews
Wagner & Me

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Actor-writer Stephen Fry explores his passion for the works of controversial composer Richard Wagner and tries to separate his love for the music from its associations with anti-Semitism and Nazi Germany.
Director
Patrick McGrady
Producer
Patrick McGrady
Distributor
First Run
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 7, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 17, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA)
$37.7K
Runtime
1h 29m