A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Mozart's Great melodic & poignant + highly-entertaining Work 'the Magic Flute' perfectly encapsulates the eternal struggle to resist the powers of darkness and ignorance and eventually persevere towards revealing a path in the direction of authentic 'light' (comprising knowledge, compassion + harmony).Mozart's Opera 'the Magic Flute' premiered just 2-months and a few days before his terribly-premature death in 1791.  The authentically-powerful 'Light' at foundation of his immortal Opera is to be found within Mozart's ingenious, sublimely-beautiful melodies, harmonies & rhythms deeply impacting the Listener (no matter what age), gifting all of us with a priceless glimpse into a much 'better' (more perfected) World.Ingmar Bergman staged and filmed this Cinematic version of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" circa1975. Bergman meticulously recreates staging of the Opera at The Drottningholm Palace Theatre with an all Swedish cast, sung in Swedish instead of original German Language with artistic cinematography by stalwart Sven Nykvist.Bergman also includes within this film an unusual mix of 'Live' staging and numerous 'reaction' shots of audience members plus backstage activity and interaction of actors at intermission.  The actor/singers bring genuine 'Life' to their respective roles, particular the Lovers: Tamino (Josef Köstlinger) & Pamina (Irma Urrila) with expertly wielded comic-relief by Papageno (Håkan Hagegård), and unforgettable-presence of Ulrik Gold as 'Sarastro'  Bergman's meticulously-selected cast of memorable & highly-charismatic actors really grows on you as this opera progresses..... making you genuinely care about the ultimate outcomes of these characters' trials & tribulations along with their poignant hopes for redemption, and aspirations for finding true Love!  Ingmar Bergman's slightly eccentric but emotionally-resonant and entertaining Cinematic version of Mozart's brilliantly melodic & poignant Opera is highly-recommended.

The core element of "The Magic Flute," Mozart's Masonic-inflected opera, passes over the head of most members of any audience and rendering it in Swedish would make it stranger except for Ingmar Bergman's undoubted cinematic genius and Mozart's astounding music. Who knew that there were so many beautiful Swedish opera stars? All of the major roles are taken by accomplished singers and Hakan Hagegard and Elizabeth Erikson may be the cutest Papageno and Papagena ever. Preposterous stories are more usual than not in opera. "The Magic Flute" might be the prototype. But the music is sublime and the astounding "vengeance" aria by the Queen of the Night (Birgit Nordin) is possibly the most difficult piece ever written for a soprano. Bergman makes the plot more accessible than it usually is. And he allows the marvelous but lengthy overture to speak for itself by focusing the camera on closeups of members of the audience (including Bergman himself, Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman). And again and again on a beautiful pre-teen girl, enraptured by the music.I haven't seen many filmed versions of "The Magic Flute," which is usually sung in German and occasionally in English. But, given the obscure nature of the plot, it works as well in Swedish (with English subtitles) as in any other language. This is the version to see.

Ingmar Bergman's 1975 film/TV version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Magic Flute (Trollflöjten) is a serviceable film, and nothing that really takes advantage of either of its media- opera and film, to its fullest; although it begs the question as to why it was ever made? It is basically a filmed version of the play (although the singing was recorded beforehand and looped in to the film, thus allowing the actors to emote without worrying of their singing)- replete with shots of a gawking audience, but very little new is added to the tale. Yes, it's sung in Swedish, and there are a few minor changes, such as the sorcerer Sarastro being Pamina's father- which adds a tinge of Bergmanian and Freudian angst to the opera, and a few scenes being reordered, but overall it's the same familiar tale.While watching it I wondered what such a film of Swan Lake, by Federico Fellini, would have been like. Doubtless, it would have been more over the top than this production, but that fact only reinforces my query as to why film this opera the way it is filmed? Yes, Bergman is almost as famed as a stage director as he is a film director, and there are some scenes of 'backstage' antics- especially during a several minute long Intermission, where the actor playing Sarastro, Ulrik Cold- his real name, is shown reading the score of another opera, Parsifal, and another actor is reading a Donald Duck comic book, but the tale itself is rather straightforward, and at two hours and fifteen minutes, a bit too long, even if abridged from the over three hours of the opera; although one can go to the bathroom and not miss much of what is going on…. Overall, however, The Magic Flute succeeds as a film not because of Bergman's considerable skills in his art form, nor the acting skills of his cast, but because of their singing skills, and the music of Mozart. That one great artist, at his height, can aid another great artist, at less than his height, is nothing to be ashamed of, but it does make for a rather average viewing experience, something quite rare when that artist is named Ingmar Bergman.

i had heard much about ingmar bergman's magic flute on film and had wanted to see it for a while. what better opportunity then, to rent it as an intro to opera for a classical-music-neophyte-friend. the answer is: nay! trollfloetjen - in Swedish, which quelled my instinct to sing along with every Sarastro aria - is a product of its time, the mid 70's. while it is a fine adaptation of the opera for film, it's more cute than anything else, the imagery would serve your children very well. it is rather straight-forward mozart/schikaneder - only that the snake in scene i act i became an adorable dragon (not very fearsome, but very cute, actually!) and the first encounter of monostatos with papageno is acted quite in opposite to the words. (only papageno is afraid, rather than the mutual fear of the 'other'...)only bergman's skill can keep the whole venture from slipping into the campy... barely. act three, however, has some of the most arresting imagery to offer that you can hope for from opera on film: the ballett dancers enacting a Dante-esque inferno in the fire-test for tamino is stunning and actually quite disturbing. the water test is almost as effective... and the onslaught of the queen of the night's army makes for another juicy scene.to introduce yourself or especially your youngens to this so charming opera, you could not pick something better. for yourself, knowing the work well, or knowing bergman's work well, you might be a little disappointed. new insights are not likely gained. a DVD of an opera production might be more satisfying then!