With the success of LOTR, there’s a lot of speculation about what Hollywood may try to do to capitalize on the interest in epic fantasy. I was reading something this weekend which I thought might be an interesting candidate. It’s got magic, heroes, dwarves, dragons, flying horses, enchanted weapons, intrigue, world domination, gods, and even a magic ring.
It’s Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung, and what I was reading was the comic book adaptation by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane done by DC Comics. It’s an interesting story, and certainly has a lot going for it to get it on the screen.
(Mini-hijack - has anyone seen the newer P. Craig Russell adaptation? Is it any good?)
What do you think? Do you think Hollywood could/would/should tackle this epic? Three parts or four? Who would you cast? What changes might you make?
I’ve had the DC version for a few years- LOVE IT! And I really liked the suggested cast in the foreword (too bad Jason Robards
is no longer around to portray Wotan- that leaves James Coburn- whoops!)
Is the P. Craig Russell one put out by Dark Horse? I do have a couple of those- not nearly as inspired or as inspiring as the DC one.
Btw, your OP title made me think this was about a follow-up to “The Ring”
I gotta think about casting- I heard a few years ago that a Japanese anime was being planned.
I’m not sure how I feel about this one.
I’m a very big fan of Wagner, so my vision of the ring is quintessentially wagnerian.
I might be a bit like one of those Tolkien geeks who can’t enjoy the movie because it isn’t authentic or some such thing. Usually, I can get past this sort of thing though.
On the other hand, I’m fascinated by the vistas modern special effects can create. Seeing the dramatic action of the ring in the form of a movie might be something I enjoy very much.
It will be very strange to watch “The Ring” without the lines being sung. Very strange! SURPASSINGLY STRANGE!
I wonder how on Earth any director can bring alive the emotions of the ring without song. How will anyone deliver “Wotan’s Abshied” in a way that even has one particle, one atom, of the gravity of the original?
Remember too that a great deal of what makes “The Ring” work is the sprechtstimme (sp?) libretto. That is, the use of alliteration and assonance. “The Ring” is best listened to in German, though I do own and enjoy the ENO’s production of the English language production. (Andrew Porter Transl.)
Another thing to consider is that the story really isn’t that long. Every time something starts to cook, Wagner has some character re-tell the whole darn story.
One difficulty that any director will face is translating opera action into motion picture action. Opera time is not real world time. Any time a character feels an emotion in an opera, time freezes while that character sings a song about it. Presumably, the song artfully expresses the dilemma or dramatic conflict of the moment. That quality is what makes opera what it is, and for the fan, what makes opera great. Exploiting every felt emotion; sampling each one, like wine, is the name of the game. Ironically, this is the very thing that those who do not appreciate opera hate the most.
The opera universe is not, repeat NOT the universe as we know it.
Perhaps more than any other art form, opera typifies the age old concept of the journey being more important than the destination.
“Let’s have a dramatic story now, but we’ll pause to savor every nuance along the way.”
This does not translate well to film, particularly in this day and age. These days, films seem more and more to be “action” films. Events in movies seem to be driven. The denouement is paramount.
I just hope that a “Der Ring Des Niebelungen” movie doesn’t turn out to be a gigantic “Cop Rock with Viking Costumes”.
One more thing.
Tolkien geeks objections to the Peter Jackson films will be kinderspiel compared to the Wagner crowd’s hatred of the film version of Wagner’s “Ring”. If it does turn out to be “Cop Rock”, I myself will loathe and detest it more than words can tell.
The cast?
I haven’t a clue. I don’t know the names of any actors anymore. I sort of gave up on popular culture a long time ago.
Whoever plays Wotan had better have stature. Get somebody who, as Alec Guiness once said, “Knows how to stand still.”
Brunnhilde should be a babe. A woman with some depth of emotion, but a babe nonetheless.
Siegmund? No clue.
Sieglinde? No clue.
Alberich? An antihero. Get somebody the audience can relate to though. Alberich’s story is an interesting and compelling one.
Mime? Get somebody short, who’s got comedic abilities, preferably physical comedy. The role isn’t really played for laughs, but the qualities I mentioned would definitely help in the portrayal.
Froh? Any wagnerite will tell you, “He’s a Froh away.”
I think if you take away the music, the plot of the Ring is bizarre enough that audiences would be bemused or derisive. What could you do with, say, the twins Siegmund and Sieglinde falling in love and having baby Siegfried? Eew!
And the ending, while redemptive in a musical context, would be a real downer without. Siegfried/Brunhilde never reconcile, the heroine immolates herself, and all heaven and earth burn.
Anna Russell’s famously absurd summary of the Ring plot (“I’m not making this up, you know”) isn’t really that far of the mark.
Sorry, I just can’t imagine Wagner’s opera cycle being performed by 50-foot-tall transforming robot Mecha.
Although watching Fafnir flush his shoulder-mounted missile racks at Siegfried, who then builds up his Attack Power with a long Dragonball-Z-like kyai and cuts Fafnir in half with an energy sword, might be worth it.
