The Magic Flute

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

70%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 23

65%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,293
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Movie Info

"The Magic Flute" takes place on the eve of World War I and unfolds as a young soldier waiting for the command to go to battle is transported into a twilight world between a dream and nightmare. He is sent on a deadly mission to rescue the daughter of the Queen of the Night from the dark lord Sarastro.

Cast

Joseph Kaiser
as Tamino
Amy Carson
as Pamina
Benjamin Jay Davis
as Papageno
Silvia Moi
as Papagena
Rene Pape
as Sarastro
Stephen Fry
Lyubov Petrova
as Queen of the Night
Tom Randle
as Monostatos
Liz Smith
as Old Papagena
Teuta Koco
as Three Ladies
Louise Callinan
as Three Ladies
Kim-Marie Woodhouse
as Three Ladies
Rodney Clarke
Chame Rochford
William Dutton
Luke Lampard
Jamie Manton
Peter Wedd
Keely Watson
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Critic Reviews for The Magic Flute

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (7)

  • The results are often fascinating (I love the duet of the Armed Men, sung by a chorus of faces animated out of a wall of sandbags), sometimes ludicrous and never boring.

    Mar 20, 2009 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Robert Everett-Green

    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic

  • In the end, love triumphs. In this movie, the music triumphs, proving again that a true masterpiece can survive all kinds of meddling.

    Mar 20, 2009 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    John Terauds

    Toronto Star
    Top Critic

  • A week is a long time in cinema. Last Friday saw Branagh being all but written off thanks to the ludicrous Sleuth. This week, he's hitting the high notes.

    Nov 30, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Charlotte O'Sullivan

    London Evening Standard
    Top Critic

  • A genial and good-natured production with much spectacle and entertainment to offer, and, like all of Branagh's classical revivals on celluloid, it manages to be high-minded and yet accessible.

    Nov 30, 2007 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • Despite the talent involved - Branagh is joined by Stephen Fry, who has written a new libretto - and the ambitious staging, this flute blows all right, but it's short on the magic.

    Nov 30, 2007 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Wendy Ide

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • A huge budget allows for spectacular CGI sequences and Branagh concocts some startlingly inspired ways to accompany Mozart's music in visuals.

    Nov 29, 2007 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Laura Bushell

    BBC.com
    Top Critic
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Audience Reviews for The Magic Flute

  • Jun 20, 2013
    In this adaptation of Mozart's classic opera, Tamino is fights for his love in World War I era trenches. Kenneth Brannagh, whose Shakespearean adaptations don't always use the advantages of film, makes up for it in this rendition of Mozart's opera. Visual effects abound in Brannagh's best imitation of Julie Taymor, and while some of them are effective, most of the visual stylings do little to advance the plot even though they're fun to look at. The acting and the singing are the real highlights of this film; many of the actors, particularly Benjamin Jay Davis, are able to satisfy the high demands of opera while focusing their work for the film. Overall, I enjoyed this film even though Brannagh is no Julie Taymor.
    Jim H Super Reviewer
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