Wagner

Palmer's 5-hour biopic of Wagner (nine hours in the TV version) is a long haul for anyone: sumptuous, overblown, lumbering, and riddled with narrative non sequiturs. The strangest aspect is that the music often seems peripheral rather than central, relegated to being film music as though we might as well be watching a biopic about Ennio Morricone. The visuals are splendid and you can play spot the cast, but somehow it's all a bit sub-Ken Russell, without the redeeming vulgarity and with a lot less cinematic energy.