SUPERMAN versus LORD OF THE RING

The composer Richard Wagner and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche were

good friends but on the day of Richard Wagner’s greatest triumph, the opening

of his Opera House at Bayreuth, Nietzsche walked away from the friendship and later threatened to kill Wagner. Soon after these bizarre events Wagner died and Nietzsche went raving mad, spending the last ten years of his life in a permanent state of catatonia. 

Recently the extraordinary details of the quarrel between these two giants of 19th Century culture has come to light and is dramatically revealed when the Ghost of Wagner materializes to Nietzsche within the walls of the Turin Lunatic Asylum.

                       

                        

FOR TRAILER

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS  Nietzsche contra Wagner

written and directed by JULIAN DOYLE

starring

JUD CHARLTON as Nietzsche    RICHARD FRANKLIN as Wagner

and ANNIE WALKER as Sister of Mercy

Production Design REBECCA MARSHALL   Costumes JOELLE  DOYLE   First assistant PAUL SANDU

Mixer ELISKA STAROSTOVA    boom MIHAIL PAVLOPOULOS     Makeup GIADA VENTURINI

Sound CAMILLE LIERRE   Production Manager HOLLY WELLS Sound Design ANDRE JACQUEMIN

Sound Supervisor BOB DOYLE    Focus  ROBIN RICE    Director of photography STEVE KENDRICK

script JULIAN DOYLE   producers BILL JONES and BEN TIMLETT   director JULIAN DOYLE

AS A TEACHING TOOL

Mr. Doyle,

I am a philosopher in the United States. Two weeks ago, the audio-visual librarian of the university at which I teach handed me a film he had ordered for our collection. It was your Twilight of the Gods: Nietzsche contra Wagner. This being a busy time of year for me, the film stayed in my bag until last night, when I made the time to watch it. In fact I watched it twice consecutively. I am writing simply to say thank you, profoundly, for conjuring and crafting such an extraordinary document. It is an exquisitely alchemical synthesis of content and form, by turns benthic and buoyant. I am a philosopher, not a film critic, so I'll just say your film is a very fine work of philosophy, which is why I am sending my sincerest gratitude.

Best Regards,

Paul Lewis, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Chair

Department of Philosophy

University of the Incarnate Word

WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID:

TERRY GILLIAM (Film Director)

'God is dead.... Wagner is dead.... but, his music is eternal. 'Twilight of the Gods' is an entertaining and enlightened evening of ghosts, philosophy, politics, and prejudice. All brought to you via the tortured mind of Friedrich Nietzsche as he ends his days in a madhouse. My head is still spinning.'

Dr. TIMOTHY MADIGAN (Philosophy Now magazine)
Masterful! ‘Twilight Of The Gods’ is a serious exploration of the tortured relationship between two ego-driven geniuses. There are laughs and Doyle does a masterful job of using the two men’s original material in an entertaining way. Expertly and cleverly playing on the theme of Wagner’s ‘Flying Dutchman’, Doyle has the ghost of Wagner trapped in Nietzsche’s cell until Nietzsche can redeem him.

MICHAEL PAKLEPPA (German Film Producer)

'A great and really inspiring. The actors had presence, humanity, humor, passion and love in a beautifully stylized manner. I never learned so much about Wagner and Nietzsche in such an emotional and entertaining way. It is a great experience, it had the power to draw people in and it was also funny. It was one of the best evenings out I had for a number of years.'

BRUCE DICKINSON (Iron Maiden singer) 'Brilliant! I want all my friends to see it.'

Prof. L. BRENT (Jewish Holocaust survivor)

‘it was brilliantly conceived and acted, moving from serious argument to comedy and on to personal tragedy and confronting Wagner’s anti-Semitism full on. As intelligent as it is entertaining'

TERRY JONES (Comedian/Historian)
'As intelligent and informative as any fun performance could possibly get.'

PIPPA TENNANT (Edinburgh Festival Guide)

‘How anyone could write such an intelligent, seem-less script analyzing the complex ideas of the composer Richard Wagner and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is beyond me. Drawing much of his dialogue from the writings of the two stars, Julian Doyle succeeds magnificently.’

THE AUDIENCE CLUB

Stunning performances from the cast bring out the richness and complexity of the characters, particularly Jud Charlton. His subtle, yet frenetic portrayal totally convinces as a man tortured by his own ideals, driven finally to madness by perceived betrayal. Written and directed by the director of the controversial feature film CHEMICAL WEDDING, this is a complex, wordy, yet totally fascinating piece, and should not be missed!"

DAVID BRADLEY (Leading Royal Shakespeare player) 'The excellent acting is spot on.'

MICHAEL PALIN (Comedian/Traveler)

‘The play had a lot to say about power, talent, achievement and genius, something we're all preoccupied but daren't analyze. 'Twilight of the Gods' raises a lot of questions and Jud Charlton gives a powerhouse performance as the self-tortured Nietzsche.’