From Wagner to Borat in pictures that move

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R ichard Wagner invented -- and perfected -- the music drama. His operas were "total artworks" in which not just music, but also story, costumes and sets were all fundamental to the piece.

It's no surprise this revolutionary composer had a lasting effect on music, but he's also influenced those working in a genre that had barely been born in his lifetime -- film.

You can sample a taste of his influence at the Goethe-Institut Washington's "Wagner in Hollywood" film series, which runs through March 26. Filmmakers have been intrigued by the German composer since they began putting their ideas onto celluloid -- the current Phillips Collection exhibition "Moving Pictures: American Art and Early Film" features a partial staging of "Tannhauser," one of the exhibition's longest films. In fact, Wagner's music can be heard in more than 400 movies, including the classic Hollywood productions at the Goethe-Institut. You'll hear more than the "Wedding March" from "Lohengrin," to which countless brides have walked down the aisle.

The series, presented in conjunction with the Washington National Opera's performance of "Die Walkure," runs Monday evenings at 6:30. "The Uninvited," the successful 1944 film debut of British stage director Lewis Allen, is this Monday's selection. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey play a brother and sister who move into an old house on the English coast that, as it turns out, appears to be haunted. The script was written by Dodie Smith, most famous for her charming novels "The Hundred and One Dalmatians" and "I Capture the Castle." This ghost story includes part of Wagner's "Liebestod" from "Tristan und Isolde."

The March 19 selection, "Humoresque," also includes that piece from "Tristan." This 1946 film stars John Garfield as an ambitious young violinist who catches the attention of a neurotic socialite played by Joan Crawford. As the musician's star rises, his lover is destroyed. Mr. Garfield's violin work was done by Isaac Stern.

Wagner's music is used to famous effect in the final film in the series. Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (from 1979) screens March 26, and few who have seen it will forget the sequence set to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries." The film transports Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness" to the Vietnam War as Martin Sheen's Capt. Willard travels through the Cambodian jungle to assassinate the renegade Col. Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando).

Of course, the most fun a filmmaker has had with Wagner's serious music may be the 1957 cartoon "What's Opera, Doc?" This seven-minute short features Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny while singing "Kill the Wabbit" to the tune of "Ride of the Valkyries." This mini-opera also has Bugs dressed up as an attractive Brunnhilde, with music from "The Flying Dutchman," "Die Walkure," "Siegfried" and "Tannhauser." The Chuck Jones masterpiece has repeatedly been named the best cartoon of all time. The Goethe-Institut had a showing earlier this week, but since the parody is in the public domain, you can chuckle at will by watching it on the Web at www.metacafe.com/watch/430148/whats_opera_doc/.

Screenings take place at the Goethe-Institut's German Cultural Center, 812 7th St. NW. Tickets are $6. More information can be found at www.goethe.de/washington.

Kelly Jane Torrance