The Magic Flute Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Magic Flute Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson June 6, 2023

Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute, 1791) is widely considered the most popular opera in history. In fact, as Bergman scholar Peter Cowie notes in an interview on the Criterion Blu-ray of the 1975 Swedish adaptation, the opera was performed 200 times in the four years following its initial premiere. In his feature debut, director Florian Sigl has overseen a contemporary retelling that combines fantasy and adventure with music-school drama and teen romance. Sigl and his three co-writers have added a modern story that takes place at the fictitious Mozart International School in the Austrian Alps. The movie opens in a London hospital where 17-year-old Tim Walker (Jack Wolfe) is tending to his father, James (Greg Wise), who's unfortunately on his deathbed. It is the dying wish of James, an alum of Mozart School, that his son return a rare manuscript of Die Zauberflöte to the music conservatory where he "borrowed" it. After Tim, a tenor, arrives at the school, he's given a hard time about his singing voice and general musical aptitude by the headmaster, Dr. Longbow (F. Murray Abraham). Tim is trying out for the part of Prince Tamino in a school production of The Magic Flute but it seems that he won't get it. As he's flipping through his father's manuscript in the middle of the night, three spirits leap out of the text. Tim follows them to the library where he places the book on a shelf. This opens a gateway to a magical portal where Tim is transported to the Egyptian desert centuries ago. He's chased by a gigantic and long serpent. Lady Azure (Jeanne Goursaud), Lady Scarlet (Jasmin Shakeri), and Lady Hazel (Larissa Sirah Herden) are there to protect Tim and to deter the oversized snake. Tim is also aided by pipe-playing Papageno (Iwan Rheon), a bird catcher with an effervescent personality. Tim learns that within this alternate universe, he truly is Prince Tamino. He's brought to the Queen of the Night (Sabine Devieilhe), who instructs him to save her daughter, the luscious Princess Pamina (Asha Banks), from the supposedly evil Sarastro (Morris Robinson). The partially disfigured Monostatos (Astefan Konarske) proves to be more of an obstacle in rescuing the princess for Tim than Monostatos's boss, Lord Sarastro.

The Magic Flute (2022) differs in many respects to Ingmar Bergman's "filmed opera." Bergman somewhat frequently acknowledges the theatre's audience and the proscenium arch of his stage production. The Swedish auteur sticks closely to the original opera and whittles material down that slows the narrative's pacing. Sigl creates a duo-verse in two different time periods. The present has a setting akin to Hogwarts School. There's the Malfoy-inspired bully Anton Milanesi (Amir Wilson), the spoiled son of a renowned opera performer (Rolando Villazón). Sigl's version certainly has more abridgments of Mozart's pieces than Bergman's as the recent film opts for an original score by Martin Stock to counterpoint the arias.

Sigl and his scribes add an unnecessary romantic subplot involving Tim and Sophie (Niamh McCormack), who the young lad meets on the train. Although the romance between Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina isn't well-developed in the alternate world, it works better than the coupling of Tim and Sophie. Another subplot that's under-cooked is the one with Tim's roommate, Paolo (Elliot Courtiour), who's longing to hear back from a friend. Generally, characterization is somewhat lacking in the modern story. Furthermore, Sarastro is given short shrift compared to a more expanded role Bergman gives him in his film. Pamina even calls him "father" in the Swede's rendition. That aspect isn't conveyed well in the recent version.

Still, The Magic Flute (2022) is a highly polished production with stellar work engineered by Pixomondo, a reputable VFX firm. It's also a welcome sight to have two opera stars in the ancient story. Sabine Devieilhe, who says she's also portrayed the Queen of the Night on stage, does a remarkable job of singing one of the arias in D minor. The basso profondo Morris Robinson has a voice like James Earl Jones and makes the most of his limited screen time.

The Magic Flute Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout! Studios' spring release of The Magic Flute has arrived in a Blu-ray + DVD combo that comes with a shiny slipcover. The movie appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (disc size: 40.65 GB; feature size: 36.15 GB). I saw the film at my local cinema over the winter projected in 4K and this downsampled transfer retains a largely faithful replication of my theatrical experience. Cinematographer Peter Matjasko shot the picture using one of the Arri Alexa cameras. The DI for the The Magic Flute was probably finished at 4K. The movie was shot on Bavarian soundstages and in Mozart's hometown of Salzburg, Austria, which includes the city's Schloss Leopoldskron (a palace). This resplendent transfer looks healthy and clean with no artifacts. Detail on faces is excellent (see Screenshot #s 15-19). Shout! has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of 34.80 Mbps.

A dozen scene selections accompany the 115-minute film.

The Magic Flute Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (2276 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (2060 kbps, 24-bit). The Magic Flute was originally mixed in Dolby Atmos so it's disappointing that Shout! didn't bother to include it. (I hope to see Atmos mixes on many future UHD and Blu-ray releases from Shout!) Notwithstanding that omission, the uncompressed 5.1 track is outstanding. Bass is amped up when the great serpent is introduced. When ballads are performed, singing voices are carried by the front speakers while the surround channels anchor the instrumentation. The DTS HD-MA 5.1 delivers a terrific balance to the songs. "Long Live Sarastro" and "Queen of the Sun" each sound regal. The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg does a tremendous job with all the pieces. The piano duet by Jack Wolfe and Niamh McCormack of The Jackson Five's "I'll Be There" is the non-Mozart standout on the sound track.

Some of the dialogue is occasionally hard to discern so I switched on the English SDH. It delivers a complete transcription of the libretto.

The Magic Flute Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making-of Featurette (5:22, 1080p) - this featurette about The Magic Flute was produced for the German market. Excerpts from the movie contain the German dub. Speaking in English for the interview snippets are: Jack Wolfe, F. Murray Abraham, Niamh McCormack, Amir Wilson, Elliot Courtiour, Asha Banks, Iwan Rheon, and Sabine Devieilhe. Florian Sigl, Tedros Teclebrhan, Stefan Konarske, and Rolando Villazón talk in German. Oddly, Shout! did not translate or provide English sub for the German bits. The piece also shows some B-roll footage.

• Visual Effects Breakdown (4:11, 1080p) - a compilation of scenes from The Magic Flute that show the process of how effects were added. This featurette displays the originally filmed footage, green screens, 3D animation (i.e., photogrammetry), and the finished shots.

• Trailers (5:42, 1080p) - three trailers for The Magic Flute: a home video trailer and two theatrical trailers. They're presented in 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (448 kbps).

The Magic Flute Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was underwhelmed by The Magic Flute (2022) when I first saw it in the theater in the middle of winter. I flirted with giving it either a 2.5/5.0 or 3.0/5.0. However, my second viewing made me appreciate how well-rounded it is. For instance, I forgot that Sigl added some scenes outside the Mozart School, which I thought it could use to give some breathing space from the cramped school halls. While the movie is not artistically comparable to Bergman's version, it is enjoyable family entertainment. Shout! Studios delivers impressive video and audio presentations. Extras are all EPK. A WARM RECOMMENDATION for this very different incarnation of Mozart's most famous opera.