List of films using the music of Richard Wagner

The following is a sortable list of cinema films which have music by Richard Wagner in their soundtracks (other than films of Wagner's operas themselves). Casual references (and use of the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin) are not included.

Wagner music in films

Film Year Director Music used from: Ref.
The Birth of a Nation 1915 D. W. Griffith "Ride of the Valkyries" [1]
The Viking 1928 Roy William Neill Parsifal, Flying Dutchman, Die Walküre [2]
Un Chien Andalou 1929 Luis Buñuel Tristan und Isolde [3]
L'Age d'Or 1930 Luis Buñuel Tristan und Isolde [3]
Murder! 1930 Alfred Hitchcock Tristan und Isolde [1]
City Streets 1931 Rouben Mamoulian Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg [2]
A Farewell to Arms 1932 Frank Borzage Tristan und Isolde [4]
The Scarlet Empress 1934 Josef von Sternberg "Ride of the Valkyries" [2]
R.A.F. 1935 John Betts "Ride of the Valkyries" [5]
Triumph of the Will 1935 Leni Riefenstahl Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, "Wach' auf" chorus, (act 3, scene 5) [6]
The Right to Live 1935 William Keighley Tristan und Isolde [2]
The Lion Man 1936 John P. McCarthy "Ride of the Valkyries" [2]
One Hundred Men and a Girl 1937 Henry Koster Lohengrin, prelude to act 3 [7]
Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars 1938 Frederick Stephani Parsifal [2]
Escape 1940 Mervyn LeRoy Tristan und Isolde ("Liebestod") [8]
The Great Dictator 1940 Charlie Chaplin Lohengrin, prelude [1][9]
Red River Valley 1941 Joseph Kane "Ride of the Valkyries", Rienzi [2]
Sullivan’s Travels 1941 Preston Sturges "Ride of the Valkyries" [2]
Secret Mission 1942 Harold French Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg [8]
Christmas Holiday 1944 Robert Siodmak Tristan und Isolde (Liebestod) [10]
Humoresque 1946 Jean Negulesco Tristan und Isolde, arranged by Franz Waxman. [9]
A Foreign Affair 1948 Billy Wilder Lohengrin, overture [11]
Unfaithfully Yours 1948 Preston Sturges Tannhäuser [9]
The Blue Gardenia 1953 Fritz Lang "Tristan und Isolde" [12]
Abismos de pasión 1954 Luis Buñuel Tristan und Isolde [13]
Magic Fire 1955 William Dieterle Ring Cycle [9]
Love in the Afternoon 1957 Billy Wilder Tristan und Isolde [11]
What's Opera, Doc? 1957 Chuck Jones Ring Cycle, Tannhäuser, The Flying Dutchman [1][9]
8½ 1963 Federico Fellini "Ride of the Valkyries" [14]
Sedmikrásky (Daisies) 1966 Věra Chytilová Götterdämmerung [15]
Patriotism 1966 Yukio Mishima Tristan und Isolde [16]
Mondo Trasho 1969 John Waters "Ride of the Valkyries" [14]
Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King 1972 Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin [17]
Ludwig (film) 1973 Luchino Visconti Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin [18]
Lisztomania 1975 Ken Russell Rienzi, Ring Cycle [19]
Winifred Wagner und die Geschichte des Hauses Wahnfried 1914–1975 1975 Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Ring Cycle [20]
Hitler: A Film from Germany 1977 Hans-Jürgen Syberberg Ring Cycle [21]
That Obscure Object of Desire 1977 Luis Buñuel "Ride of the Valkyries" [22]
The Boys from Brazil 1978 Franklin Schaffner Siegfried Idyll [23]
Seven Beauties 1975 Lina Wertmüller "Ride of the Valkyries" [24]
Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola "Ride of the Valkyries" [1][9]
Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979 Werner Herzog Das Rheingold [25]
The Blues Brothers 1980 John Landis "Ride of the Valkyries" [1][9]
Excalibur 1981 John Boorman Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, Götterdämmerung [1][9]
Wagner 1983 Tony Palmer Siegfried [1]
Détective 1985 Jean-Luc Godard Rienzi [26]
Come and See 1985 Elem Klimov Ride of the Valkyries [27]
The Running Man 1987 Paul Michael Glaser "Ride of the Valkyries" [28]
Romeo + Juliet 1996 Baz Luhrmann Tristan und Isolde, (Liebestod) [1]
24 Hour Party People 2002 Michael Winterbottom "Ride of the Valkyries" [29]
Birth 2004 Jonathan Glazer Die Walküre [9]
Jarhead 2005 Sam Mendes "Ride of the Valkyries" [30]
The New World 2006 Terrence Malick Das Rheingold [1][9]
Norbit 2007 Brian Robbins "Ride of the Valkyries" [1]
Bronson 2008 Nicolas Winding Refn Götterdämmerung, Das Rheingold [31]
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2008 David Fincher Tannhäuser, aria "Dich, teure Halle" [32]
Valkyrie 2008 Bryan Singer "Ride of the Valkyries" [33]
Watchmen 2009 Zack Snyder "Ride of the Valkyries" [34]
A Dangerous Method 2011 David Cronenberg Siegfried, Die Walküre [35]
Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier Tristan und Isolde [1][35]
Rango 2011 Gore Verbinski "Ride of the Valkyries" [36]
To the Wonder 2012 Terrence Malick Parsifal, prelude [37]
Nymphomaniac 2013 Lars von Trier Das Rheingold [38]
Florence Foster Jenkins 2016 Stephen Frears "Ride of the Valkyries" [39]
Alien: Covenant 2017 Ridley Scott Das Rheingold, Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla [40]
