Trivia

Richard Burton received poor reviews for the early scenes, since at fifty-six-years-old, he was clearly much too old to play Wagner as a young man.

This mini-series was not shown until the autumn of 1984, due to concerns that it was too long and boring. It was widely felt that it would never have been released at all were it not for Richard Burton's death in the summer of that year. This mini-series was then broadcast as a tribute to him.

Richard Burton's unmistakably stiff-necked movements (particularly conspicuous when he plays Richard Wagner as a young man) are the result of him wearing a neck brace during filming after a spine operation.

Richard Burton, Ralph Richardson, William Walton and Arthur Lowe had all died before it premiered on British television in the autumn of 1984.

This production represents the only time that the three great British theatrical knights, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, and Sir Ralph Richardson appeared together on-screen. As all their characters have names which begin with "Pf", this does not appear to be fortuitous casting, but a deliberate whim of director Tony Palmer. The three knights were in the casts of Richard III (1955) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), but they were never together on-screen at the same time in those movies. The score for Richard III was written by composer [William Walton] who in his advanced age made his acting debut in this series. In addition, out of 8 films in which husband and wife, Sir Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright both appear, this is the only one in which they do not have scenes together. Plowright is only in episode 2, and Olivier in only in episodes 6 through 10.