F. Murray Abraham is back with Mozart. Nearly 40 years ago, the actor played Antonio Salieri, the rival to Mozart in Amadeus. His character was strict, disciplined and devoted to God as the composer to the court of Emperor Joseph II in Vienna. He loses his cool when he discovers the more talented Mozart is unruly and hedonistic. He makes a vow to destroy Mozart since his existence mocks his righteous life. While we remember Mozart’s work and dismissed the music of Salieri, Abraham won the Oscar for Best Actor over Tom Hulce’s performance as Mozart. Now Abraham is back in the world of Mozart. He plays the head of a school dedicated to the music of Mozart in The Magic Flute. The film isn’t a straightforward depiction of the Opera. We are taken into a fantastical world where the music comes alive in a way that can’t quite be done on a stage.
Tim Walker (Shadow and Bone‘s Jack Wolfe) is at his deathly ill father’s hospital room. While it’s a sad occasion, the father is proud that his son will be going to a music school dedicated to Mozart in the mountains. The dad had attended the school and has a simple request. The son needs to return a book he’d “borrowed” from the library all those years ago. The rare tome contains Mozart’s working papers for his opera The Magic Flute. School starts out nice during the train trip when he meets fellow student Sophie (Niamh McCormack). His dream of being that star pupil is crushed when Dr. Longbrow (F. Murray Abraham) has him sing in front of the class. The headmaster rips him a new one for his approach to Mozart’s lyrics. During the night, Tim sneaks into the library to return the book like he promised his dad. Things get complicated when the shelves take him into a different world. Tim finds himself in a desert being chased by a giant snake. After the fight, Tim finds himself joining forces with the comical Papageno (Game of Thrones‘ Iwan Rheon). Their success with the snake leads The Queen of the Night (Opera star Sabine Devieilhe) to seek their help to rescue her daughter Pamina (Asha Banks) from the evil Sarastro (Opera star Morris Robinson). Is Tim able to be a hero and keep up his studies?
The Magic Flute does a great job of merging a boarding school story with Mozart’s opera. The songs are sung in English so viewers can listen to the lyrics instead of reading translated subtitles. You’ll want to turn up the volume to appreciate the symphonic moments. There’s also a non-opera musical performance between Tim and Sophie performing the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” (written by Berry Gordy, Hal Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West and Willie Hutch).
The actors are able to handle a film that takes place in two realms without looking out of place. F. Murray Abraham brings the right amount of baggage as the gatekeeper of Mozart’s legacy. This seems to be Salieri’s punishment for what he did to his rival in Amadeus. The special effects are stunning and work with the music instead of merely confuse and dazzle us. One of the producers of the film is Roland Emmerich who directed Godzilla, Stargate, Independence Day and Moonfall so he knows how to make the effects look stunning on the screen. The effects don’t overwhelm the story or the source material. The movie pulls off blending a modern story with the classic music. The Magic Flute is an inviting cinematic introduction to Mozart’s opera.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out the magic on the screen as Tim becomes part of the opera. The audio is 5.1 Surround DTS-HD MA and 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD MA. The surround really clicks when the cast and the orchestra bring to life Mozart’s music. The subtitles are in English.
DVD has the film and bonus features.
The Making of The Magic Flute (5:22) takes us inside the adapting Mozart’s opera to a fantasy epic. The clips feature the German dub of the film. The cast is from around the globe with backgrounds as actors, comics and opera singers. There’s a lot of magic in the film.
Visual Effects Presentation (4:11) gives away how the glowing orbs were created on the set. We get a complete breakdown of how the giant snake attack happens.
A Visit to the Premiere (1:18) has the young cast show up to see film debut at an opera house in Munich.
Trailers (5:42) are three trailers that tell us how Tim got lost in the music.
Shout! Factory presents The Magic Flute. Directed by Florian Sigl. Screenplay by Andrew Lowery. Starring Jack Wolfe, Iwan Rheon, F. Murray Abraham, Amir Wilson, Stéfi Celma, Teddy Teclebrhan, Niamh McCormack, Sabine Devieilhe, Morris Robinson & Rolando Villazón. Running Time: 124 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Release Date: May 16, 2023.