Promising Young Woman 2020 Emerald Fennell Tristan und Isolde [41]
Army of the Dead 2021 Zack Snyder Götterdämmerung [42]
Wrath of Man 2021 Guy Ritchie "Ride of the Valkyries" [43]
Army of Thieves 2021 Matthias Schweighöfer Götterdämmerung, Das Rheingold, Ride of the Valkyries, Siegfried [44]
Tár 2022 Todd Field Tannhäuser, overture [45]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sameer Rahim, "Wagner in film", The Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2013, accessed 15 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Ross (2020) p. 574.
  3. ^ a b Sangild (2015).
  4. ^ Ross (2020) pp. 574, 593.
  5. ^ Short, Kenneth R. M. (1997). Screening the Propaganda of British Air Power. Flicks Books. p. 2. ISBN 978-0948911439.
  6. ^ Strötgen (2008)
  7. ^ Joe and Gilman (2010), p. 442.
  8. ^ a b Ross (2020) p. 582.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jon Burlingame, "10 films that utilize Wagner's music", Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2010, accessed 17 August 2017.
  10. ^ Ross (2020), pp. 591–93.
  11. ^ a b Ross (2020) p. 590.
  12. ^ "The Blue Gardenia (1953) - Soundtracks - IMDb". IMDb.
  13. ^ Ross (2020) p. 596.
  14. ^ a b Ross (2020) p. 598.
  15. ^ Clouzot (1968), p. 36
  16. ^ Ross (2020) pp. 598–601.
  17. ^ Joe and Gilman (2010), p. 258.
  18. ^ Joe and Gilman (2010), p. 258.
  19. ^ Care (1978)
  20. ^ Winifred Wagner und die Geschichte des Hauses Wahnfried 1914 - 1975, filmportal.de website (in German), accessed 26.5.2020
  21. ^ Joe and Gilman (2010), pp. 254–8.
  22. ^ Ross (2020) pp. 594, 596.
  23. ^ Ross (2020), pp. 587–88.
  24. ^ "Wagner in film", The Cinema Archives, accessed 21 June 2023.
  25. ^ "Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  26. ^ "Détective (1985)|Soundtracks", IMDB. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  27. ^ name="Come and See IMDb">"Come and See (1985) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  28. ^ "The Running Man (1987) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 1987. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  29. ^ "24 Hour Party People (2002) - IMDb". IMDb.
  30. ^ Ross (2020) p. 607.
  31. ^ "Bronson (2008) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  32. ^ "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)|Soundtracks", IMDB. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  33. ^ IMDB, accessed 8 May 2019
  34. ^ "Watchmen (2009) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  35. ^ a b Ng, David (November 25, 2011). "'A Dangerous Method', 'Melancholia' take cues from Richard Wagner". Los Angeles Times.
  36. ^ "Rango (2011) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  37. ^ "To the Wonder (2012)|Soundtracks", IMDB. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  38. ^ Wadsworth, John. "Revenge Of The Auteur: Nymphomaniac's Musical Miscellany". The Quietus. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  39. ^ "Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)|Soundtracks", IMDB. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  40. ^ Brody, Richard (May 24, 2017). ""Alien: Covenant" Bursts with Pomposity". The New Yorker. Advance Publications. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  41. ^ Salazar, David (21 January 2021). "Opera Meets Film: How 'Promising Young Woman' Dialogues With Wagner's 'Tristan und Isolde'". OperaWire. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  42. ^ Rooney, David (2021-05-11). "Zack Snyder's 'Army of the Dead': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  43. ^ "Wrath of Man (1987) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  44. ^ "Army of Thieves (2021) - Soundtracks". IMDb. 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  45. ^ Brodeur, Michael Andor (14 October 2022). "Cate Blanchett on 'Tár' role: 'Music is often the starting point for me'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.

Sources

  • Care, Ross (1978). "Ken Russell: Lisztomania", in Film Quarterly, Vol XXXI, No. 3, Spring 1978. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  • Clouzot, Claire (1968). "Reviewed Work: Daisies by Vera Chytilova". Film Quarterly. 21 (3): 35–37. doi:10.2307/1210994. JSTOR 1210994.
  • Joe, Jeongwon and Sander L. Gilman (eds.) (2010). Wagner and Cinema. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253221636
  • Ross, Alex (2020). Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374285937
  • Sangild, Torben (2015). "Buñuel's Liebestod – Wagner's Tristan in Luis Buñuel's early films: Un Chien Andalou and L'Âge d'Or", in JMM: The Journal of Music and Meaning, vol. 13, 2014/2015, pp. 20–59. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  • Strötgen, Stephan (2008). ""I compose the Party Rally...": The Role of Music in Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will", in Music & Politics, vol. 2 issue 1. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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