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Wagner & Me Photos

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Movie Info

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.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Patrick McGrady
Producer:

Patrick McGrady
Release Date (Theaters):

Dec 7, 2012 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Apr 17, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA):

$37.7K
Runtime:

1h 29m

Cast & Crew

Patrick McGrady
Director

Patrick McGrady
Producer

Lucy Ward
Executive Producer

Adam Barker
Executive Producer

John Marshall
Executive Producer

News & Interviews for Wagner & Me

Critics Consensus: Playing for Keeps Misses the Mark

View All

Critic Reviews for Wagner & Me

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (3)

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.

January 24, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4

Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
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.

December 11, 2012 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Ty Burr
Boston Globe
In addition to the magnificent music, the movie takes its rumpled charm from Fry's unfeigned fanboy manner.

December 7, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Farran Smith Nehme
New York Post
The director, Patrick McGrady, gracefully alternates interviews and biographical passages with stirring lyrical musical sequences.

December 6, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Andy Webster
New York Times
Even those impervious to Wagner's music will find it difficult to resist Fry's charm.

December 6, 2012 | Full Review…

Ronnie Scheib
Variety
An exuberant and deeply personal documentary about the allure and the legacy of the German composer's work.

December 6, 2012 | Full Review…

Stephanie Zacharek
NPR
It's a film that warrants being added to your personal collection if you are a devotee of Wagner.

September 26, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0 | Full Review…

Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Through the infectious enthusiasm of host Stephen Fry [the film] might even light the flame for others unfamiliar with Wagner.

December 7, 2012 | Rating: 7.1/10 | Full Review…

Maryann Koopman Kelly
Paste Magazine
The composer has no better advocate than Fry.

December 6, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com
Highly entertaining and informative exploration of the great, if undeniably difficult, composer Richard Wagner.

December 6, 2012 | Full Review…

David Noh
Film Journal International
The conundrum of a love of music tainted with Nazism.

March 2, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Don Groves
sbs.com.au