The Tales of Hoffmann - Criterion Collection | Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville

The Tales of Hoffmann - Criterion Collection | Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville | Total British post-WWII success

DVDs:

The Tales of Hoffm...

	The Tales of Hoffmann - Criterion Collection Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville Criterion Collection, 2005 average customer review:based on 39 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

I've never seen anything like it

"The Tales of Hoffmann" (1951) - a beautifully photographed film version of Jacques Offenbach's opera, his final masterpiece is a magic (and there is no other word to describe it) blend of Adventure / Romance / Fantasy / with an endless stream of gorgeous melodies, seductive and tender love scenes, bizarre characters - comic, romantic or villainous, and tragic climaxes. The film was a follow-up to "The Red Shoes" (1948) a fantasy/musical/romance/drama set in the world of ballet with the same directors, stars, and production designers.

In "The Tales of Hoffmann", Robert Rounsevill stars as E.T.A. (Ernst Theodore Amadeus) Hoffmann, the poet and writer who tells three stories of his great but unhappy loves all ending tragically thanks to the meddling of his enemy, a supernatural villain (Robert Helpmann as quadruple evil, Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Dr Miracle). Objects of Hoffmann's love and admiration include Olympia the wind-up doll (Moira Shearer who also plays Stella the dancer, the fourth and yet another Hoffmann's misadventure), Giulietta, the Venetian courtesan who sails away after trying to capture Hoffmann's soul (Ludmilla Tchérina -absolutely brilliant as the siren and the seductress who elegantly walks over the dead bodies, literally), and Antonia the beautiful opera-singer with the fatal voice and deadly illness. One of the greatest choreographers and dancers of the last century, Léonide Massine shines in three absolutely different roles demonstrating his talent as a dancer, strong emotions and tremendous humor.

What makes "The Tales of Hoffmann" not just an ordinary screen adaptation but the stunning unforgettable event, the film which had inspired the future famous directors George Romero and Martin Scorsese to become the filmmakers is the perfect combination of fantasy, classical music, ballet, singing, stunning visual effects, imaginative and often bizarre and even disturbing images that would fit a horror movie (deconstructing Olympia -the doll is horrifying), incredible but calculated feast of colors, their mixture, the unique color palette to match each story, camera work that is so innovative and dynamic that even now, 56 years after the film was made, looks fresh and modern. The feast for eyes, ears, and feelings, "The Tales of Hoffmann" is the love child of incredibly talented people from different epochs and countries. The opera by Jacques Offenbach, the French composer is based on the dark romantic fairy tales by the German E.T. A. Hoffmann. The team of two directors known as "The Archers", the British Michael Powell and the Hungarian Jew Emeric Pressburger who had to flee his country before the WWII, and their international team of stars, color consultants, choreographers and production designers made this miracle happen. The last but not the least is legendary Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

for more information click here

Total British post-WWII success

As Britain's film industry revived after WWII, the arts stablishment put its best into this lavish, spectacular, ravishing production that I fist saw on its 1951 release and have loved ever since, as a so-so tape and now a much improved DVD release. With its scenes in the traditional order, it has Sir Thomas Beecham conducting, the fine light tenor Robert Rounseville as Hoffmann, ballet greats Moira Shearer, Leonid Massine and Robert Helpman and extraordinary sets, all directed with panache and grace by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Only a grumpy fussbudget wouldn't like it.

for more information click here

From a would-be dancer

What a wonderful set of tales! I first saw this many years ago and was fascinated by the stories and the dancing and the way they were woven together with beautiful voices. I especially loved the scene in which Dapertuto attemts to charm Giulietta with the gems he mad of candle wax. I feel so lucky to be able to get a copy of this.

Powell and Pressburger's forgotten diamond....

This is a wonderful film, a rare film of a filmed opera. There aren't too many of those. Ingmar Bergman's The Magic Flute and Hans Jurgen-Schyberg's Parsifal are the only ones I know about (I don't count taped/filmed performances). Powell and Pressburger were exceptionally unique filmmakers, but here they made one of their most intelligent, unusual, and startling works. There is no dialogue, only the lyrics/libretto and the music. The story is told through some of the most beautiful imagery ever put on screen. This was kind of the last gasp for Powell and Pressburger, as subsequent colloborations weren't particularly good. This is probably their most dream like, haunting film ever. This is an underrated gem, one that deserves to be better known.

for more information click here

good, but expensive

It is a good purchase, but if you add the cost of shipping, taxes, conversion to region 4 and the product itself, I payed about 100 dollars for it.

reviews: 1, page 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

products you might be interested in