Alias Nick Beal - DVD

The story of Faust gets a film noir twist in this tale of Joseph Foster (Thomas Mitchell), a straight-arrow district attorney waging war on his city's criminal element while eyeing the governor's mansion. He gets some unexpected assistance from the mysterious Nick Beal (Ray Milland), who leads Foster down a road of corruption and prostitution. Is Beal simply a bad influence, or could he something more supernaturally sinister? With Audrey Totter, George Macready, Fred Clark, Geraldine Wall. 93 min. Standard; Soundtrack English; Subtitles English; audio commentary; theatrical trailer.

Hans Neuenfels's striking new production of Wagner's fairytale opera gives this medieval story of doomed love and sorcery the Bayreuth treatment. As controversial as it is stimulating, this production was the talk of the 2011 Festival, and showcases a new generation of Wagnerian singing talent including soprano Annette Dasch and tenor Klaus Florian Vogt. The performance by Klaus Florian Vogt in the title role is staggering and impressive. There is beauty and purity in his voice, but in this role in particular, one truly senses something unheimlich, other-worldly, which fits superlatively both with work and production.

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